Month: May 2022

Infinity and the MCU

crimson

I recently had the opportunity to watch the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It was good. Certainly the special effects were amazing to behold, and hence I would recommend watching this film in the theater if you are able to. But I admit, I was paying particular attention to something while watching: how they were planning to handle the idea of the multiverse.

As I previous discussed regarding the Marvel series Loki, what seems to be the most popular idea of the multiverse is tied tightly to the most popular idea of a free will. In Loki, what spawned a new universe within the multiverse was when an individual was faced with a choice that required that person to exercise their free will. Based on logistical issues I observed in the series, it seemed to me that these particular events that spawned a new universe were extremely rare, and hence free will itself was extremely rare (or perhaps the exercising of a free will is extremely rare). In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it is further established that dreams are also tied very closely with the multiverse. Warning for spoilers ahead.

In the new film, it is suggested that when a person dreams, their dreaming is really the individual experiencing an alternate version of themselves in some other universe. Doctor Strange, toward the beginning of the film, wakes up from a nightmare where he was attempting to rescue another character from a demon, and as it turns out, this was simply a different version of himself performing the very same activity. His dream was his experience of the alternate version of himself.

This is later emphasized by the character America Chavez, who suggests that because she happens to be unique in the entire multiverse, she does not dream. After all, for her to dream would be for her to experience an alternate version of herself in some other universe. As she never dreams, there must not be any other versions of herself in any other universes. Here begins the problem with an infinite multiverse.

In a previous post, I briefly raised the issue of “what infinity means.” I said, “infinity is NOT a number. Infinity is an idea regarding boundlessness. That is, to speak of infinity is to speak of something that is unbounded.” In the case of an infinite multiverse, this does not suggest that there is a countable number, or even an extremely large number, of universes in existence. It suggests that the multiverse itself is boundless. In the case of Loki’s free will spawning new universes, it would be suggesting that there is no limit to the number of universes that can be spawned. The number of universes would likely be vast and uncountable as a result of this boundlessness, but there is no way to really say.

This becomes even more complicated with the alleged occurrence of an individual who has no counterparts in ANY other universe, like Chavez. In the case of infinity, if something has even the remotest possibility of occurring once, it is guaranteed to occur many, many times. In a truly infinite multiverse, there would be NO singularities, no individuals. Putting this another way, while there is nothing that says every universe will have an occurrence of myself, the fact that I exist in this one guarantees that I will exist in others. As infinity is not a number, I cannot say precisely in how many I will exist and how many I will not exist, but it seems reasonable to conclude that the probability of my existence in any particular universe will approach about 50%. This can be said about any individual in fact.

For there to be only one single America Chavez in an infinite multiverse breaks the very idea of an infinite multiverse. Unless we are not dealing with an infinite multiverse…

Here it becomes time to raise Rick and Morty, and the “Central Finite Curve.” The idea is simple: apparently Rick Sanchez somehow segregated a portion of the multiverse (specifically selecting only universes where alternative versions of himself were the most intelligent entity within that universe) and restricted interdimensional travel to only those select universes. In other words, the reason the story can get away with suggesting (up to that point) that in every universe Rick was the most intelligent entity was because the audience (and most of the characters) were led to believe that they had access to all possible universes within the entire multiverse. In the season five finale, it was revealed that this was a lie, and the Evil Morty was able to break out of the confines of the segregation and enter the true, unrestricted multiverse. As there has yet to be any newer episodes or seasons of the show thus far, it is hard to say where they will take this idea.

The point here is that in the storyline of Rick and Morty, it is acknowledged (at least on some level) that in an infinite multiverse there can be no uniqueness. The main protagonist of the series is often referred to as “The Rickest Rick,” suggesting that there is something about this Rick that makes him unique in all of the multiverse; however, in the finale we realize that he was simply unique within the segregated portion of universes defined by the Central Finite Curve, which as the name itself tells us is finite and not infinite.

