Why is the electron's mass such a strange value? Professor Yasunori Nomura, astrophysicist, discusses the "Multiverse" and the profound reason for our existence.

This reality we accept as ordinary every day. When we wake in the morning and look up, the sun shines brightly; beneath our feet, the earth spreads out with reliable gravity; and from the smartphone in our hands, countless pieces of information overflow as electrical signals.Yet, when we reexamine this utterly ordinary daily life from the forefront of science, we realize this universe is actually “tuned with an almost unnatural precision.” It stands upon a miraculous balance, as if someone had meticulously adjusted an intricate dial to the millimeter, assuming our very existence.

The insights shared by Professor Yasunori Nomura, a theoretical physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, on the TBS program “CROSS DIG 1on1,” delivered a paradigm shift that challenges our common sense and naive view of the universe.The theme: “Multiverse (Theory of Multiple Universes).” This term, once confined to the realm of science fiction movies and comics, is now discussed as a central proposition of pure “science” – one that leading physicists seriously debate and explore through complex equations.

Why does the electron’s mass have the seemingly arbitrary and random value of “0.51099895000 MeV”? Why does the universe continue its accelerated expansion? And what does the “I” or “reality” we absolutely believe exists refer to, physically speaking?

This article uses these fundamental physics questions as a starting point. Drawing from Professor Nomura’s cutting-edge cosmology, we will delve deep into the true nature of the universe and the meaning of our existence here. Let’s embark together on a journey to “profound truths” that will fundamentally alter how you perceive the world before and after reading. Your very perception itself holds the key to unlocking the structure of the universe.

Overview and Core Message: The “Disruption of Common Sense” Presented by the Latest Physics

The most powerful message Professor Nomura conveyed throughout the program is this: “The multiverse is a scientific conclusion derived strictly from the latest observations and theoretical necessity. It is not a convenient fantasy or philosophical idea concocted by humans.“

The history of human science has always been a painful process where our “self-centered view of the universe (geocentric theory, etc.)” was thoroughly shattered, and knowledge was updated toward “more universal and vast structures (heliocentric theory, the true nature of the solar system, the discovery of the Milky Way, etc.).”From an era when the solar system was thought to be the entire universe, our understanding expanded boundlessly: first to the discovery of the “galaxy” composed of countless stars, then to the “expanding universe” containing countless galaxies. Professor Nomura states that the multiverse concept is merely an extension of this, a natural process of updating our knowledge.

The environment of Earth, where we live, is incredibly fortunate. Its distance from the Sun, abundant liquid water, moderate atmosphere, and the presence of complex organic compounds necessary to nurture life. Furthermore, the parameters of the elementary particles that form the fundamental building blocks of matter (such as mass and the strength of forces) are set with a precision so “miraculously” fine-tuned that they enable the emergence of complex life.

How can we logically explain this overwhelming miracle without assuming a transcendent creator-like entity? The conclusion reached is accepting the fact that “even the physical laws we know are not absolute, but merely one pattern among the countless patterns bubbling up in the universe.” This is the core of the multiverse pointed to by the latest quantum gravity theories and string theory.

The fact that Earth is a miraculous planet teeming with life is simply explained by the logic that “with hundreds of billions of stars and the astronomical number of planets orbiting them, it’s not at all surprising that at least one planet might ‘just happen’ to have a favorable environment.”Professor Nomura stated that multiverse theory is a logical extension of this extremely pragmatic “shotgun approach” logic, applied to the very probability of the universe’s existence itself.

The Shocking Truth Behind the Electron’s Mass: “0.51099895000 MeV”

“The weight of an atom… for example, the weight of an electron is 511 point something—just some arbitrary number. No one deliberately set it to that value, right? Theoretically speaking, there’s absolutely no reason for it to be such a specific value.”

Professor Yasunori Nomura

In the world of physics, particles (elementary particles) exist as the most fundamental units composing all matter. Electrons, quarks, neutrinos, and others fall into this category. According to Professor Nomura, the masses of elementary particles as indicated by the current physics “Standard Model” are not determined by some beautiful mathematical formula or symmetry (such as a beautiful structure where everything follows a clear rule like 1:2:3).

