Is Reality Discontinuous? by Richard Seltzer

(excerpt from Lenses, a book-length collection of essays, in search of a publisher)

When Isaac Newton published his Principia, explaining the laws of gravity, he presumed that those laws would apply not just for the Earth or our solar system or the observable stars − but everywhere.

A hundred years ago, in A Pluralistic Universe, William James came to a different conclusion. He speculated that reality isn't necessarily neat or logical or predictable. Beauty and simplicity are not synonymous with truth. Rather, the world we live in is messy and full of surprises, and the farther from Earth, the more likely the surprises. He believed that scientists should continually test their assumptions.

Recent books such as The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos both by Brian Greene, Warped Passages by Lisa Randall, and Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku explain the many flavors of string theory, which is a possible successor to quantum theory, which was the successor to relativity, which was the successor to Newtonian physics. These books describe a variety of ways to explain the data that scientists have gathered, such as multiple universes, multiple dimensions, dark matter, dark energy, and negative gravity. They build on the notion that we can understand realms of being that are far beyond our normal experience.

Our ability to make sense of the world around us evolved in this world. Our senses and our reasoning power are adequate for everyday life. But I believe we are not equipped to understand what happens on scales smaller than an electron, or larger than a galaxy, much less in multiple universes.

There is no reason to presume that the universe, viewed through our limited and flawed senses, is simple and logical enough for us to understand it. Rather, the universe may be complex and discontinuous. Natural laws that apply in our solar system and in our galaxy may not apply elsewhere or may not be stable; and if natural laws change, they may not change in predictable ways.

For instance, consider Hubble's Law. As Wikipedia states it, "the redshift in light coming from distant galaxies is proportional to their distance." Our calculations of the distances from Earth to stars and galaxies depend on that principle, presuming that the same natural laws that apply here also apply thousands, millions, and even billions of light years away. That assumption has mind-boggling consequences. If there are, in fact, discontinuities in reality and variations in natural laws beyond our galaxy, then what scientists have concluded about the size and nature and past and future of this universe, much less other universes, is in serious doubt.

We should consider the possibility that reality is messy, and that complex answers may sometimes prove more useful and suggestive than simple ones. Maybe there are two or more realities unfolding in parallel. Blink and you switch to a different life.

While the simplest answer may be the most probable, it may not be the most interesting. And the universe is very interesting.