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Comment from Connor Walsh
Date: March 25, 2009, 4:29 am

Terrific as ever – certainly a good way to start the working day too!

But what’s a wine cup?

Comment from Ryan
Date: March 25, 2009, 11:53 am

Anything with Brian Greene is superb!

Comment from Mediumjones
Date: March 26, 2009, 12:55 pm

Maybe Fred-Allan Wolf & Brian Greene are on to the same thing here. If there is such a thing as ‘multi-verses’ what says we can’t create these with our own mind- living in our own little universes? (ahem… Jad)
A controlled experiment with the LHC certainly would be more logical and straight forward, but maybe we shouldn’t be separating ourselves from this phenomena.

Comment from Ek
Date: March 26, 2009, 1:12 pm

I’d really like to hear Brian Greene’s discussion of the ‘trigger’. Even if, at the end, I’m baffled.

Comment from alexandre van de sande
Date: March 26, 2009, 3:47 pm

Wouldn’t it be ironic if after all the trouble biologist are having to defend evolution, astronomers got to the conclusion that there WAS a creator after all. Just he didn’t do it in seven days, but in half an hour in his kitchen sink.

But i don’t think even prayers can escape the gravitation pull of the black hole, so he is not very much caring anyway.

Comment from Matt
Date: March 27, 2009, 9:25 am

I don’t know if it would be ironic. If the universe has a creator, it wouldn’t necessarily alter the theory of evolution (since evolution is just a minute function of the universe). If the creator is anything like us, he’s probably much more worried about how those supernovi are fucking up his sink.

Comment from Amir Talai
Date: March 27, 2009, 11:50 am

absolutely the worst episode ever. I recommend this show to everyone, and I hope that the people who listen to me dont tune into this one as their first one. Ironic that after re-listening to the ep about the couple in chicago brought together by RL’s ability to make science understandable and interesting and beautiful to the average person, I listen to this one, about something completely theoretical and pointless. Sleep. Music. Morality. Time. Fake Universes you can maybe make in your kitchen. One of these things is not like the other.
(It’s the last one. The boring one.)

Comment from megg
Date: March 27, 2009, 1:34 pm

if you did manage to create a universe in your kitchen, wouldn’t you have to wait something like 13 billion years before it was at the point where you could step through into without being instantly annihilated? ;p

Comment from Bill Siegel
Date: March 27, 2009, 4:03 pm

Really cool stuff but I would really like to get into the sticky complicated stuff like the trigger.

Comment from Aaron
Date: March 27, 2009, 4:19 pm

Amir, this isn’t the first Radiolab episode like this. These are my favorite, but it’s always hard to choose.

I was going to ask the same question as Megg. If you created a universe and entered it, wouldn’t you just asphyxiate instantly? Or be burned alive by super-hot forces or … any combination of awful awful fates?

Comment from Donna
Date: March 27, 2009, 6:33 pm

When is radiolab?!?!

Comment from Donna
Date: March 27, 2009, 6:34 pm

When is radiolab?!?! I never hear it anymore…it used to be on Friday at 3…where did it go!!?

Pingback from Brian Greene on How To Make Your Own Universe « Science and Math Defeated
Date: March 28, 2009, 12:45 pm

[...] Greene on How To Make Your Own Universe By notedscholar According to this radio broadcast, Stephen Hawking’s butt boy, Brian Greene, claims that humans are very close to being able to [...]

Comment from James C.
Date: March 28, 2009, 7:01 pm

Ah man. I was hoping to learn how to make an apple pie from scratch.

Comment from Peter
Date: March 29, 2009, 12:48 am

I too would be interested to hear about the ‘trigger’. I’m no physics expert, but it sounds like a magnetic monopole to me, which I though was banned by one of Maxwell equations . . .

Pingback from New Radiolab: DIY Universe « Velhetica
Date: March 29, 2009, 2:36 am

[...] hole, a dash of reverse-gravity, and a lot of luck. But the laws of physics don’t rule it out. DIY Universe via [...]

Comment from Aaron
Date: March 29, 2009, 9:53 am

Like several of the posts, the universe trigger is really interesting because it pushes the problem of “what got the big bang started” back another level, so we could theoretically say that “something” in another universe triggered our universe. But then we’re left with another question: “what started the universe that then started OUR universe?” and so on and so on… until we get all the way back to the original parent universe. And if we had an idea of how the parent universe could be triggered on it’s own… that would be cool:)

Comment from Dave
Date: March 29, 2009, 6:53 pm

The laws of physics in _our_ universe were defined at the big bang, right?

Is it then possible in theory to influence the laws of physics in the new universe by controlling the way it comes into being?

Hmm… wish we’d heard more about this “trigger.” Wish I were an astrophysicist, too. Maybe in the next universe.

Comment from Lindsey
Date: March 30, 2009, 8:30 pm

Listen I love me some Brian Greene, but this episode was not RL’s best.

It was confusing and short.

Comment from Smooth Criminal
Date: March 31, 2009, 9:41 am

Reminds me of the line from Jurassic Park by Jeff Goldblum’s character, “God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.”

Comment from dave
Date: April 2, 2009, 5:08 pm

So is this how our universe got going?

Some life-form somewhere/somewhen came home tired, stewed and hungry, looked through the fridge, didn’t notice the “Danger –Possible Big Hazard/Experimental Universe Starter” notice in Small Print on the White Container that looked like Chinese Take-out and — without a clue that anything was happening — started our universe when it placed its dinner in the mini-black hole/reverse gravity oven . . .

Who knew?

Three thumbs up !!!

Pingback from how to make a universe… « enigmatic argyle
Date: April 4, 2009, 5:44 pm

[...] installment (episode?) intrigued me enough to start a new story two days later.  It’s called DIY Universe.  Click the link, give it a listen. It’s only 15 or 16 minutes [...]

Comment from John Green
Date: April 6, 2009, 12:02 pm

Have you guys created your own universe? Brian said that you would never be able to come back once you passed through. Based upon how short the shows have become I think this is where you have been spending the majority of your time (in your kitchen sink). If there isn’t another show after March 25 I will know you went through. Good luck.

Pingback from MR. SHIELDS’ CLASS :: Period 4 :: Spring Break HW (#25)
Date: April 6, 2009, 8:35 pm

[...] if you have 17 minutes to spare, I encourage you to listen to the latest Radiolab podcast.  It features our good buddy, Brian Greene, the crazy string [...]

Comment from Patrick
Date: April 9, 2009, 4:43 pm

Loved it! The physics shows are my favorite.

Comment from Maya
Date: April 9, 2009, 11:51 pm

You really need to make Robert’s “Can you make a universe out of a raspberry? Can you make a universe out of a blueberry?” into a ringtone, guys.

Comment from A1 B5JJ
Date: May 18, 2009, 8:32 pm

great show! But – “None of us have experienced any of those things”??? Hmmm, have you talked to any schizophrenics lately? heheh. seriously. But why are their testimonials discounted apriori? Isnt that unscientific? It is a classic example of blinkered thinking that science has encountered so many times in history. Anyway, some are more articulate about it, like the Mahayana Buddhists. If there is one thing that religion can be said to have truly discovered before science, it would seem to be the many-worlds theory. All you have to do is to stop thinking! But, ‘if I am so smart, why can’t I stop thinking’? heheh, like, “How can I be in two places at once, when I am really nowhere at all?”