Rather, they take on random, “half-baked” values, as if no one deliberately chose them, or as if God casually rolled a die. As the title suggests, the mass of the electron we know is “0.51099895000 ± 0.00000000015 MeV” – a number that cannot be neatly divided and for which no inherent necessity can be found.To this day, no mathematical elegance or theoretical justification for why this specific value must hold has been discovered.

Yet, an extremely important and terrifying fact emerges here. What if the electron’s mass—this “random number with no inherent necessity”—had been even slightly (by a few percent) heavier or lighter than its current value? What would our universe have become?

First, the orbits of electrons circling atomic nuclei would drastically change, fundamentally collapsing the very mechanism of chemical bonding that connects atoms. If that happened, complex macromolecular structures like DNA, based on carbon’s covalent bonds, could never have emerged, and proteins—the source of life’s activity—would not form.Furthermore, the impact would extend to the macroscopic scale, disrupting the nuclear fusion processes occurring at the cores of stars. Stars would cease to shine, and stars reaching the end of their lives would no longer scatter the heavy elements essential for life throughout space (via supernova explosions).

In other words, despite being a “random number with no apparent reason,” its value lands perfectly within the “incredibly precise sweet spot” required to give rise to life (the observer) with its complex information-processing capabilities. This excessively precise adjustment is called the “fine-tuning problem,” which has greatly perplexed physicists for many years.

Once, great physicists like Einstein himself strongly believed that “once the ultimate unified theory is found, it should prove the necessity that these numbers could only be these values.” In a sense, it was also a romantic quest to find “God’s equations” using the weapon of science.

However, the relentless progress of modern physics is shattering that excessive expectation. The numbers themselves hold no intrinsic meaning. Yet, for life to exist, they must be precisely those seemingly arbitrary values. Objectively and calmly confronting this paradoxical fact triggers a paradigm shift and marks the first step toward the true multiverse.

The Multiverse Proves Our Inevitable Existence: “Try Enough Times and You’ll Get Lucky”

“The moment you say ‘there are universes like this,’ it ceases to be a mystery. You try different places, and this one worked out—this one had Earth, where humans could live comfortably.”

Professor Yasunori Nomura

If we assume this observable universe is the “only one” absolute reality, we fall into an infinite loop, a bottomless swamp of “Why?”—why did the electron’s mass, such a mediocre value, coincidentally become the miraculous value necessary to create life?The only paths left are to flee into Intelligent Design theory, assuming a transcendent being designed it with such precision, or to uncritically accept what amounts to an astronomical improbability as mere chance. This is, undeniably, a highly unsatisfactory conclusion for scientific inquiry.

However, cutting-edge quantum gravity theories aiming to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity (particularly inflation theory explaining the universe’s initial expansion and string theory) revealed an entirely different landscape.Trusting the equations of these theories and pushing calculations to their extreme limits leads to the conclusion that, in the initial stages of the universe’s birth, countless universes continuously bubble up like foam on boiling water. Even more astonishingly, it has become clear that each of these born bubbles (individual universes) possesses distinct properties: different masses for elementary particles, different spatial dimensions, and even fundamentally different sets of physical laws.

In other words, the parameters of our universe are not an absolute necessity bestowed by a creator, but merely one of the infinitely possible outcomes of a dice roll. If, as superstring theory predicts, an unimaginable number of universes—said to be “10 to the 500th power”—exist with vastly different patterns, then the emergence of a few universes possessing the “miraculous conditions” allowing complex chemical reactions is, statistically speaking, extremely natural—indeed, almost inevitable.

This perspective resonates beautifully with concepts like “dependent origination” in Eastern philosophy and Buddhism’s core teaching of “form is emptiness.” “Form” (physical entities or the immutable laws we observe) is not a fixed, absolute truth. It is merely a temporary manifestation arising from the ocean of “emptiness” (infinite potential), capable of changing in any way depending on conditions and circumstances.

