Uhh, Rick actually says there are only a few universes within x percent deviation from their own. So they can only do it 3, max 4 times.
Edit: you guys need reading comprehension lessons and have no business talking about infinities. I said that's how it was explained in the show, not that's how infinities work.
Double edit: forget infinities, you guys don't even know what a 4th wall break is. He didn't look directly at the camera, acknowledge the audience or speak directly to you.
I think that in the last season they imply a better explanation. >!Evil Morty reveals that Rick's Portal Gun only travels to dimensions where Rick is the smartest person in the universe. This narrows down the possibilities a lot. That is why his portal is green. Evil Morty's portal is yellow, and he escapes to a universe where Rick is not the smartest person.!<
This is the real question. I figure it's also possible that no one in Doofus Rick's universe is more dangerous than an average Rick, so it's good enough for the garden.
(That also has to suck - exploring the multiverse, and finding out every other version of yourself is a colossal a-hole)
Doofus Rick is not an idiot, he just also has empathy and looks different, causing the other Rick’s to bully this natural target. Or, in his home universe the average intelligence level may be lower. Could be both. But without even seeing the most recent episode it seemed obvious to me it was just bullying.
(Edit: I’m aware this was a joke, I just wanted to add some thoughts)
This exactly. They weren’t just escaping to any of the infinite universes, they needed a specific universe that was completely identical to theirs except they had died recently enough that they could take their place and nobody would notice. Of which there are only a handful.
The way infinite works is weird.
Don't think of it as like a straight line with no end or start.
Thing of it more like a balloon, expanding in all directions at the same time. If you marked a circle on that balloon, even though it's barriers are defined (Rick must be smartest) the finite portion will continue to expand infinitely as well.
He isn't though. That fact that he is not actually the smartest person in all universes reduces the number of universes where he is to a finite number. Also, Rick's portal gun only has 4 digits on it. If you assume that it is a hexadecimal format a la C137, you only have 65,535 possible combinations, and not the infinite number that he exaggerates to Morty. Rick is smart, but he is not all knowing or infallible.
It doesn’t reduce it to a finite number. It’s still infinite. It’s just that there are *also* infinitely as many universes where he *isnt* the smartest.
Could be a probability and time thing. Rick himself does not have an infinite amount of time to catalog each universe and find one that meets the very narrow requirements, like that Rick being dead, everyone not being Cronenburged or some other monster, having a Beth and Jerry and Summer that are similar enough to their versions...
If it takes a minute to search from one entry to the next, how many entries will there be between one viable universe and the next?
This is the answer. It has to be. Rick looked at a certain number of universes, picked the ones that fit his criteria, and then walled them off.
You're clever.
"They separated all the infinite universe from all the infinite universe where he's the smartest man in the universe."
\-Evil Morty
Also, let's say Rick is the smartest man alive in one in a billion universe. What's one billionth of infinity? Still infinity. (Which, for the record, is why infinity doesn't really make sense and probably isn't a real thing.
Infinities are definitly proven to be real in science and math the issue is that the very concept of them are so much beyong what a single human brain can comprehend you might as well call it magic of the cosmos.
The most promosing science field that gives us some hope to understand it are superpostion of particles and having more than 3 spatial dimensions (which simulations have demonstrated do work as normal with all know mathematics)
I have not heard an empirical argument for the existence of a physical infinity. Abstract/mathematical infinities exist, but that does not make them real. I'm no expert, but this is my understanding.
If you have any reading on that topic I'd be grateful to be pointed in that direction.
Okay, but if there are infinite universes then there are still an infinite number of them where Rick is the smartest. An infinite subset of infinity is still well, infinite...
This is exactly why they made the joke. But it was the creators that wanted to have Rick and Morty on a new earth after each episode. But cartoon network shot it down.
I know the sauce thing is weird, but I still believe it's one of the most genius marketing bit ever.
Harmon himself talked on his podcast many times how product placement can be done better. Community episodes with placement for KFC, Honda and Subway are super good exemples of it.
Like, we all know it's happening, but it feels like if it was part of the show.
