Everyday Life In a Level IV Multiverse | Unveiled (+Mystery Ep.)

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Everyday Life in a Level IV Multiverse</h4>

Do you ever feel like there’s more to this world than just this world? Do you ever imagine that all that we know could represent just a tiny, tiny fraction of all that there is to know? When it comes to big thinking, it doesn’t get much bigger than the multiverse. But what does this increasingly popular term actually mean? And what would it be like to fully unlock it?

This is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at everyday life in a level four multiverse.

It wasn’t so long ago that ideas on the multiverse were only ever debated by a select few, seemingly crazy, theoretical scientists, physicists, mathematicians and philosophers. Today, though, the multiverse is everywhere. It’s a general concept that has well and truly broken into the mainstream, used (as it is) as a key plot device in so many science fiction storylines. Broadly, it’s the suggestion that there are other universes beyond our own, and usually that every universe combined is in some way connected to an overarching whole that we then call the multiverse.

Still, though, the multiverse isn’t only the plaything for superheroes and comic books, and it remains a deeply serious, potentially life-changing field of technical and scientific research. Many of the world's top thinkers have lent their thoughts to the subject, although today we’re focusing on the ideas of Max Tegmark, in particular. Tegmark is a Swedish-American physicist and MIT professor who’s actually best known for his extensive work on the future and impact of artificial intelligence. However, he has also famously contributed a four-tier model as to how the multiverse might actually work.

Writing for “Scientific American” in 2003, he outlines his parameters. In Tegmark’s multiverse, level one is beyond our cosmic horizon. He describes it as “the least controversial type”, and it concerns the potential infiniteness of the unobservable universe; that is, there’s the possibility for tweaked physics and alter egos somewhere beyond as far as we can see. Next, Tegmark refers to level two as being other postinflation bubbles. Here, he predicts that there could be “an infinite set of distinct level one multiverses, some perhaps with different spacetime dimensionality and different physical constants”. These distinct multiverses would likely exist as though inside bubbles, along another, higher, infinite plane. For level three, Tegmark explains it as being quantum many worlds. It relies on the famous Many Worlds Interpretation, first proposed by the American theoretical physicist Hugh Everett, in 1957. In short, at level three you have all of the multiverses already made possible via levels one and two, only all of that is made infinitely more intricate by the quantum branching of reality at every single moment whenever a decision is made or a random event occurs.

Then, finally, we come to level four. In his piece for “Scientific American”, Tegmark summarizes it as being other mathematical structures. In presenting this, his highest rung to reality, he says; “the initial conditions and physical constants in the level one, two and three multiverses can vary, but the fundamental laws that govern nature remain the same”... but then he asks, why stop there? Why not allow the laws themselves to vary, as well? Now, Tegmark enters into a supreme dimension in which literally anything really is possible. Why not a universe with no quantum effects?, he asks. Why not one where time comes in steps instead of being continuous? Or one where the universe is “simply an empty dodecahedron”?

One of the reasons why Tegmark’s level four immediately demands attention is because it seemingly tackles the eternal problem as to why mathematics is like it is. In general, mathematics is what physicists fall back on last of all, in search of some kind of structure and predictability for the universe. However, at level four, even this is subject to change. It’s the highest level because it’s also the last bastion of conventional scientific thought to give way. So, and to return to our opening question, what would it be like to live at such an exalted state of being?

To start, Tegmark himself concedes that it’s no easy task trying to imagine how level four would work. Writing about the universes allowed at level four, he says; “existing outside of space and time, they are almost impossible to visualize”. Clearly, then, everyday life for a level four entity would be akin to everyday life as the highest of all gods, to our minds. To picture such an existence is to conjure up images of supernatural power and total omniscience. It’s simply not something that the humble human mind, as it is, could properly comprehend. 

A level four might be split, though, between the large and small scale phenomena that it would encounter. On the one hand, at level four you can view an endless tapestry of possible realities, as though from above. Imagine holding a handful of sand on Earth, but then knowing that every grain of that sand also doubles up as an infinite multiverse, in its own right. To us, the multiverse is incomprehensibly huge but, at level four, the lower grades of multiverse are small and insignificant. Could you ever stop to consider every piece of sand as you walked along the beach? Yes or no, that’s the scale at which a level four being would have all of reality laid out in front of them.

On the other hand, however, nothing knows more about the smallest things possible than a level four power. So, regardless of its ability to view even the largest possible structures from afar, it would also know all that there is to know about the quantum realm, as well. Or about the quantum equivalent in all other mathematical universes where quanta isn’t actually present. The Many Worlds Interpretation, while mind-boggling for us, would be mundane to it. The splitting of reality along every possible crevice of chance and decision is something that our science fiction has had a lot of fun with in recent years. But, at level four, it’s as everyday as oxygen.