The multiverse perspective can be seen as using cutting-edge equations to validate, in our modern age, a profoundly enlightened, fluid, and selfless view of the universe: that even the physical laws we know are not eternal, universal truths.It involves abandoning the reductive, monistic ambition to elegantly explain everything with one beautiful ultimate formula, and instead accepting the vast, seemingly chaotic diversity itself as the essence of the universe. This can also be seen as a spiritual process where human science becomes more humble, acknowledging the immense potential of nature far beyond human imagination.

Do dolphins exist? The boundary between concept and reality, and the illusion of “self”

“Dolphins aren’t really necessary, right? It’s just atoms all over the place. But in the sense that we call a certain structure that exists stably for a certain period of time a dolphin, they do exist. Both are correct.”

Professor Yasunori Nomura

Particularly thought-provoking in Professor Nomura’s dialogue was this discussion surrounding the “existence of dolphins.” This is not mere wordplay. It contains an extremely significant metaphor that shakes the very foundation of the boundary between our “perception” and “physical reality.”

If we reduce it to physics, the absolute entity of an adorable “dolphin” gracefully swimming before our eyes does not exist anywhere in the universe. What exists is merely a physical process: an immense number of “atoms”—carbon, hydrogen, oxygen—constantly exchanging with the ocean environment (through respiration and feeding), temporarily coalescing and dispersing into specific patterns.Solving the equations requires no concept of a “dolphin” whatsoever; calculating the motion of atoms alone suffices.

However, the “observer” known as a human being found meaning in the stability of this temporary atomic pattern and affixed the name (label) “dolphin.” Only then was the “concept of a dolphin” born within the universe.Professor Nomura concludes that viewing it as a “collection of atoms” without this labeling, and viewing it as a “structured entity” after labeling, are both correct—they simply exist on different levels of verbal definition.

This profound thought experiment directly connects to the very existence of the human being called “I.” “Where does ‘I’ end and what is not ‘I’ begin?” — Is a strand of hair that has fallen out a “part” of me? Or is it merely an “object (collection of atoms)”?Even the “solid entity called ourselves” we firmly believe in is merely an illusion—a name given to a temporary “pattern (information)” amidst cells (atoms) completely renewing themselves every few months.

Taking a step further from the multiverse perspective, the boundaries of the “absolute nature” of every single existence, concept, and physical law that makes up this world dissolve.Perhaps “existence” is not some pre-existing absolute block, but merely an illusion (hologram) temporarily fixed by our “information processing (observation)”. Professor Nomura’s “dolphin” question poses an ultimate query to us, one that resonates with the Buddhist “Yogacara philosophy”.

The observer is the ultimate intersection of consciousness and physical laws that determines the universe.

“A true observer is someone who can process information, interact with their surroundings, and perceive ‘this is how the world is.’ They wouldn’t be in a universe with only one type of atom or a universe with nothing at all.”

Professor Yasunori Nomura

The most fundamental truth derived from this is an extremely profound interpretation of the Anthropic Principle.

What form do the vast majority of the multiverse’s countless universes take? They are likely dominated by “lifeless, inorganic, meaningless dead universes” – absolute darkness where even light and time do not exist, universes that collapse before the concept of atoms can form, or universes where dimensions collapse again just 0.001 seconds after the Big Bang.

However, this leads us to a self-referential paradox. Within these countless barren, dead universes, there exists no “observer” (a life form capable of information processing) to recognize and record the fact that the universe “exists.” Without an observer, it is effectively “undetermined” in quantum terms.

The universe where an “observer” capable of advanced consciousness and posing philosophical questions like “Why does this universe exist?” can exist is precisely this universe—the one that accidentally hit the needle’s eye of a miraculous parameter: the electron’s mass of 0.51099895000 MeV.

According to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, it is only when the act of “observation” occurs that the state of elementary particles, which had been overlapping as a probabilistic wave, collapses into a single, definite fact.If we extend this “observation effect”—an absolute rule of the microscopic world—to the infinitely macroscopic scale of the multiverse, and further redefine it through the filter of human “consciousness,” we arrive at a grand and terrifying cosmic insight.

