Are We Living On Someone Else's Fingertip? | Unveiled (+Bonus Ep.)

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Are We Living on Someone Else’s Fingertip?</h4>

From our perspective, the universe is pretty big. 93 billion light years across, and that’s just the observable part of it. The unobservable could well stretch on indefinitely. At last estimate, it’s thought that there could be up to 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, with multiple hundreds of billions of stars in each… and multiple trillions of orbiting planets, journeying around those hundreds of billions of stars. The scale of the cosmos is simply mind blowing. So much so that even the entirety of our planet can begin to feel quite small, once we consider it alongside everything else.

Nevertheless, the stats for Earth are still quite impressive. Our planet has a diameter of 7,926 miles. Its equatorial circumference is 24,901 miles. There’s more than 57 million square miles of land on Earth, while the total surface area is more than 196 million square miles. There are upwards of 10,000 cities, and the global population is now comfortably beyond 8 billion people. And yet, according to multiple theories, all of everything that’s just been listed might also exist inside a wider structure that’s also actually smaller than an atom.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; are we living on someone else’s fingertip?

To start, let’s consider the classic children’s stories by Dr. Seuss, “Horton Hears a Who!” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”. Both are set in the fictional town of Whoville, which is populated by Whos. What’s interesting, though, is that in both stories Whoville exists within a speck of dust, and inside a snowflake in some later retellings. The Whos’ entire reality is held within an entirely insignificant fleck of matter, from our higher plane. On the one hand, it’s a clever storytelling gimmick to set Whoville apart from all other fictional worlds. However, on the other, it’s a possibility that’s no longer thought to be quite so make believe.

We’re part way through the twenty-first century, and theoretical science has learned to incorporate a steady stream of new ideas, theories and breakthroughs. But arguably none has had more of an impact than the ever-growing field of quantum mechanics. The science of the very small - of subatomic particles and physics - has threatened to rewrite everything we thought we knew about how the world works. In general, researchers have continually found that the conventional laws of physics fall apart when we hit the quantum realm, leading to various suggestions as to the structure of the atom, for example, being akin to the structure of the universe. In many ways, both are unknowable.

More specifically, however, due to phenomena such as entanglement and superposition, we know that there are infinite potential variations playing out all the time, forever, at the quantum level. This is especially of interest when it comes to the emergence of quantum computing, as it’s thought that the principles at play could one day lead us to incomparably powerful digital technologies. From another point of view, however, all modern research has really revealed is just how intricate matter can be as we travel deeper and deeper inside of it. Perhaps, after all, something like Whoville could be possible. All it would take is a seismic shift in perspective.

The shift that’s needed arguably happens as soon as you look into black hole cosmology. According to this theory, our entire universe may have originated as a singularity, or a point of infinite density, similar to what we’d expect to discover at the center of a black hole. It then follows that, as this singularity expanded, it created the universe we know today. And indeed, is still creating, as we know that the universe is still expanding. To a point, it’s a model that follows on from the more general Big Bang Theory, which also says that the universe started out as a singularity. The big difference, however, is that black hole cosmology implies 1) a higher plane upon which the conditions for that singularity are made, and 2) that there should be an infinite number of other such singularities, multiplying exponentially as we move up through those higher dimensions. Whenever and wherever there’s a black hole, there could (perhaps should) also be a universe.

Intriguingly, and as with at the quantum level, the laws of physics inside a black hole are believed to be radically different from those outside it. For instance, we know that time can slow down or even stop inside a black hole, once you move beyond the event horizon. Here, then, we find ourselves in a realm where the unpredictable laws of quantum mechanics become dominant. To some degree, just as they already are in the here and now. The key takeaway, though, is that for black hole cosmologists the observable universe is the inside of a black hole. Everything we’ve ever known exists as the eventual singularity, deep within a high enough, massive enough, overriding physical structure. Condense all of that down far enough, and perhaps you do eventually reach a Whoville-like reality; one in which our entire universe is held within just a tiny speck, from the point of view of a higher world and a higher being. We might merely be a quantum fluctuation that occurred within a black hole, that occurred within another, and another, and another black hole, and so on. Making us (and our reality) both tiny and bizarrely distorted.

It’s not as though black hole cosmology is the only theory or concept that’s leading us to just such a conclusion, however. Another is that of quantum (or spacetime) foam, first proposed by the renowned physicist John Wheeler in the mid-1950s. In short, Wheeler suggested that at the smallest scales of spacetime (and we're talking infinitesimally tiny), there exists what can best be described as a foam; the true base layer for physical reality. Wheeler then posited that this foam is made up of constantly fluctuating energy particles forever popping in and out of existence. In more recent times, though, some have pushed this further, asking us to suppose that… if these fluctuations can create virtual particles, could they not also spawn entire universes? Some scientists then theorize that within every particle produced in the foam, there could lie another universe with its own laws of physics. Such universes could then be happening and un-happening all of the time. Birthing and extinguishing, in and out of reality.

