But there are others, each attempting to solve the quantum measurement problem and, in this case, Everett’s formulation. These include the Many-minds interpretation and, my personal favorite, Many-histories.

Interpretations of interpretations, yeah. It’s very messy.

But for now, any thoughts of dimension-hopping adventures and parallel universes are relegated to science fiction. It’s just not possible.

Or is it?

Well, probably not. But let’s ignore the science for a moment and take a quick look at some of the weirder “clues” that maybe, just maybe, we’re living in one of many worlds.

1. Ghosts & Paranormal Activity

So here’s a snapshot of an alleged ghost that popped up at the 16th Century palace of King Henry VIII. It appeared on CCTV footage after security guards were notified of someone repeatedly opening the fire exit. Or so they say.

Beyond ghostly photographs, though, many of these sightings could have an even more exotic explanation: parallel worlds bleeding into one another. A ghost, a specter, the haunting visage of the deceased — perhaps this person is alive and well in another world, and you’ve simply caught a glimpse into their universe.

Or perhaps this particular “parallel universe” is the realm of the dead, itself!

2. Déjà vu & Alter vus

A Déjà vu is one of several strange phenomena of the mind (including Déjà vecu and Déjà Visité, among others). Déjà vu, in particular, is the uncanny sensation that you’ve experienced something before, that an event is repeating itself. With Déjà vecu, you may even feel that you know what’s going to happen next.

An Alter vu, as well, is a term that popped up during the John Titor saga to describe when someone remembers their worldline differently. Conflicting memories, something changed about the world they live in. Think about Marty McFly at the end of Back to the Future; he’d remember the name of the mall as Twin Pines Mall, but due to his time travel, it’s changed to Lone Pine Mall.

He remembers both realities.

Both experiences have neurological and memory-based explanations, but is it possible that Déjà vus are “memories” from other versions of ourselves in other universes, or that Alter vus are truly memories from altered worldlines?

3. Dreams & Parallel Universes

If sleep is a little slice of death, then what are dreams?

Some dreams we remember, most we don’t. While the mechanism for dreaming is fairly understood (they tend to occur during REM sleep), we still don’t know their true purpose, if there is one. A glimpse into the unconsious mind, a way for our brains to sort out information?

Or could they be windows into another world?

Read more about the strange nature of dreams: Lucid Dreaming and the World Within Your Mind // Time Traveling In Your Dreams

4. Parallel Universe Stories

Believe it or not (probably not), but there have been a few cases of individuals who claim to belong to another world, or whose origins otherwise could not be traced. True, false, I don’t know.

Consider these two stories:

1. Lerina García, who woke up one day in a world — our world — that did not belong to her.

According to the story, as her day progressed she continued to notice “small incongruities,” little things that were just off. But there were big things, too:

“So I went to work in my car, which was parked where I’d always parked, and it was the same office I’d worked in for the last 20 years. But when I got to my department, it wasn’t my department. It has names on the door and mine wasn’t on it. I thought I was on the wrong floor, but no, it was my own floor. I went over to the office’s wireless section and looked myself up. I still worked there, but in another department, reporting to a superior I didn’t even know.”

2. A strange man who arrived in Tokyo in 1954 with a passport from a country that didn’t exist, called Taured. Japanese customs officials detained the man, but his passport was not a fake: it had the proper stamps, was issued by the country of Taured, and even included Japanese stamps from a previous visit. The man swore that Taured was a European country that had existed for 1,000 years, and he also held other papers, such as bank statements, with the country’s name on them.

After several hours, customs officials eventually placed the man in a hotel, with security nearby to ensure that he did not leave his room, while they checked things out.

The next morning, he was gone. No trace. A manhunt ensued, but there was no point; he had simply vanished.

Obviously, the veracity of these two stories can’t be confirmed, at least to my knowledge. But you work with what you have, you know?

So, do parallel universes exist?

The above “clues” are just some possibilities that I find intriguing, not that I believe any of them. But the universe is a strange place. What do you believe?

Image credits: Joan Sadler, Mo Riza, Janet Ramsden, Cali4beach

The post 4 Weird “Clues” That Parallel Universes Exist appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.

Don’t ever let anyone take your picture! How many times do we have to go over this? Not taking the proper precautions during your impromptu time voyages could easily create a time paradox, the result of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe!

But whatever. No one listens. Here are five examples of high-profile celebrities who just can’t seem to follow the rules…

Jay-Z in 1939

In this photograph, we see rapper Jay-Z as he takes a short break from the modern age and zips back to Harlem, 1939.

