Is the universe infinite?

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How far would you have to travel to find another Earth? One with the same temperature, the same oceans, the same countries... and eventually, the same room and the same person sitting inside it? Anthony Aguirre follows that thought experiment to its strange conclusion: what happens if the universe is infinite?

Keywords: Infinite universe, multiverse, infinity

Steve Dufourny

Hi Professor Aguirre,
This thought experiment is interesting about statistics and probabilities. I consider an unique universe and a finite one, but it is relevant to extrapolate these probabilities. How to consider the infinity, the homogeneity, the isotropic parameters, the inflation ....and so the probabilities. I learnt a lot in cosmology for my theory of spherisation, an optimisation of the universe , so It becomes ontologically relevant in extrapolating the possibilities and the probabilities with the statistical mechanics and quantum correlations , informations....

The works of Bekenstein becomes interesting also about entropy and informations, That is why I liked for the spherical region. It is there that the ontology of this universe becomes interesting also in extrapolating possibilities even if we have these limitations ontological, physical, mathematical.... The observable universe and its radius , the Hilbert space,....that implies possibilities already in a finite universe and so we can go farer with this thought experiment that you explained.but that becomes so complex in the possibilities and ways. Already in a finite observable universe , it is complex more our limitations , so it becomes even more complex with this thought experiement. That is why all this becomes an incredible puzzle with the mathematical universe of Tegmark and your ideas and the multiverses. The ontology , the maths , our knowledges, our possbile extrapolations of the mind imply so this incredible complexity in the possibilities.
So in a sense, to resume, what is the distance in a infinite universe to reach the identical copy of ourself inside this universe.
Is it about volumes for these statistics and probabilities, and so we can extrapolate the states, yes but not easy to reach this identical copy of ourself in the same planet with the same parameters. We can utilise the sphere radius to find this distance but wowww what a complexity about the particles, quantum states to reach the copy , even the memories, the history ......must be considered. So the combinatorics identical conditions require this complexity farer than our observable universe . It is relevant for an understanding of this infinity at my humble opinion. Pi intriges me and the primes , I work about this also in my model, I have never published my theory but I evolve with the spherical topological geometric algebras. What you explained intrigues me to go from the universal sphere towards the multipheres and this idea of copies of ourself.
There are paradoxes about the infinite ensembles implying theoretical challenges. And it iintrigues me about the consciousness and the copy of ourself because we have the free will and the psychology and intelligence to consider inside these infinities extrapolated implying the identical copies, that is why we can even go farer if we reach these copies in considering the free will and choices and the present and future.
It must be be difficult all this and I don t speak about the measurement problem and this time .....
I looked at the Boltzmann brain problem , and the quantum fluctuations and when we correlate with the entropy and memories and informations and encodings, it is relevant even ontologically in extrapolating possibilities about the origin of the universe, and if we extrapolate also the minds, souls, brains without asserting of course the assumptions. But it is interesting for the possible states. It could be extrapolated with the ideas of Tegmank and the multiverse and these infinities, but complex .

Ulla Mattfolk

Steve Dufourny
I see several questions here:

What is infinity in this case? It can even be a 0, so then we come back to ourself and our Earth? Are there more of us that can be EXACTLY like us in all aspects? Can + and - infinity loop back on themselves?
Manyworlds are seen as quantum, and then we have the no-copy theorem. It is not possible to find EXACTLY the same? It is even forbidden? Like I say the half is forbidden in measurement theory. It describes entanglement there... In topology we have the wormhole as such 'charge without a charge'....It seems we HAVE TO do things differently? This does not in principle change the result much, but it is principially important. Already on Earth we can find our identical twin, but these people are never exactly the same. This already on Earth alone...
Basically this is about the measurement problem. In manyworlds it is the collective that branch universe, in more normal theories we instead minimalize the options by the infamous 'collapse' or fusion. It is the subjectivity versus objectivity once again.
Regards, Ulla.

Steve Dufourny

Now it is even possible to go farer after having reached the identical copy by this thought experiement in considering an infinity of identical copies, in adding so the present and futur for the choices and after we can add all the minds of the universe and the same logic and after we consider ontological possibilities with the consciousness and even the possible souls,Of course it is just mathematical extrapolations , thought experiements but interesting to extrapolate and to compare with a finite universe already very complex.

Steve Dufourny

Ulla Mattfolk
Hi Ulla,
it is a thought experiment, so it is pure maths and probabilities with different ontological origin. But it is interesting to better understand the universe and this uniqueness problem wich is for me essential. The measurement problem also is important and like you told subjectivity and objectivity are important also. Regards

Steve Dufourny

Ulla Mattfolk In fact Ulla,. it is about the model chosen, its ontology, its boudaries and its mathematical and physical law. And the most important, why you exist, why you are probably unique,why you have a local reality and why you are conscious and from whatontologically speaking , that is why the boudaries are important. That is why these thought experiments are relevant to rank and chose the good one to better understand the observable universe and its quantum, cosmological, physical, mathematical and ontological laws . It is about possible and impossible realities. The infinity is a parameter complex but maybe more simple than we imagine.

Steve Dufourny

In fact at my humble opinion, even if they are thought experiments and assertions , it is interesting to better understand the finite universe and its complexity.
The thought experiment of Anthony Aguirre and the ideas I explained permits to better understand our philophical limit even and to analyse a thing I named the uniqueness problem and so the extrapolations about infinities could permit to better understand the impossibilities ontological. We go in fact from a single unique copy to a second one and after to an infinite ensemble of copies and in considering the present and future and the choicves and fater in considering all the minds of the universe , and possible souls because matter and energy cannot be destroyed, o we reach interesting analysis about the philosophy of the mind. In my model I consider this 0D omnipotent infinite eternal consciousness and we express a finite part of consciousness with our physical bodies. So in extrapolating these infinite possibilities with the maths, probabilities, statistics and in considering a dynamic temporal line , it is relevant for the ontological choices and the rankings.
The many worlds can permit so to better understand the possible and impossible extrapolations if we take the uniqueness problem I explained. The 3D space for me is important. But how to consider the decoherences of brain copies .....and the free , choices and consciousness . What about the encoding of informations and how to consider the souls in these precise extrapolations.
An interesting points now is about the collective universal consciousness and the problem of uniqueness and in adding this 0D infinite eternal omnipotent consciousness. How to consider the mind space continuum and this 0D so . So how to consider the finite configurations and the infinity in resume. If the mind states exist as a physical reality , so how to consider all the thought experiments and the infinity. It is intriguing about this actual observable universe and its more than 2000 billions of glaxies and all the possible minds evolving. The evolution is important at mu humble opinion.
That implies ontological possibi
lities about the consciousness, the identity, the uniqueness problem and the concept of soul. All this is metaphysics of course because we don t know but it is interesting to extrapolate.
The identity is a main problem even in extrapolating these infinite identical copies in a space location., Finite, or infinite , both are complex , so if we imagine spatial infinities and the infinite copies , all this is more than complex, that is why I spoke about the possible extrapolations and impossible ones , it ios about the chosen ontology in fact. In all casesl these thought experiments are interesting for the critical function in our theoretical physics. That permit to test the boundaries and to better understand the inflation and infinities. We must test, bridge the physics,the philosophy and this consciousness is important and the meaning of local reality and this problem of uniqueness. The ontology chosem, universal sphere, 0D , quantum spheres or strings, mathematical accidet, or a god os spinozza like einstein said , an unique universe or a multiverse, finite or infinite and how .......we don t know but we can extrapolate.