Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Never Ending Expansion of Life and Cheese.

4:12 A.M.: A few minutes ago my wife woke me up from a dream. It made an impact on me so I decided to write about it.

In the dream Debi, my wife, and I were staying or living in a large high-rise apartment complex. Similar to the one both my aunts live in currently in Montevideo Uruguay. Except I know we are here in Henderson, Nevada because Deb is telling me about some hilarious discussion Elli, my daughter, and her were having on her way to school. Both of us are in the kitchen and Debi is preparing something to eat. We are chatting while some kind of news show is playing in the background on the TV. It’s some kind of interview with a scientist.

I’m sorry about the vagueness but please remember it’s a dream so the details are pretty foggy with the exception of the last few seconds.

The man on television was discussing the theory of “Multiverse”. To my surprise Debi was actually acting interested. I am a major nerd when it comes to scientific curiosities. I love learning as much as I can about the nature of the universe. I love trying to wrap my mind around Einstein’s theory of time and space. It’s one of my many small pleasures in life. Debi on the other hand always gives me a big eye roll whenever I try to share some of these odd ideas with her. It’s always been a funny exchange. She’ll reluctantly let me rant about whatever I just learned, and I take full advantage of the time I’m wasting for her. This time though, she was acting fascinated by the idea. Really curious. This was the perfect time to explain the fascinating idea of the ever expanding block of Swiss cheese that is the “Multiverse” theory. I start going into it with her and it’s really exciting cause she is listening this time with no eye rolls or heavy sighs. I mention how in this way of looking at the universe. We are not alone. We are just one of an endless number of constantly expanding universes that resemble the bubbles you find in Swiss cheese. How each universe is expanding exponentially along with the space between them. I explained how we could never reach the end of our universe in any meaningful way because it’s expanding so quickly. Thus explaining how, to the people inside the bubble, the universe seems endless. We go into how the particles that make up the universe have a specific quantity. So it’s logical to think that the arrangements of these particles will likely repeat themselves because of the ever expanding nature of the multiverse theory--in the same way you would have to repeat your wardrobe eventually because there are only a certain number of combinations you could make with them. This then leads to the possibility of similar galaxies to ours down to even the clothes on our backs etc... These ideas always fascinate me and make me appreciate the complexity and beauty of life. How lucky we are to participate. How exciting it is to have a child who is discovering all the cool stuff you already know. How meaningful it is to be able to share these moments with someone who loves you enough to put up with your silly obsessions. I can smell the coffee Deb is making and I can see her preparing to interject with a question when suddenly there is a loud thud.... The wall behind her gives way along with the floor. Both of us are in a sudden free fall. I can see debris falling all around us and I’m clutching for her as she’s screaming. I have the presence of mind to realize that this is the end of everything for us. It was all coming to an end... I have ran out of time. I had this odd rational sense of panic. My thoughts went to Elli. Is she okay? Is this happening to her? I’ll never see her face again. I have to picture her in my mind before I die. I want her face to be the last image in my mind. I can feel myself kicking in the emptiness as I fall. And I call out... NO!!! ....NO!!!

It’s at that moment that Debi wakes me up. The nightmare portion of my dream was so sudden that my heart rate didn’t even go up. All I could think of is how full and alive you can feel in one instant and have it all taken away the next. I don’t know what caused the collapse of the building in my dream. It doesn’t matter. It’s the idea that the time we spend here is finite. The sudden desperation and realization that it’s coming to an end is what hit me most as I laid there in my bed unable to sleep again. This desperation is a reality to so many people in our world. It’s as constant and endless as the Multiverse theory suggests. The smallness you feel when you consider the epic nature of the universe is palpable. But the fear of losing that seemingly insignificant life is just as epic to each of us. In the reality of my situation within my dream I felt a very real and deep sense of regret, not for the way I had lived my life--it was regret for the suddenness of how it can be taken from me. I love to be surprised. I think that’s why I love reading about new discoveries in science. It reminds me that life is amazing. Everything, in fact, is amazing. If more people realized that there might be cause for less regret. I think I’m going to eat some Swiss cheese for lunch today and kiss my daughter for the 4 millionth time.

You can learn about Multiverse theory by clicking ---- here.

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