Again, this is a more than interesting idea when considered from our perspective, looking down into the general murkiness of the quantum realm. But, zoom out from us, to a higher dimension within which all that we know is tiny, and Wheeler’s quantum foam asks us again to ponder our true place in reality. Could it be that our universe is one that’s also in flux; one that’s also popping in and out of existence? And, if so, how concerned should we be about that? On the face of it, it would imply that our time is supremely short. That we might suddenly find our universe snuffed away into nothingness at any moment. But, then again, there’s also reason not to worry at all.

As with the implications of black hole cosmology, any higher structure that’s even close to following Wheeler’s quantum foam would likely work within entirely different physical parameters. Just as we know that at the quantum level and inside black holes, time becomes distorted and even disappears… we might expect something similar at any version of a higher dimension. This means that, ultimately, it would matter not how long or short, weak or strong our universe might be from a higher perspective… because from our perspective it works pretty well. And, just as most of us give little thought to the subatomic particles that are constantly churning all around us… any proposed higher entity would likely have very little reason to care about us, either.

Which, finally, returns us to the question at the top of today’s video; are we living on someone else’s fingertip? Through the lenses of black hole cosmology and quantum foam, it would appear that the answer is “quite possibly”. For so long as we accept that we don’t know everything (and we certainly do not know everything) then theoretical science will continue to question even the most fundamental aspects of our reality. 

And, in this instance, it may just be that if you zoom out far enough, if you climb the dimensions high enough, if you reconfigure your understanding dramatically enough… then our 93 billion lightyears of universe (and counting) is also condensed into an infinitely small piece of wholly missable matter, idly blown along by a distant cosmic wind, and perhaps settling somewhere on the palm of another entity’s hand.

In science and technology right now, change is in the air. We’re looking at the world in a different way, and quantum physics is fast becoming modern life’s most exciting field of study. So much so that when scientists today consider how to advance humankind… they think subatomically. What will the future look like? The answer, it seems, can be found in the invisible world of the infinitely small.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; what if humanity was a Type Five-minus civilization?

The Kardashev Scale has long been held as the foremost method for measuring societal advancement. Kardashev Type One masters all of the energy of its home planet. For Type Two, it’s the energy of its home star system. For Type Three, it’s of its home galaxy, and so on. But, thanks to the theoretical physicist John D. Barrow, there is another way of approaching the problem.

In his own work, Barrow uniquely reversed the Kardashev Scale into a new system; one that strives for what he called Microdimensional Mastery. In Barrow’s scale, rather than expanding civilizations and ever-increasing units to measure them by (as per Kardashev) success instead comes from mastering increasingly small aspects of reality. 

At the start of Barrow’s list is Type One-minus, which is any civilization able to master anything their own size or bigger. So, anything that’s visible, like towns, cities, buildings, rocks or sand. Then comes Type Two-minus, which relates to anything that can manipulate its own biology, including for organ transplants and gene therapy. And Type Three-minus is able to build new materials out of raw ones, by manipulating molecular bonds. The making of plastics is an example of this.

So, it’s so far so good for humankind. We can pretty much do everything on Barrow’s scale up until this point. With Type Four-minus we begin to enter into the unknown, though, as the main requisite for this civilization type is that they’ve mastered nanotechnology. Today’s tech news is awash with headlines about nanotechnology, yes, but we’re still far from having complete control over it. In fact, it’s a technology sector still very much in its infancy. We took a closer look at this particular level of the Barrow Scale in another video, so check that out after this!

But next comes the main focus of today’s question; Type Five-minus. According to Barrow, a civilization this advanced would be capable of fully manipulating and rearranging an atomic nucleus. They will have zoomed into reality so closely, that even the most fundamental building blocks of it are at their mercy. So, what would it mean if we could do that?

Your first thought might be, “Hang on a minute. Atomic… nucleus… manipulating… haven’t we already done that?”. And, to some extent, we have. The manufacture of atomic weapons has clearly, perhaps irreversibly changed what it’s like to live in this world… and how did we get there? By splitting the atom. By getting to grips with nuclear fission, to produce enormous explosions. A Type Five-minus civilization has more to it than city-levelling superweapons, though. Where with A-bombs it’s essentially about the amount of energy that’s released when an atom is cut open, and the devastating effects thereafter, there’s no such threat with Type Five-minus. Or, not necessarily, at least. And that’s because even at this infinitesimal, subatomic level of smallness, they are in complete control. Yes, they could trigger literally any type of explosion at any moment they wanted to… but they’re also highly advanced beings, so perhaps they wouldn’t be doing that.

