What's the difference between Universes & Cosmos & Dimensions?

Originally posted by long pig
I've heard that Cosmos are bigger than Universes and Dimensions can be bigger than Cosmos. I've also heard the exact ****ing opposite.

So, if you're penis is large enough, answer my question! Well, IS IT LARGE ENOUGH?

I'll be forced to think that anyone who doesn't try to answer the question has a small penis. Sorry, it's just the way it works.

well, since you asked so nicely . . . 🙄

there IS no difference. or if there is, no writers seem to know. each of them are used interchangeably at least as often as anyone tries seperating them for distinction.

Oh, what the hell...

A dimension, strictly speaking, is a direction, whether the direction is an extension in space 90 degrees to all other extensions, or, it is the direction a course of events takes, determining a history different from other possible histories.

A universe can have multiple dimensions in either sense, though in the latter, each (historical) dimension may be treated as a universe in its own right.

A cosmos, strictly speaking, refers to the state or condition of a totality, not necessarily the size of the totality per se, whereas universe refers to that totality specifically, its all-inclusiveness, regardless of condition.

However, Carl Sagan for example used the term Cosmos to refer to that all-inclusive totality, sometimes referring to a universe as a subset of conditions within that totality (implying the existence of many more conditional subsets / universes / historical dimensions).

So...
many spacetime dimensions = a universe
many historical dimensions = many universes = a multiverse
many multiverses = an omniverse / cosmos

Of course, this covers (simplistically) just the hardware of infinity...

youpi

Originally posted by Mindship
Oh, what the hell...

A dimension, strictly speaking, is a direction, whether the direction is an extension in space 90 degrees to all other extensions, or, it is the direction a course of events takes, determining a history different from other possible histories.

A universe can have multiple dimensions in either sense, though in the latter, each (historical) dimension may be treated as a universe in its own right.

A cosmos, strictly speaking, refers to the state or condition of a totality, not necessarily the size of the totality per se, whereas universe refers to that totality specifically, its all-inclusiveness, regardless of condition.

However, Carl Sagan for example used the term Cosmos to refer to that all-inclusive totality, sometimes referring to a universe as a subset of conditions within that totality (implying the existence of many more conditional subsets / universes / historical dimensions).

So...
many spacetime dimensions = a universe
many historical dimensions = many universes = a multiverse
many multiverses = an omniverse / cosmos

Of course, this covers (simplistically) just the hardware of infinity...

youpi

were we dealing with real-world definitions, my friend, i might agree with you. but as earth's 'universe' has been referred to as a dimension many times in the past, and since cyttorak's crimson cosmos has been called both a dimension and a universe by strange . . . 😬

i really don't think there is a way to say anything other than that they are interchangeable terms as far as comics go. 🙁

ps--you were strangely absent during the nice discussion we had in scoob's ALIVE? thread. seemed like a topic you might have been interested in. 🙂

I agree with Leo in comics they are often interchangable to a large degree.

Although different companies in comics will use them quite differently.

Like Marvel I think likes to use Dimensions as places within Universes and as for the cosmos well that word is used so much by Marvel it really doesn't have a meaning to them. As for Universes it just seems to be one place in Marvel.

Anyways as for DC I don't know it seems to me that Universe is supposed to mean everything, Dimensions would kind of be like Marvel Universe equivalent. I mean it just seems that things like the fourth and fifth Dimensions all seem to be seperate entities not based on anything below them.

So basically it just comes down to terminology and how you want to use it.

Originally posted by leonidas
were we dealing with real-world definitions, my friend, i might agree with you. but as earth's 'universe' has been referred to as a dimension many times in the past, and since cyttorak's crimson cosmos has been called both a dimension and a universe by strange . . . 😬

i really don't think there is a way to say anything other than that they are interchangeable terms as far as comics go. 🙁

ps--you were strangely absent during the nice discussion we had in scoob's ALIVE? thread. seemed like a topic you might have been interested in. 🙂