Next, there’s the question of time. Although, again, even it might not be that important once you ascend to level four, proper. For us, time is everything. Whether or not it’s an illusion, it’s what guides everything we do, every way we live, and it’s what defines every cause and effect in our universe. But, at level four, it may be that time is nothing. That it’s merely a physical property by which some (possibly an infinitely tiny fraction) of universes are governed. Step out of those universes, and perhaps time is no more. Again, at level four anything is seemingly possible.

Of course, the bizarre realization is that if a level four multiverse does exist then we’re already experiencing everyday life within it. Sure, we may only ever know an impossibly small part of what level four is in its entirety, but still… we’re here. 

If Tegmark’s level one rings true, then one implication is that there must surely be different versions of ourselves even within this universe, such is the nature of infinity. If level two hits the mark, then there could well be any number of other lifeforms and environments somewhere beyond the cosmic bubble that we’re ultimately held within. At level three, there’s all of that plus the infinite re-renderings along an endless quantum plane. At level four, there’s all of that plus an infinite number of mathematical reworkings… within which any number of other possibilities could ultimately unfold. But, again, it’s no less true that we already are living everyday life within that higher, grander reality.

Naturally, there are follow-on questions. Not least, are we safe here? And could we ever hope to tap into the higher powers that Tegmark imagines could be possible? In terms of safety, perhaps there’s no knowing… but perhaps it’s also not worth worrying about. It’s a fact of life that there are forces in existence that could snuff us out at any moment, just in this universe. Be that a sudden asteroid strike or the fatal eruption of vacuum decay. And yet, we don’t allow the fear of those to derail our lives or societies… so we shouldn’t really need to ponder level four with particular pessimism, either.

In terms of the potential for human beings to break into the multiverse, at any level, the future is far from clear. Right now, the multiverse, in general, is an idea without empirical evidence. It’s a theory that’s seemingly growing stronger and stronger by the day… but, still, and as with so much else about the true nature of reality, it remains shrouded in mystery.

What do you think? Is the multiverse real? And, if so, could it really be as extensive as Max Tegmark imagines? For now, that’s what everyday life would be like at level four… although whether or not we could ever make it so far, is very much still up for debate.

In the modern world, it seems as though science and technology is developing and improving at a faster than ever pace. Compare where human society was one hundred years ago to where it is today, purely from a technological point of view, and there’s a vast chasm of difference. So much has changed between then and now that, were you to somehow travel back in time to the 1920s to inform people alive then of what was to come, they likely wouldn’t believe you. But equally, when we look into our own future, and try to predict what’s on the horizon, it can be hard to picture how the potential changes could impact humans like ourselves.

So, this is Unveiled, and today we’re exploring what everyday life would be like in a Type Three civilization.

Admittedly, according to almost all projections, even the most optimistic ones, it’s likely going to take a lot longer than one hundred years before we reach Type Three. For our regular viewers, the Kardashev Scale is by now a well-known concept… proposed, as it was, by the Soviet astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev in the 1960s. The Scale famously imagines various levels of future human civilization, beginning at Level One, and rising through Levels Two, Three, and then according to more recent expansions made to it, Levels Four, Five, and beyond. At Level Three - or Type Three - a civilization has harnessed all of the available energy from its home galaxy, which in our case is the Milky Way. But, dwindling as we are at around Level 0.7 at the moment, we’re a long, long way away from that. While estimates do vary, one of the most often-cited ballpark figures comes from the famed theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku, who has predicted that humanity might reach Type Three somewhere between 100,000 and one million years from now.

Nevertheless, we can still dare to dream that we’ll reach Type Three quicker than that. And even if we don’t it’s fun (and maybe even necessary) to consider how a Type Three would work, given the much-debated possibility that if there is alien life out there, then some of it might be operating at that level. So, for the rest of this video, we’re imaging that humankind has soared up the Kardashev Scale and is a Type Three… how does your day start, how does it end, and what happens in the time in between?

Well, when you wake up in the morning, the chances are that it won’t be on Earth. In fact, a Type Three human might not have any recollection of Earth, at all. By this stage, we’re a full-blown intergalactic species. Which means that there would be many, many billions of us, spread out to all corners of the Milky Way, and most likely into other galaxies as well. There may still be some humans on Earth, but whole generations will have by now lived and died on other planets, and in other star systems. The majority of humans will’ve sought pastures (and planets) new. 

