Have you ever wondered if there was another version of you? If so, what are they like? How many different versions are there? Have you ever made a decision, like choosing to make a right turn instead of a left, and wondered what would have happened if you made a left turn instead of a right? The alternate you most likely made a left turn in a parallel universe.

What is a parallel universe and what is the theory behind them? According to Andrew Zimmerman Jones and Daniel Robbins, “the multiverse is a theory in which our universe is not the only one, but states that many universes exist parallel to each other. These distinct universes within the multiverse theory are called parallel universes.” There are four levels to this theory. The first level is, “If you go far enough, you’ll get back home.” This level states that the universe is so big that there has to be planets that are exactly like earth. On some of these planets, events would be identical to the ones that happen on our Earth. The second level is “If you go far enough, you’ll fall into Wonderland.” In this level, “regions of space are continuing to undergo an inflation phase. Because of the continuing inflationary phase in these universes, space between us and the other universes is literally expanding faster than the speed of light — and they are, therefore, completely unreachable.” The third level is “If you stay where you are, you’ll run into yourself.” This level takes place in the same time and space as our own universe and this is the most common level of parallel universe that people usually think of. The last level is, “Somewhere over the rainbow, there’s a magical land.” This last level is the strangest level and the most controversial among scientists.

I know I threw in a lot of information at you, but now that we have the basis of what the theory behind a parallel universe is, let us now see if they actually exist. Paul Davis wrote an article about the multiverse and said the we could “not exist in biologically hostile universes, no matter how many there are.” Physicists now believe that there are more than three spatial dimensions, they believe that some universes can have five to seven dimensions. Davis argues that life would be impossible with more than three dimensions to work with and that it seems very hard to test the existence of other universes. Believing in a multiverse sounds like it is a huge leap of faith to Davis.

However, if you take a look here this article is saying that parallel universes do exist. “Professor Wiseman and his colleagues propose the universe we experience is just one of a gigantic number of worlds. They believe some are almost identical to ours, while most are very different. All of these worlds are equally real, existing continuously through time, and possessing precisely defined properties. They suggest that quantum phenomena arise from a universal force of repulsion between ‘nearby’ worlds which tend to make them more dissimilar.” In simpler terms, multiple universes exist because of quantum mechanics according to a group of US and Australian researchers.

It seems like people are just now starting to understand the basics of parallel universes and there are some major proponents of it and also a lot of skepticism to it. Do you guys believe in the existence of parallel universes or does it all just seem like a bunch of science fiction to you?