Yeah, real cool. You hear that sound in the background? That’s the Horsehead Nebula exploding into a billion billion tiny bits of fractured space-time. Oh, but it gets worse…

Nicholas Cage in 1870

This old-timey photograph clearly shows everyone’s favorite madman, Nicholas Cage, during a brief stop in Tennessee circa 1870. The photo popped up on eBay a couple years ago, with the seller claiming that Cage is, in fact, “some sort of walking undead / vampire,” capable of reinventing himself “once every 75 years or so.” But we all know the truth.

Put the Flux Capacitor away, Mr. Cage.

John Travolta, Victorian Style

This one, an ambrotype of John Travolta in the Victorian era, also ended up on eBay. Oh, what’s that? These are just lookalikes and the people who listed the photos on eBay were just having a laugh? I don’t understand the question and I won’t respond to it.

Keanu Reeves, the First Immortal

And this painting, which can apparently be found in at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, showcases who else? Keanu Reeves. It’s titled “Portrait of a Man.”

Whoa.

But wait, there’s more.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Keanu Reeves and French actor Paul Mounet, who lived from 1847-1922. And, just to round things out, here’s another comparison of Reeves over the years:

Vampires, time travelers. Do we have to be particular? In this case, one of three things is happening: either Keanu Reeves is a time traveler, a top-secret cloning experiment, or an immortal who feasts on the blood of young virgins every Halloween. The guy doesn’t age.

Michael Cera, Circa 1930s

And finally, here’s a black-and-white photo of Michael Cera as he parties away (albeit uncomfortably) among the fine ladies of 1930s Germany.

He was so excited to hear that Netflix picked up Arrested Development for a fourth season (releasing this Sunday!?!) that he harnessed the power of a supernova ala Doctor Who and ripped a hole in the space-time continuum. He also may or may not have played a role in igniting WWII.

I just hope it was worth it, Mr. Manager.

So remember, folks: if you’re going to travel through time, wear a big hat or something. And put your cell phones away. Sooner or later the whole universe is going to go POP! and this is why.

The post Top 5 Celebrity Time Travelers appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.

I never owned an R-Zone, myself, but I know all about Tiger electronics. Just ask my Game.com.

(ProTip: just randomly checked Wikipedia and I came across this quote: “It is thought that this original design, including the red color scheme, was designed to capitalize on popular buzz for the Nintendo Virtual Boy at the time.” Aheh.)

Anyway, the video’s pretty funny, just for the R-Zone alone. Special guest appearance by Perfect Strangers star Mark Linn-Baker.

How are you feeling about the future of Google Glass? Or would you rather play some LCD games?

The post Video: Google Glass vs. the 1990s appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.

The above trailer gives us our first real taste of Europa Report, an upcoming science fiction film that follows six astronauts on their journey to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. As you would expect, things go terribly wrong when they get there.

“Our best hope of success lies under the ice.”

The trailer begins with a newscast of the launch of the Europa One spacecraft, and shots of an interview with Sharlto Copley’s character (“Who are we, where do we come from, and are we alone?”). From there, it’s a quick degeneration into chaos, as the international crew arrives on Europa and all hell breaks loose.

The action in Europa Report is told in the “found footage” format, with static shots from cameras placed around the spacecraft and on the astronauts themselves. As far as that goes, everything seems pretty authentic — the outside shots of the spacecraft look like something you’d find on a direct feed from NASA.

I’m also getting some strong Sunshine vibes here, a movie I enjoyed but felt went a little too weird near the end. Hopefully Europa Report wrangles the fantastic sci fi terror and gives us a slightly more realistic view of humanity’s encounter with…whatever seems to be going down on Jupiter’s moon.

In fact, io9 shared a brief review of the film earlier this month, and they lobbed on some pretty heavy praise (“Europa Report is hands down the most painstakingly accurate space movie we’ve seen in ages,” they say). I’m excited, but we’ll see.

The real highlight, though, is this: Europa Report will be available for download on iTunes and Video on Demand on June 27, 2013, five days before it hits theaters on August 2. That’s the future, ladies and gentlemen.

Oh, and if you haven’t already, check out the website for Europa Ventures LLC, the fictional private corporation that launched the mission. You’ll find “live” video of the Europa One crew as they make their journey through space, and a bunch of pages that require a login.

Anyone know the password, yet?

The post Europa Report: Maybe We Should’ve Just Sent Another Robot appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.

“Content of this presentation is all based on what clients have told us they hear through my work as a mental health outreach worker.

This is designed to provide the listener with some idea of what it might be like to experience auditory hallucinations.”

I can’t vouch for it’s accuracy, but put on some headphones and give it a listen.

