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So, I was watching Doctor Strange (2016) (cracking film, by the way) and I realised something odd.

The Ancient One says during an early section, before Strange's training properly starts, that believing in an infinite multiverse also means believing in infinite dangers or something close.

Later on in the film we of course meet the Dark Dimension. It's the Dark Dimension - only one, or so it's implied. But surely, in an infinite multiverse, there will be at least one, if not an infinite number of dimensions/universes in which everything is almost exactly the same, with only small differences, for example the sky is a slightly different colour. Something negligible. So why is there only one Dark Dimension? (For that matter the same thing happens with the Mirror Dimension.)

LogicDictates
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C. R. Yasuo
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  • I think it means there is an infinite number of various dimensions, not infinite copies of the same one. – Gallifreyan Mar 20 '17 at 20:08
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    Plus, infinite copies of infinite dimensions would be a different order of infinity. – Seeds Mar 20 '17 at 20:52
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    @Gallifreyan I think Callack means there are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. So there are also a (smaller) infinite number of numbers between 0.506 and 0.507: I.e. more or less 0.506. So if in this analogy 0.506 is the dark dimension there should be infinite universes which as as like the dark dimension as to make no difference – user20310 Mar 20 '17 at 21:07
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    Perhaps dimensions and universes are not the same thing. Also, perhaps there actually isn’t an infinite multiverse. This ain’t The Flash! – Paul D. Waite Mar 20 '17 at 23:28
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    @Seeds, taking a cross product doesn't increase the order of an infinite set. You have to take a power set to do that. – Harry Johnston Mar 21 '17 at 02:35
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    IMO, saying "The" Dark Dimension just means "the particular Dark Dimension that is currently a threat to us". It's like when you talk about "the enemy" you don't necessarily mean they're the only enemy, just the one you're fighting right now. – Harry Johnston Mar 21 '17 at 02:38
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    @user20310: There are exactly as many numbers between 0.506 and 00.507 as there are between 0 and 1. The definition of an infinite set (in at least some formalizations) is that it can be put into one-to-one correspondence with a subset of itself. (In the case of (0,1) & (0.506,0.507), for every x in (0,1), x/1000+0.506 is in (0.506,0.507) ) – Martin Bonner supports Monica Mar 21 '17 at 07:43
  • @Seeds In general no they wouldn't. Infinite copies of infinite copies under most normal assumptions just give you the same amount of copies. – DRF Mar 21 '17 at 08:08
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    You can have an infinite number of apples and not have any oranges. – Ghotir Mar 21 '17 at 12:54
  • @DRF I was think more along the lines of a continuum, which rates an aleph one designation. – Seeds Mar 21 '17 at 14:23
  • @Seeds That doesn't change anything. The point is (and since you know the aleph notation I'll use it) for any $\alpha$ $\aleph_alpha$ many $\aleph_alpha$'s have size $\aleph_alpha$. In particular aleph one many copies of aleph one still only have aleph one elements. – DRF Mar 21 '17 at 14:31
  • Ah, I see the misunderstanding, I was using the premise that the dimensions in an "infinite multiverse" was an aleph null set. (countable) But that what it wasn't, was a continuum, an aleph one set. Hence my initial comment. :) – Seeds Mar 21 '17 at 14:36
  • @seeds Right but countably many countable sets (aleph null) are countable unless you drop AC. To get to an uncountable cardinality you have to work harder. also just as an aside the continuum is only size aleph one rarely.:) – DRF Mar 21 '17 at 16:50
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    My 20th March 2017 variant was an idiot. The MCU is now effectively The Flash. – Paul D. Waite Aug 04 '21 at 21:42

4 Answers4

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Infinite universes is not the same as every possible universe existing in every possible variation. There are infinite real numbers, but only one of those is zero, and none of them are the square root of -1.