That is, it is not that “the vast vessel of the universe existed beforehand, and we just happened to pop into existence within it.” Rather, “it is precisely because we exist, recognize ourselves and the world, and observe with consciousness that the information of this specific cosmic pattern, with its miraculous parameters, is confirmed as ‘this one reality’ and permitted to exist.“

Our consciousness and mental activities are not mere errors or byproducts generated by the vast mechanism of the universe. They are the very “organ (self-consciousness system)” through which the universe recognizes its own existence.As taught by the Buddhist concept of “dependent origination” (all things exist only within a web of mutual interdependence), the “observing consciousness” and the “observed universe” are inseparable, existing at the pinnacle of a mutually dependent relationship (coproduction) that is two sides of the same coin.The very fact that you are here now, observing the world and processing information, and the act of doing so, powerfully serves as the anchor that grounds this endlessly expanding universe in the realm of reality.

The Meaning of Living “Now” in an Infinite Multiverse

Professor Nomura’s worldview of the multiverse, quietly unraveled through cutting-edge scientific insights and equations, utterly shatters our everyday sense of scale and the naive self-satisfaction that “I am the unshakable center of the world.”The cold, hard truth that “your own life, the reliable physical laws of this world, and even the concept of dolphins are nothing more than the random roll of an infinitely tossed die” might seem, at first glance, to invite a deep nihilism that causes one to lose sight of life’s purpose and passion.

However, if we push this truth to a deeper spiritual dimension, it becomes a dramatic reversal into the ultimate affirmation of our very existence.The “utterly ordinary daily life” you are experiencing right now—breathing oxygen into your lungs, thinking through your brain’s synapses, reconstructing the text information of this article in your mind through your smartphone screen—is a unique event occurring within an “overwhelmingly victorious cosmic space.” This space triumphantly won an astronomical miracle, overcoming the corpses of countless “boundless dead universes where not even light was born.”You are, quite literally, one of the extremely limited “survivors of a miracle” in the universe.

【Next Action to Transform Your Perception of the World】

• Raise the resolution of “the ordinary” to its ultimate limit: Tomorrow
  morning, when you wake and take a sip of water, direct your deep awareness toward the overwhelming chain of miracles: “It is precisely because the electron’s mass was the random miracle of 0.51099895000 MeV that oxygen and hydrogen bonded at this very moment, that this water molecule exists, and that it is now hydrating my cells.”You will realize how insignificant the petty worries and attachments that weigh down our hearts daily—being unfairly scolded by a boss at work, being deeply hurt in love, anxiety about future financial circumstances—truly are within the unfathomable scale of the multiverse. Even the negative emotions you carry are elevated into the “privilege of life” that you can experience precisely because the universe miraculously met its conditions for existence.
• Reclaim the initiative in life as the “ultimate observer”: Embrace the quantum-mechanical and Vijnanavada stance—”how you label the world with words
  and how you observe (interpret) it determines the shape of your perceived reality”—as the core of your life strategy.Maintain a fierce awareness of being “the consciousness chosen for this universe to exist, having rejected the vast cosmos of death.” Unbound by others’ judgments or society’s illusions of “how things should be,” persist in making choices that truly stir your heart. The very act of your conscious energy and actions continuously observing and increasing the resolution of your world becomes the force that rewrites the laws of your own small universe—your life—every single day.

Within this profound, infinitely expanding, diverse multiverse, the probability that you exist with “this name,” in “this body,” in “this era,” thinking right here and now, is a number infinitely close to absolute zero, far beyond the limits of human calculation.That is precisely why we bear the responsibility to never waste today—this precious day of life, this “crystal of a near-zero miracle”—but instead to interpret it with heartfelt awe and savor it to the fullest.

“Why do we exist here?”

The astonishing answer to this ultimate, profound question, emerging from cutting-edge theoretical physics, is a truth so beautiful it brings tears to our eyes: “So that we may realize the immense preciousness of our own existence, love more deeply, and live by observing this world with all our might.”