January 8, 2005: Parallel Worlds - Dr. Michio Kaku

Art Bell welcomes theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku for a wide-ranging exploration of parallel universes, dark matter, and the future of civilization. Kaku explains that string theory predicts millions of possible universes, and that gravity may be the one force capable of traveling between them. He describes dark matter as potentially being shadow matter from a neighboring universe hovering just a millimeter away, invisible because light cannot cross the gap but detectable through gravitational effects.

Art draws connections between the physicist's descriptions and listener reports of shadow people, beings glimpsed only in peripheral vision, often by individuals who spend long hours in front of computer screens. Kaku acknowledges that the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics allows for coexisting realities separated by single quantum events, and that H.G. Wells used the fourth dimension to explain invisibility over a century ago. He outlines how future civilizations might boil space itself at the Planck temperature to open gateways between universes.

The conversation turns to the Kardashev scale of civilizations. Kaku estimates humanity is roughly 100 years from Type 1 status, noting that terrorism represents resistance to this planetary transition. He puts the odds of surviving the leap from Type 0 to Type 1 at roughly 50-50, warning that global warming, nuclear proliferation, and biological weapons all threaten the transition.