What should we call other universes besides 'parallel universes'?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Imranfish
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    Parallel Universe
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the terminology used to describe other universes, specifically questioning the term "parallel universes" and suggesting alternative names. The scope includes conceptual exploration and linguistic considerations related to naming conventions in science.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question why "parallel universes" is the chosen term and propose alternatives like "skew universe" or "skewniverse."
  • One participant draws a parallel to other scientific terms that may be misleading, such as "planetary nebula," suggesting that naming conventions often have historical roots.
  • Another participant discusses the theoretical basis for the term "parallel universes," referencing the idea of n-dimensional surfaces in higher-dimensional spaces.
  • Suggestions for alternative names include "ewniverse" and "boogiverse," emphasizing the imaginative aspect of these concepts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the appropriateness of the term "parallel universes" and propose different alternatives, indicating that there is no consensus on the best terminology.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the subjective nature of naming conventions in science and the influence of historical context on terminology.

Imranfish
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Why is other universes called "parallel universes." Why don't we call it something else like skew universe?
 
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Imranfish said:
Why is other universes called "parallel universes." Why don't we call it something else like skew universe?

Why do we call the color of grass "green"?
 
Far worse names must include planetary nebula (no planets there) or spectrsopic parallax ( no parallax measurements taken). but we live with the name for historic reasons kind of like all language and names.
 
The naming also probably comes from the "theory" that they're parallel n-th dimensional surfaces in an n+1-st dimensional space, where n is just for the sake of example (though it could be 3 or 4, depending on whether we're talking about the "whole" Universe or the Universe at a single point in time wrt one reference frame, or perhaps more if the Universe has more dimensions)
 
Imranfish said:
Why is other universes called "parallel universes." Why don't we call it something else like skew universe?

Sounds like a constructive suggestion. They exist as concepts, so have a name for them.
Maybe in line with your idea call them "skewniverse", for short.

Or even shorter and easier to write, call these imaginary concepts "ewniverse"

or, to emphasize the fantasy aspect: "boogiverse". :biggrin:

I like it. Thanks Imranfish. Welcome to PF!
 

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