If the storyline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is to attempt to maintain any modicum of legitimacy in its exploration of infinity and an infinite multiverse, it will have to come up with a damned good explanation for how there could possibly be unique entities in a realm that can, by definition, not contain any unique entites.

Fantasy and Reality

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A past relationship partner I had once said I had a “rich fantasy life.” I think she was referring to the level of creativity and imagination I possessed. She suggested that I might be having issues separating what was fantasy from what was reality. That I spent too much time living in my own dream world. Today, I want to revisit what she was talking about, exploring more precisely what I think is going on.

What are “fantasy” and “reality?” It seems to me that reality is a term used to describe the way things are. Something that “matches up” with the way the world is, is reality. If I say that my glass is on my coffee table, I am describing reality because I am describing something that is the case of the world. At least, as far as I can tell, given that I could make mistakes and be in error.

Fantasy, it seems to me, is like a sort of opposite to reality. Fantasy is something that does not “match up” with the way the world is. If I say that my glass is under my coffee table, then I am not describing reality because it is not the case that my glass is under the table. Again, this is as far as I can tell, as I can always be mistaken about my observations of the world.

Fantasy and reality are certainly related to each other, especially in the examples I have given. In fact, it seems clear to me that fantasy can be turned into reality. I could physically take the glass from the table and place it underneath. Upon doing so, the fantasy has now become reality.

Does all fantasy have this quality? Can any fantasy be made reality through my efforts? This is a very difficult question to answer. I think that there are clear cases where this can be done, like my example of the glass under the table. But I also think there are seemingly clear cases where this cannot be done, like if I wanted to levitate or fly into the air. In the case of flying, I would have to further clarify that I’m talking about under my own efforts, because clearly I can board a plane or wear a jet pack and turn that fantasy into reality. In other words, the details matter.

If I had a fantasy that I could fly without outside assistance (without a vehicle or personal augmentation), that I could do so simply by thinking about it, then it seems much less likely to turn that fantasy into reality. I am sitting presently, thinking about and trying to will my body into the air, but it has yet to move. I am still stuck in my chair.

So there seems to be a range of fantasies, some of which can be made into realities, and some of which it seems incredibly unlikely that they will be made into reality. I think those things in the latter category are what my previous partner was thinking about when suggesting I had a “rich fantasy life.” For her, she was talking about things in my imagination that could never be realized in reality.

Why I have chosen to dwell on this distinction is that there are plenty of things that I call fantasy where the possibility of turning them into reality is quite unlikely. When the television series Star Trek first came out, introducing many people to the idea of a “communicator,” a wireless handheld device allowing nearly instantaneous communications between individuals at great distances from each other, it was clearly a fantasy as the time. Such things did not exist. But now, we have smartphones which connect to cellular towers and network to each other, allowing such wireless communications. That fantasy did become reality, it simply took a bit of time.

It is easy to suggest that the idea of a “communicator” could be made reality now, but I do not know if it was so easily perceived back then. There were no cellular phones when I was a child. Honestly, I was too young to consider these sorts of details. I dreamed of such communications devices, but I never really sat down and thought hard about whether those things might eventually become real. For me, it was simply a fantasy; clearly separated from my reality at the time.

Now, having lived as long as I have, my intellect having evolved and grown, I hold a stranger perspective on this topic. I recently had a fight/argument with my present partner about such things. I took a moment to describe to her what I believe: I believe that everything is possible, however, most things are incredibly unlikely, and improbable. That is, I believe that all fantasies can possibly be made into reality, but most fantasies will not.

To be more clear, my belief is that unicorns could exist. I believe it is possible that I could encounter one such fantastic creature when I leave my home later today. But I also believe the probability of such an event occurring is so incredibly improbable that I don’t expect it to occur. I do not make decisions in my day-to-day life expecting to encounter unicorns. I make decisions expecting that I will specifically never encounter unicorns. In other words, while I may believe something is possible, in the majority of cases those possibilities do not really affect how I live my day-to-day life.