Stephen Collings
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    But an infinite number are almost zero; e.g. 0.00000001 – user20310 Mar 20 '17 at 21:15
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    @user20310 - But none of them are almost sqrt(-1). ;) But if you prefer, think of the positive integers, which are also infinite in cardinality, but all at least 1 unit away from zero. – Adamant Mar 20 '17 at 21:16
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    Which raises the natural question of whether the multiverse is countable. – eyeballfrog Mar 20 '17 at 23:51
  • @eyeballfrog: Not sure it's relevent. If if it is uncountable, they might all still differ from eachother by "at least 1 unit", and then this point stands. – Mooing Duck Mar 21 '17 at 00:00
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    @eyeballfrog If you add up all the countable infinite universes you get -1/12. – Ber Mar 21 '17 at 01:32
  • Onthe other hand, if the multiverse is uncountably infinite, that means there's an infinite number of similar universes. But if chaos applies to each one then they would only be similar at a particular moment, and diverge before and after that. You could get a planet where everyone has no eyes, or a pirate planet, but the question is whether it's impossible or merely improbable that you get a pirate planet that is also exactly like Earth's history. – Ber Mar 21 '17 at 01:36
  • There's no such thing as "almost zero". Zero has unique properties that no other number has, no matter how close you get. – Stephen Collings Mar 21 '17 at 13:07
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In my opinion, it's because universes and dimensions are different: universes are about size, while dimensions are about composition.

Think of a universe as a painting: you can have an infinite number of paintings, all of which are unique; however, they are all 3-dimensional, and every dimension is the same for each of them - what makes a painting different is not more dimensions but its presence or value in each of the dimensions in which it is expressed.

That way, the dark dimension can be infinitely large (every universe can have a dark dimension "value") and yet unique. It also ties in with how it's "invading" our dimension: universes that before had no dark presence now have one and have less "light" presence. The mirror dimension might work similarly.

Juan Carlos Coto
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  • This was actually the answer I thought of just as I posted a question. To me it makes the most sense in context so I'm marking it right. Thanks for answering all. – C. R. Yasuo Mar 23 '17 at 17:31
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Because it's probably the only dark dimension they know about and they have to call it something.

In a universe with an infinite number of dimensions and an infinite number of possible dark dimensions, there is still only one Dark Dimension. The Dark Dimension is the name given to the single dimension containing Dormammu. The name may describe its properties and may be vague enough to match any number of other dimensions, but it's still just the name given to a single unique one.

I'd imagine it's the only dimension of its kind known to The Ancient One, otherwise it'd probably be known by a more descriptive name.

TheIronCheek
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  • If there were more than one with those properties, they would probably be called Dormammu's Dark Dimension, Dirmemma's Dark Dimension, Bongaggu's Dark Dimension etc. Presumably, Dormammu is unique being, because it both a being and dimension. I assume like you do, that it is an issue of naming. First time you see something, it needs to get named. Like ancient Egyptian name for cat was mau. First sorcerer supreme: What are you? Dormammu: Dormammu? ("what did you say?" in ancient language of Dark Dimension) First sorcerer supreme: Dormammu it is. – jo1storm Sep 03 '21 at 07:28
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There’s more than one Dark Dimension in the multiverse.

surely, in an infinite multiverse, there will be at least one, if not an infinite number of dimensions/universes in which everything is almost exactly the same, with only small differences, for example the sky is a slightly different colour

Maybe, maybe not. We have a limited understanding of the rules the MCU multiverse operates under, and I'm sure the writers don't want to invent them until they come to actually write stories that depend on them.

One such story that features "the" Dark Dimension is What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? This features an alternate universe, where Doctor Strange does some... inadvisable things with the Time Stone. We see the Doctor Strange of this universe confront and defeat Dormammu in the Dark Dimension, much as our Doctor Strange did in his movie.

As such, presumably both the regular MCU, and the alternate universe portrayed in this episode, each have their own version of the Dark Dimension, as we didn't see two Doctors Strange in there bargaining Dormammu right in his big ugly face.

Paul D. Waite
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  • The Dark Dimension is "A world beyond time". So, Strange appears at the same time or not to Dormammu and so Dormammu should notice this. If it was the same across them all I'd note we'd probably see an indication of that but we don't. – TheLethalCarrot Sep 02 '21 at 15:03