Text 1: Physicist Aston argues that the multiverse hypothesis — the idea that countless parallel universes exist alongside our own — is a legitimate scientific theory. Modern cosmology and quantum mechanics both yield equations that, taken at face value, imply other universes. Dismissing the multiverse, Aston writes, is dismissing the predictions of our best theories.
Text 2: Physicist Mehra calls the multiverse a metaphysical extravagance. A theory is scientific, she argues, only if it makes predictions that could in principle be tested. Other universes, by definition, cannot be observed. To call the multiverse a "theory" stretches the word past its useful meaning, even if equations seem to suggest it.
Based on the texts, how would Mehra (Text 2) most likely respond to Aston's claim that dismissing the multiverse means dismissing our best theories?
- A
She would agree that all equation-implied entities are real.
- Bcheck_circle
She would argue that being implied by equations is not enough; testability is required for genuine science.
- C
She would deny that quantum mechanics produces equations.
- D
She would say the multiverse should be accepted because it is mathematically elegant.
Explanation
Mehra distinguishes mathematical implication from scientific status, requiring testability. B captures her position. A and D misrepresent her; C contradicts her.