From Wikipedia:

“There are three main categories into which the condition can often fall: a person hearing a voice speak one’s thoughts, a person hearing one or more voices arguing, or a person hearing a voice narrating his/her own actions. These three categories do not account for all types of auditory hallucinations. However, individuals may hear voices without suffering from diagnosable mental illness.”

The post Ever Wonder What An Auditory Hallucination Sounds Like? appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.

NASA has just awarded a $125,000 grant to Anjan Contractor to create a 3D printer that prints…food.

The printer, based on open-source hardware called RepRap, will use a kind of nutrient powder and oil to construct foods, which will be available in specially-designed cartridges.

And the first item on the menu? Pizza.

Hungry?

Work on the printer will actually start in a couple weeks, and they chose pizza because, well, it’s a fairly easy food to put together.

First, a layer of dough will be “printed” onto a heated plate, which will cook as the second layer — a tomato sauce made of the aforementioned nutrient powder, water, and oil — is applied on top. Then it’s the “protein layer,” which at this point could be made of anything, including algae, grass, or insects. I really don’t know.

Of course, I’m not sure how a 3D-printed pizza would actually taste, but the goal here isn’t necessarily to make something that tastes good. Rather, the goal is to supply much-needed nutrition over long periods of time. And, in case of NASA’s grant, while on a lengthy voyage to Mars.

Not only would this technology make long trips through space more viable — the nutrient powders for the machine could last up to 30 years — it would also serve to feed a growing population right here on Earth.

Now, me, I’m still waiting for my hydrator like the one in Back to the Future II. Wake me up when someone makes one of those.

Source: There’s An Audacious Plan To End Hunger With 3-D Printed Food

The post NASA Grants Funding for Food Printer, Orders A Pizza appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.

A Robot Future: Sooner Than You Think?

In an article for Mother Jones, Kevin Drum gives us a (somewhat) optimistic look at our future “robot paradise.”

Evoking Moore’s Law, he predicts that by 2025 we will have developed a computer “with the processing power of the human brain,” and that by 2040 our robotic future utopia (or nightmare, depending on your point of view) will finally be realized.

Sound optimistic? It is. But with the good comes the bad.

It will be a paradise, says Drum, because robots will make life easier and perform menial tasks without complaint. It will be a nightmare, on the other hand, because this new technology will rob us of jobs and, if we’re not careful, wreak havoc on the economy. As far as the latter is concerned, we’re already getting there.

Read it: Welcome, Robot Overlords. Please Don’t Fire Us?

Plugging Into The Cloud

In response to Drum’s article, The Economist takes the idea of a future “robot paradise” one step further, highlighting the wireless/Cloud nature of modern devices and what that might mean for human brain-computer interfaces:

“Brain-computer interfaces are still in their infancy, but there’s no reason to suppose they won’t progress just as rapidly as AI itself. By 2040, people may well be communicating directly with servers through chips implanted in their brains, which is to say they may be communicating telepathically with each other. If two servers at Google headquarters are both part of Google, what are two humans linked by a terabit-per-second direct neural link? Ten humans? A million?”

Imagine plugging your brain into a computer and suddenly having access to all the information on the Internet, and seemingly-telepathic communication with other humans. What would that experience be like, and would this change what it means to be an individual human? Likewise, would human-like intelligent robots ever be treated as “people” if they acted more as a hive mind than as individuals?

While Kevin Drum wonders how we’ll deal with the economics of a robot-driven future, The Economist is more interested in the sociopolitical reality of artificial intelligence and the human-computer interface scenario outlined above.

Read it: In the long run, we are telepathic androids

I Am Not A Robot…Yet

There’s another possibility on this strange road to our future robot utopia: that we remove the interfaces altogether, and humans and robots become one.

My personal thoughts regarding “robot uprisings” have always been that it won’t be a swift revolution, but a gradual change. Specifically that, given the way we already integrate technology into our lives, in the future there won’t be this clear distinction between technology and humans. We will be, for better or worse, completely integrated.

Ultimately, I think Kevin Drum’s prediction of a “robot paradise” by 2040 is amazingly optimistic, and even the idea of brain-computer interfaces leaves me skeptical, at least for now. How can we create human-like artificial brains, or even brain interfaces, when we don’t even fully understand the real ones?

Controlling a 3D-printed hand is one thing, actually communicating over a network with your mind is another. I feel like we’re vastly underestimating the true capability and complexity of the human mind, here.

Then again, I’m neither or neuroscientist nor or a roboticist, so I’ll leave that to the experts.

Anyway, as always, let’s ask my good friend Tara the Android how she feels about our inevitable slide into robot supremacy:

Fantastic.

Image credit: Ricardo Diaz

The post Are You Ready For Our Future Robot Utopia? appeared first on Stranger Dimensions.