Parallel universe may refer to:
Science
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Many-worlds interpretation
The many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts that the universal wavefunction is Philosophical realism, objectively real, and that there is no wave function collapse. This implies that all Possible ...
of quantum mechanics, which implies the existence of parallel universes
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Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...
, the sum of all universes, e.g. everything that exists
Philosophy
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Possible world
A possible world is a complete and consistent way the world is or could have been. Possible worlds are widely used as a formal device in logic, philosophy, and linguistics in order to provide a semantics for intensional and modal logic. Their met ...
, a construct in metaphysics to bring rigor to talk of logical possibility
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Modal realism
Modal realism is the view propounded by the philosopher David Lewis that all possible worlds are real in the same way as is the actual world: they are "of a kind with this world of ours." It states that possible worlds exist, possible worlds are ...
, an account of possible worlds according to which they are all just as real as the actual world
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Extended modal realism, the view that all worlds, possible as well as impossible, are as real as the actual world
Arts and media
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Parallel universes in fiction
A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, world, or dimension, is a plot device in fiction which uses the notion of a hypothetical universe co-existing with another, typically to enable alternative narrative possibilities. The su ...
, a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own
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Alternate history
Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
, a genre of fiction in which historical events differ from reality
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Alternative universe (fan fiction)
A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, world, or dimension, is a plot device in fiction which uses the notion of a hypothetical universe co-existing with another, typically to enable alternative narrative possibilities. The sum ...
, fiction by fan authors that departs from the fictional universe of the source work
Literature, film, and television
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"Parallel Universe" (''Red Dwarf''), a 1988 TV episode
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''Parallel Universes'' (film), a 2001 British TV documentary
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Mirror Universe (''Star Trek''), a fictional parallel universe in the ''Star Trek'' franchise
Music
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''Parallel Universe'' (4hero album) or the title song, 1994
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''Parallel Universe'' (Garnet Crow album), 2010
* ''Parallel Universe'', an album by
Plain White T's
The Plain White T's are an American pop rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground followin ...
, 2018
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"Parallel Universe" (song), by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1999
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''Parallel Dimensions'' (album), by Perseo Miranda, 2008
See also
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Metaverse
The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection.
The term ''metaverse'' originated in the 1992 science fiction ...
, a collective virtual shared space
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Alternate reality (disambiguation)
Alternate reality (or Alternative reality, UK English) often refers to parallel universes in fiction, a self-contained separate world, universe or reality coexisting with the real world, which is used as a recurring plot point or setting used in fa ...
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Multiverse (disambiguation)
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that comprise all of reality.
Multiverse may also refer to:
Concept In fiction
* Multiverse (DC Comics), the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics
* Multiverse (Marvel Comic ...
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Otherworld
In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...
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Parallel World (disambiguation) Parallel World or Parallel Worlds may refer to:
* ''Parallel World'' (1983 video game), a video game published by Enix for home computers
* ''Parallel World'' (1990 video game), a video game published by Varie for the Family Computer
* ''Parallel W ...
{{disambiguation