Sunday, May 20, 2018

Science in Fiction (#40): Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris


Welcome to this month's Science in Fiction feature! Science in Fiction is a meme I created to showcase the wonderful aspects of science in Young Adult fiction novels. For more information and previous feature, check out the "Science in Fiction" tag!

This month, I'm featuring Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris!



I read Unraveling years ago, but only very recently read Unbreakable. It's the sequel and conclusion to this science fiction duology, an "older" one in YA. This series is filled with action, tension, and high stakes. I loved the pacing of this novel, and coupled with an intense plot, the story was unbeatable. It's a story dealing with parallel universes and exceptional abilities (in one character's case, anyway). 

So today, I'm going to talk about parallel universes!

I may have talked about this before. It's a strange topic in science because it's not proven - so it's not really science. But just because something isn't known doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I can't provide any facts for you today, but I think it would be interesting to consider the possibility of parallel universes.

I recently read an article, published on May 9th, 2018, about parallel universes. The article, which can be read on Space.com, breaks down five different types of multiverses, which I thought was neat.

1. Infinite universes: space-time is flat and infinite, and many universes exist.

2. Bubble universes: each universe is in a bubble, and it grows within its own bubble. This means that other universes could have completely different laws of physics, which is really, really cool.

3. Daughter universes: think of it this way: for every outcome that a decision could have (at least two outcomes), there is a universe. This is similar to the idea brought about in Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke. That was an excellent book, by the way!

4. Mathematical universes: basically, structural mathematics could vary depending on the universe, and things could be very different without human understanding. This one is kind of vague and doesn't really make sense to me, but I'm sure scientists know what they're talking about.

5. Parallel universes: space-time is flat, the number of particle configurations is limited, and particles repeat themselves in terms of arrangements. This lends itself to the idea that there are many parallel universes, many universes just like ours but slightly different in some way.


Personally, I like the idea of the daughter universes. It is the whole premise behind Dissonance, one of my favorite YA science fiction books. What you could travel to a universe where you could see how things turned out if you made a different decision? That would be neat. And scary too. The parallel universe theory doesn't have a lot of support or science behind it, but it is something cool to think about. For now, we can enjoy the science fiction created from it!

- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Men Like Gods
- "Back to the Future"
- His Dark Materials
- "Stranger Things"
- Dissonance 

5 comments:

  1. I've had this book for over 4 years, sitting on my bookshelf. I was always interested in it, I just keep pushing it back. But you have definitely spark my interest again. Thank you, Alyssa. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. 💋 xoxo

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  2. I love the idea of parallel universes that may excist even if it doesn't have a lot of support with mainstream scientist. Hopefully someday they'll be able to prove or disprove it completely.

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  3. ok this might be a series I need to get into

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  4. Great topic! I would like to believe that parallel universes do exist. I also do enjoy reading about them.

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  5. Ahhh, parallel universes. I do not think I want those to be true, haha :D It caused so much heartbreak in His Dark Materials.. sobs. Oh. Those books. SO GOOD. My poor heart, though. Hmph. But anyway. This is an interesting topic :D And I am curious to know if anything will be proven one day. Thank you for sharing Alyssa. <3

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