Shermer and Halpern discuss: definitions of universe and types of multiverses • Is the multiverse science, metaphysics, or faith? • theists claim the “multiverse” is just handwaving around the God answer • many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics? • inflationary and Darwinian cosmology • infinity and eternity • multiple dimensions • string theory • cyclical universes • Big Bounce • Anthropic Principle (weak, strong, participatory) • time travel • sliding doors, contingency, and the multiverse.
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time travel
Paul Halpern — Extra dimensions, Other Worlds, and Parallel Universes
Chris Edwards on Educational Reform and Thought Experiments
Michael Shermer speaks with Chris Edwards about educational reform, his study and teaching of world history, the problems in K–12 education, the zip-code model vs. the seat time model of education and how they result in massively different educational outcomes, how “no child left behind” left children behind, federal vs. state educational systems, and more…
eSkeptic for July 17, 2021
In episode 193, Michael Shermer speaks with Chris Edwards about educational reform and thought experiments. Plus, Harriet Hall, M.D. discusses osteopathy. What is it? What is the difference between an MD and a DO? Should the DO degree be abolished?
eSkeptic for July 13, 2021
From teleportation and space elevators to alien contact and interstellar travel, science fiction and fantasy writers have come up with some brilliant and innovative ideas. Yet how plausible are these ideas? In this lecture from our archives, recorded in February 2014 as part of The Skeptics Society’s Distinguished Science Lecture Series, professor of physics, Dr. Charles Adler, delves into the most extraordinary details in science fiction and fantasy.
eSkeptic for February 28, 2018
In this week’s eSkeptic, Harriet Hall, M.D. (aka The SkepDoc) examines many of the health benefit claims for juicing, and finds them lacking scientific scrutiny.
Dr. Kip Thorne — Gravitational Waves, Black Holes, Time Travel, and Hollywood
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Kip Thorne will reflect on his life and career in theoretical physics, his work on gravitational waves, black holes, wormholes, and time travel, his relationship and bet with Stephen Hawking, and how he came to consult on Carl Sagan’s Contact and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
Back to the Future and Forward to the Past
Chris Edwards reviews “Time Travel: A History,” by James Gleick, examining some of time travel’s logical paradoxes and violations of known laws of physics.
eSkeptic for December 28, 2016
Chris Edwards reviews “Time Travel: A History,” by James Gleick, examining some of time travel’s logical paradoxes and violations of known laws of physics.
Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction
From teleportation and space elevators to alien contact and interstellar travel, science fiction and fantasy writers have come up with some brilliant and innovative ideas. Yet how plausible are these ideas? In this lecture from our archives, recorded in February 2014 as part of The Skeptics Society’s Distinguished Science Lecture Series, professor of physics, Dr. Charles Adler, delves into the most extraordinary details in science fiction and fantasy.
11-03-23
In this week’s eSkeptic, we reprint an essay in which Michael Shermer conjectures about the many paradoxes that arise from theories of time travel. Shermer reviews some of the problems which scientists have determined will relegate time travel to the realm of science fiction.
08-10-15
In this week’s eSkeptic, Tauriq Moosa reviews Michio Kaku’s book entitled Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation and Time Travel.
Parallel Worlds: The Science of Creation, Black Holes, Superstrings, & Higher Dimensions
In Parallel Worlds, world-renowned physicist and bestselling author Michio Kaku takes readers on a fascinating tour of cosmology, M-theory, and its implications for the fate of the universe. Kaku begins by describing the extraordinary advances that have transformed cosmology over the last decade, forcing scientists around the world to rethink our understanding of the birth and fate of the universe…
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