8. The Multiverse Theory

8、多重宇宙論

Anyone who has not spent the last ten years on a desert island has heard of “the multiverse” or parallel universes at least once. As many of us have seen, parallel worlds, in theory, are worlds very similar to ours, with little (or in some cases, large) changes or differences. The multiverse theory speculates that there could exist an infinite number of these alternate realities.

這十年來不是住在荒島上人都該聽過「多重宇宙論」或平行宇宙吧。我們都知道，理論上，平行世界與我們的世界非常相似，只有一點點的（某些情況可能有滿大的）變化或差異。多重宇宙論推斷，有可能存在著無數個替代現實。

What’s the point? In a parallel reality, you may be living in the opposite corner of the world or may have already died in a car crash. In another one, you might have never even been born because your parents never met. The probabilities are endless.

重點是什麼？在平行現實中，你可能是生活在世界的另一端，或者可能已經在車禍中過世。在另一個平行世界中，你可能從來沒有出生過，因為你的父母從未見過面。有無數的可能。

 

9. Fictional realism

9、虛構現實主義

This is probably the most fascinating branch of the multiverse theory. Superman is real. Yes, some of you would probably choose a different story, for argument’s sake, Harry Potter might be real too.

這可能是多重宇宙論中最有趣的分支。超人是真的。為了方便討論，你們也可能會選另一個故事，沒錯，哈利波特也可能是真的。

This branch of the theory argues that given an infinite number of universes, everything must exist somewhere. So, all of our favorite fiction and fantasy may be descriptive of an alternate universe, one where all the right pieces came into place to make it happen.

這個理論的分支認為，有無數個宇宙的話，一切萬物肯定都在某個地方存在著。所以，所有我們最喜歡的小說和奇幻故事都可能成為一個替代宇宙，在那裡，一切都就好定位，變成現實。

 

10. Phenomenalism

10、現象學

Everyone is interested in what happens to things when we aren’t looking at them. Scientists have carefully studied this problem and some of them came to a simple conclusion – they disappear. Well, not quite like this.

「當我們沒有在看一樣東西的時候，它會發生什麼事?」每個人都會對此產生興趣。科學家們仔細研究了這個問題，其中有些人得出了一個簡單的結論：它們會消失。好吧，也不是真的這樣啦。

Phenomenalist philosophers believe that objects only exist as a phenomenon of consciousness. So, your laptop is only here while you are aware of it and believe in its existence, but when you turn away from it, it ceases to exist until you or someone else interacts with it. There is no existence without perception. This is the root of phenomenalism.

現象學的哲學家相信，物體只會作為一種意識現象而存在。所以，你的筆電只有在你意識到它並相信它的存在時，它才會在這裡，但是當你不理它時，它就會停止存在，直到你或是其他人與它產生交流時，它才會再次存在。沒有感知就沒有存在。這就是現象學的根源。