Our Place in a Vast Universe *

Scientists have measured that what we can see of space is about a billion billion billion billion billion billion billion billion billion (10 81) times the volume of an average human. Inflationary theory suggests that the entirety of space is vastly larger. Quantum theory suggests that there are very many different copies of space of the same basic kind as ours (same laws of physics). String theory further suggests that there may be many different kinds of space. This whole collection of googolplexes of galaxies within each of googolplexes of different spaces within each of googols of kinds of space makes up an enormously vast universe or multiverse or holocosm. Human beings seem to be an incredibly small part of this universe in terms of physical size. Yet in other ways, we may still be a very significant part of our vast universe.