Truth in Science

POP. What are the chances that an everyday object – a rock, a chair, you name it - could suddenly appear out of thin air? Not zero, surprisingly. In fact, given enough space and time, it is conceivable that a conscious being could arise, even if only for a microsecond.

So writes Mason Inman, a freelance Journalist in an article entitled "Spooks in Space" which appeared in New Scientist on the 18th August.

The article describes theoretical work currently undertaken by astrophysicists and cosmologists based on pioneering work by Ludwig Boltzmann, a 19th Century Austrian physicist. In those days, long before any notion of the Big Bang, Boltzmann questioned whether the Universe could have arisen from a thermal fluctuation. In particular, he also considered the statistical probability that a conscious entity could have appeared spontaneously. These entities have been called “Boltzmann Brains”.

According to Inman:

The idea sounds absurd, but it is helping cosmologists grapple with models of the universe, and our place in it.

The scientist at the heart of the current debate is Alex Vilenkin, Director of the Institute of Cosmology based at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Professor Vilenkin has been doing research in cosmology for more than 25 years. He has published over 170 research papers, a monograph on “cosmic defects”, and a popular book, "Many Worlds in One: the Search for Other Universes". Dr. Vilenkin is best known for his theories of eternal cosmic inflation, creation of the universe from nothing, and for his ground-breaking work on cosmic strings. He has also studied the implications of the possible existence of multiple universes. An interesting interview with Alex Vilenkin is available as a podcast. 

In his article in New Scientist, Mason Inman considers the likelihood that Boltzmann brain phenomena could occur. He quotes Andrei Linde who is Professor of Physics at Stanford University in California. According to Inman, Linde has stated:

It looks like a miracle, not entirely impossible, but just extremely improbable.

All of these ideas have led to novel theories regarding multiple universes, eternal inflation and the emergence of “pocket universes”. Apparently, these pockets can grow infinitely large and the spontaneous appearance of Boltzmann brains becomes inevitable. In fact, cosmologists believe that Boltzmann brains could outnumber ordinary brains (i.e. you and me) given enough time (and space). This is unsettling some cosmologists and apparently, Don Page, the Professor of Physics at the University of Alberta, has suggested that “our universe must have a self-destruct mechanism to kill it off before Boltzmann brains can dominate”.

According to Inman:

There is no consensus yet, and experiments cannot test these proposals. Page says we’re still “babes in the woods” when it comes to grappling with the multiverse.

Isn’t it interesting that New Scientist and leading scientific journals can happily publish these experimentally unproven ideas and yet castigate as unscientific those who would maintain that is rational to consider intelligence as the source of design so apparent in the universe and in nature?

The irony is truly a bolt from the blue … POP.