Are we living in a multiverse?

Are there universes where the laws of physics do not apply, like in the newest Doctor Strange outing?

- STEPHEN KELLY

In a parallel universe, you are writing this article. You're probably doing a better job of it too. That's what the multiverse theory suggests anyway. You will no doubt have heard of it, if not from science then certainly from science fiction. Star Trek, Stranger Things, SpiderMan: No Way Home – TV and film is full of stories set around the idea that our world is but one of many alternative realities. However, with the release of the new Marvel film, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, the theory is set to achieve new heights of popularity. But what exactly is the multiverse? And is there any truth to the idea that in a different reality I'm actually a rich, handsome Premier League footballer?

The multiverse derives from the basic idea that beyond the grand sphere of our observable Universe are entirely different universes, distantly separated from ours. What characterises these universes is up for debate, but Richard Bower, professor of cosmology at Durham University, cites the work of fellow cosmologist Max Tegmark, who has theorised four levels of multiverse.