Consider that every atom is made up of a combination of protons, neutrons and electrons. The way these are assembled dictates what the atom is, and therefore what it can be used for (and combined with) in our world. Hydrogen, Helium, Lead, Oxygen… they all have their own, unique atomic structure. And when these (and all other atoms) bond together, they form, well, everything. Skyscrapers, spaceships, oceans, forests, our own human bodies… it’s all the result of how various atoms are arranged. For a Type Five-minus, however, all of that is kind of irrelevant to how they would live their lives.

At any time, a Type Five-minus being would be able to precisely change the atoms around them. So, we can quickly see how the applications of this would be limitless. Imagine that you’re trapped somewhere and you’re running out of oxygen… for standard human beings it’s a potential death sentence. But not for a Type Five-minus. They would simply redistribute the atomic nuclei that were at their disposal until, fortunately for all concerned, there is enough oxygen to breathe again. For as long as there are nucleons - i.e., protons and neutrons - of some description near at hand, a Type Five-minus can engineer the atoms they need. In fact, in the previous scenario, they’d feasibly have a choice. Producing oxygen atoms to renourish the body would be one solution; but rearranging their bodies so that they didn’t require oxygen in the first place could be another. Although, on paper, it does seem as though it would be the harder option of the two. 

With control over every single atom, and therefore every single molecule, and therefore every single solid, liquid, gas, material of any kind… a Type Five-minus would have incredible power, from our perspective. As in shapeshifting, produce-stuff-out-of-thin-air superpowers. They’d be able to walk on water because they’d know how to change the atoms of the water (or of their own feet) to make it so. They’d be able to turn water into wine because, ultimately, the difference between the two is in how they’re subatomically put together. They’d be able to produce pure gold out of seemingly nothing, just for the thrill of it. Clarke’s famous third law says “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, and that’s exactly the situation we’d have here. If a modern human were to meet a Type Five-minus being, then their abilities would translate as magic in our eyes.

But would there be any wider consequences in an alternate reality where humanity is a civilization this advanced? There’s no doubt that Microdimensional Mastery to this level would have to be controlled… in the sense that it couldn’t just be everybody doing what they liked, when they liked. Turning a loaf of bread into a stash of diamonds is all well and good, but where does it end? And how quickly before it becomes dangerous? After all, life is predominantly carbon based. So, what would happen if, for example, we began messing with carbon atoms? Multiplying, rearranging or deleting them at will.

It might be argued that, for this reason, we could claim with some confidence that there aren’t any Type Five-minus civilizations in the universe at present, because the natural world from our point of view seemingly obeys a number of rules. No one, it appears, is rewriting the laws of our reality whenever they feel like it - a feat that would be possible for a Type Five-minus. 

It might also be argued that if any civilization were to reach Type Five-minus, they’d inevitably have to do so as a collective - perhaps through a hive mind-like setup - or even as just one individual. The powers that they would have would be so all-encompassing, that everything else in existence would be inescapably below them. Even for a Type Four-minus society which, among other things, would employ a theoretical device known as a molecular assembler to manipulate materials above the atomic level… those guys would still be completely at the mercy of Type Five. And that’s because their (by comparison primitive) assembler could only ever work based on the molecules put into it… which would only ever be dictated by the atoms that make them up… which would always be determined by a Type Five-minus.

And yet John Barrow’s scale of Microdimensional Mastery does have two even higher levels! Type Six-minus, and Type Omega-minus… at which point you’re also in complete control of time. Which, considering the scope of abilities possible that we’ve already seen at Type Five, is pretty mind-blowing!

But, what’s your verdict? Will humankind ever reach these kinds of levels? And if we were Type Five-minus, what would you do with all those extra powers? Fans of Barrow’s inverted Kardashev Scale often highlight a pleasing symmetry between the two systems, because the further along you get with Barrow the more feasible it becomes to achieve the goals that Kardashev set out. Master something as small as the atoms around you, and suddenly bigger things like space travel become more possible. And megastructures. And perhaps even faster-than-light speed. 

It all depends on how far you can zoom in on reality, and on how firm a grip you can gain over it. Theoretically, it’s possible to infinitely change almost everything that exists. And that’s what could happen if humanity were a Type Five-minus civilization.