Open your curtains (or whatever the Type Three equivalent of curtains is) and you could well be looking out on an alien landscape… but, also, at a sky without an immediately obvious sun. Dyson Spheres are probably the most well-known requirement for a Type Two civilization… that is, one which has harnessed all the energy of its own star. So, by the time of Type Three, Dyson Spheres (or Dyson Swarms) should be standard practice, and potentially every star in the galaxy could be enclosed within one. This wouldn’t automatically mean that everything was dark, though… just that the energy emitted by stars was being wholly controlled, and sent only to where it’s needed. In general, the higher up the Kardashev Scale you climb, the more efficient a civilization should become… so much so that even starlight would now be measured to perfection.

So, you’ve opened your eyes, opened your curtains, now to get out of bed and stretch out your body, ready for the day ahead. Except your body would probably be very different. Some have predicted that, by the time of Type Three, organic humans might be a thing of the past. The unfortunate fact is that our natural bodies, despite all the incredible things they can do, aren’t as efficient as they could be. Bones break, muscles weaken, chemical imbalances happen, and we all inevitably age. There are various routes we could travel down to achieve immortality (if immortality is ever possible) but at the very least members of a Type Three civilization will likely have long been upgrading their bodies, since as far back as Type Two and even the latter stages of Type One. This means your Type Three self could have anything, from reinforced arms and therefore superstrength, to cybernetic eardrums and therefore perfect hearing. And, again, anything your optimum body can do should also be under your complete control. Perhaps, you’d be able to turn your senses on and off… or condition your muscles without ever needing to actually exercise. Once more, efficiency is the name of the game.

Next, it’s breakfast and off to work. Food is almost impossible to predict this far out from Type Three, but you can bet that every last milligram of it will be beneficial in some way. Far future science fiction often substitutes food as we understand it for something much less varied, like a one-a-day pill or drink. In whichever way it’s served, though, there should be no waste whatsoever… and food, like all other energy sources at Type Three, should perfectly suit the needs of the consumer.

The nature of work is equally difficult to predict, particularly as most conceptions of a Type Three civilization foresee robots pretty much everywhere. AI by now should be so common and widespread that it’s barely ever called into question. The use of machines will no doubt have been a major reason as to how humans will have achieved Type Three in the first place, and so - if we were to get to this level - then it perhaps figures that the robots and us would be on good terms. But still, there is a whole lot of energy production that goes into maintaining a Type Three society… so there would likely still be regular old human jobs going, as well. Not to mention any roles that remain in sectors traditionally thought to be less suited to a robot revolution, such as in science, law, or the arts.

The commute to work, though… here’s where we could’ve gone one of two ways. In one version of future humanity, we break the apparent laws of physics and develop a means to travel faster than the speed of light, and we get to work (or anywhere else in the galaxy) that way. In another version of future humanity, we build a massive, wide-reaching, and reliable network of wormholes. Because, ultimately, nothing says technological advancement quite like stepping through a cosmic doorway and emerging out the other side in a different realm of the galaxy! Wormholes are theoretically possible, and they would certainly make the business of harvesting a galaxy’s worth of energy much more feasible… but there’s really no telling whether they ever will or won’t happen. Regardless of how we achieve it, however, a steady, dependable, and fast means of cross-galaxy travel would be a must in a Type Three world.

But finally, what happens after the working day is done? As a member of a Type Three civilization, the literal galaxy is your oyster. You might choose to visit friends on a different planet, to cruise between star systems just because you can, or you might prefer to just stay at home and watch the Type Three version of television. Whatever you opt for, you at least can be safe in the knowledge that your species, humankind, is here to stay. Because were we to reach Type Three on the Kardashev Scale, then we could safely say that almost nothing could threaten our general existence. Whereas now there’s always the vague possibility of an asteroid strike or some other cosmic disruption to wipe out life as we know it, for Type Three beings there’d be no such danger. Comfortably spread out across a galaxy, it would now take a galaxy-wide event to doom us forever. And, even if such an event did take place, what would there be to stop us from just wormholing our way out of the line of fire? Thanks to our technological knowhow, we’ll have reached a stage where even the highest level of disaster couldn’t worry us.

So, all things considered, how would you feel about living in a world like this? At a moment in human history when today’s reality is long forgotten, and all the stars in the sky are reachable? For now, it’s a sci-fi fantasy… but there are many schools of thought to say that it is where we’re heading. And that’s what everyday life would be like in a Type Three civilization.