Putting this another way, while I may have a “rich fantasy life,” I do not generally let my fantasies affect my reality. To be even more accurate, it isn’t that I don’t let my fantasies affect my reality, it is that I allow them to affect my reality based on how likely I consider them to be turned into reality. I see everything as a sort of probability matrix, where some events are incredibly likely, and others are incredibly unlikely. Those things that I consider to be likely to occur, I allow them to inform decision making and I prepare for them. Those things I consider unlikely to occur play very little role, if any, in my decisions and choices. I do not live my life expecting to encounter a unicorn.

In other words, for me, fantasy and reality are not as clearly cut as they seem to be for most people. For me, fantasy is something that describes how someone would like to see the world. In the case of the “communicator,” this is something people wanted to become true of our world. Those people spend a long time finding a way to make it into reality, and today we have smartphones. And I have no doubt there are people out there who truly wish unicorns were real; I suspect those people are honestly trying to make that a reality as well, though I expect them to be less successful.

For me, fantasy is a possible reality. Similar to the multiple timeline theory that is incredibly popular presently, especially in Marvel films. If there are infinite universes out there, then undoubtedly a fantasy in this universe will be a reality in another.

Perhaps more importantly, if a fantasy is a possible reality, then a fantasy is akin to an idea held by a person or people. As an idea, it is something that, given the right motivation, people might make efforts to turn into reality. The glass that sits upon my table can very easily be lifted and placed underneath the table, if I so wish it to be. My body is such that I am able to manipulate this reality in various ways as I desire. My body is a fantasy realizing machine. All it requires is for my mind to imagine a reality, and then my body can be utilized to turn that fantasy into a reality.

Seeing the world in this way, and especially seeing people in this way, really raises a lot of questions about what is going on. When Donald Trump says that the 2020 election was stolen, he has a fantasy he is trying to make into a reality. Clearly he has made a significant effort in this regard, with limited success. After all, there are plenty of other people out there who believe otherwise. Those other people resist changing reality into what Trump desires.

The fight I had with my partner specifically was whether the terrorist attacks of 911 were perpetrated by terrorists or by the American government. I recently watched a conspiracy theory video with a friend suggesting that it was the American government. I mentioned that I too believe it was orchestrated by the American government, though I came to this conclusion back in about 2002 based on my own observations at the time. This outraged my partner.

It wasn’t simply that I didn’t agree with her regarding this event. It was not like I didn’t like toast, when she did. A difference of opinion is one thing. She could not understand how I could possibly believe it was not terrorists. For her, I think, she could not (or perhaps would not) entertain the possibility that a group of people would organize themselves secretly in order to murder thousands of other people. Perhaps more specifically, that the American government would murder thousands of its own citizens for an economic or other goal. She just cannot see it. Honestly, I’m happy she cannot see such things.

Unfortunately, I can. And I can see much worse than that. I often struggle in this world because I see much worse happening all the time. Systemic prejudices and conditioning of masses of people. Why there are few women in engineering. Why industrial farming is considered acceptable. Why Donald Trump plays so much golf. My eyes are open to things I cannot close them from.

When I became aware of such things, I became paralyzed. I realized there was almost nothing I could do in this world without causing some kind of suffering. I was appalled with myself. I had to find a way to cope with it, lest I simply remove myself from the world. In a lot of ways, I should not be here at all.

But I found a coping mechanism. It is how I see the world. It is how my world view continues to evolve and grow. To see that everything is possible. To see that things can and do change. Over time. Sometimes it takes a long time.

I’m getting a bit ranty here. The point I wish to make is that I do not think fantasy and reality are as distant from each other as I used to. I no longer see them as being opposites, or part of some false dilemma. For me, fantasy is simply a way of expressing the ideas and desires I have about the world that are as yet unrealized. Through effort (sometimes great effort) I may be able to take fantasy and turn it into reality. I may be able to take my ideas and desires and reshape the world to match them. The world is the way it is, in part, because of me. And I can do something about it.