Matt and I watched a show on the History Channel last night about parallel universes. I usually don't like that channel because they dumb stuff down so much, but the topic was interesting enough to pull me in anyway. I love that point where real-life science meets science fiction, when physics becomes so strange that it no longer seems like reality. The most interesting part of the show was about an ongoing experiment that's trying to prove the existence of extra dimensions, which would in turn prove the existence of parallel universes. They said it might take billions of tries before the particle reaction they want to see happens. That's persistence, right there.
The other interesting thing about this kind of science is the way it intersects with philosophy. For example, in the multiverse, there are infinite copies of me and they have done every possible thing there is for me to do. There's a me that's a rock star and there's a me that's begging on the street. Everything. This is a problem when it comes to free will. If every choice is made in some universe, is 
there choice at all? Does such a thing exist? And what about morality? I know that it's morally wrong to shoplift, but after all, there's a me that decided not to do it, and there's a me that did it and got away with it, and there's a me that did it and got caught. So doesn't it all balance out in the end no matter what I do?
This kind of thinking makes me unreasonably excited. Matt doesn't understand. I don't think many people would. But today at work, a guy came through my line with some physics books, one of which was about parallel universes. And he totally got it.
I love that about working at the bookstore. When someone brings up something I love, and I tell them I love it too, it's a bit like finding a kindred spirit - especially if the item in question is something pretty obscure. It's a really good feeling, sharing that little smile with them, as if we have some shared secret from the rest of the world.