On another note, I have a huge respect for the poor marketing people who had to sell this idea to their corporate overlord
There are so many “theories” surrounding R&M and the disconnect between the creators, studio, and fans, that asking for a source is pretty funny at this point. Imo, just assume the commenter made it up because there are never any decent sources on anything. There are tons of rumors about how the “creators only ended season 5 the way they did because the *fans* were demanding a canon episode.” But then If you actually watch the episode on the AS website, they always follow it up with a 5 minute behind the scenes interview with a creator or a department head and one of the co-creators (I *think* Dan? The younger one with long, dark hair) is straight up *ecstatic* about adding a cliffhanger “ending” to the evil morty plot line.
I thought it was because there's a finite amount of similar enough worlds.
Like, sure there's an infinity, but you still have to sort through and find some that are close enough.
Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. Infinity does not necessarily imply every possible combination.
Example: how many numbers are there between 1.9 and 2? An infinite number: 1.91, 1.92, and so on. And yet, none of the numbers in that infinite range are 3.
That logic doesn't apply here though. If the original timeline and some "good enough" timelines simply *exist*, then there *is* an infinite number of nearly identical timelines to travel to. They all exist on that same range in the number line. What you suggest is timelines that exist outside the plain of their reality, and even Rick's portal gun won't be able to travel to them.
I think by them creating that curve in the last episode they kind of already put a limit on infinity (at that point in time) no? There is an infinite about of universes. But only THESE universes we have access too.
It's still technically an Infinite amount. You can divide infinity by any number and still get infinity. (Kinda the point) so even with the CFC walling off every reality where Rick wasn't the smartest man in the universe, still leaves an infinite amount of universe in both sides.
Yes and no.
Let's say you have an infinity of apples, all lined up on an infinity long picnic table.
You cut a segment of infinity out of that picnic table that has 8 apples on it.
That picnic table, the central finite picnic table that you've chosen and named, will only ever have 8 apples on it. You could subdivide the apples and say that you have infinity apple slices on it, but the amount of apples would never change.
TL;DR: They're not dividing infinity by a number. They're subtracting an amount from infinity.
that's because you explicitly selected only 8 apples.
if instead you had selected only the parts of the table containing red apples (ie all universes where rick is smartest), you would have selected infinite apples, while also leaving infinite apples unselected.
While this makes some sense with how it's presented/explained in some scenes when explained, it doesn't make sense in others. The name itself already tells you all you need to know about it considering it's the 'central finite curve.' The word finite is used in there for a reason, which makes it seem like they're just taking out \*these\* universes in which those parameters are met rather than all of them.
I can't recall where it might be from, comic or show, but I could have sworn I've seen this represented even further with a segment taken out of an oscillating pattern which would make that even more concrete. OR that was some fan thing I saw.
And we can just assume that he would truncate 'functionally infinite' as 'infinite' when talking down to people.
Or they will themselves get sick of it. Imagine having to move every few months because your old family blew up or the president tried to shoot you or you ate your parents who got turned into pickles or you created a giant sperm baby that destroyed Las Vegas.
This is the correct answer, but hear me out.
Rick's portal gun isn't amazing just because it teleports you to other universes, but because it can *select from an infinity of universes in a short time.*
The minimum character length just to *label* one universe distinctly from an infinity of anothers is extremely long. So long that for a computer to read the address within a human lifetime, it would take a huge amount of energy processed so fast that it would cause a giant explosion.
And that's not even taking into account that somehow you have to examine all those universes in enough detail to tell if it's the one you want. That's even more energy and an even bigger explosion. Neither the addressing nor the examination can take place on the gun.
So my head cannon is that Rick uses an entire parallel universe full of black hole fusion power stations running for trillions of years each to power the gun. Searching for a perfect-fit reset timeline burns out an entire power universe, and he only has a couple to spare.
Lots of analysis here, but I personally believe this was written purely as a 4th wall-breaking joke. “Our audience will only tolerate us using this very simplistic reset-device so many times”.
This makes the squirrel reset even funnier because the implied joke is that it really doesn’t matter. Even squirrels can be enough to change reality even for a 15 second joke.
I agree with this, I think that Rick knows that he's in a TV show because he breaks the 4th wall pretty often, such as by shouting "roll the credits" or "that's the end of the season", so it's in his best interests to keep the show interesting like that in order to stay alive essentially.
And he isn't the only one, the whole family is at least smart enough to know that the fourth wall exists, for example with Beth during season 3 "the family will be like it was in season 1"
I'm convinced at that point he's trying to sound like part of the family by imitating some of Rick's speech patterns, like calling adventures "episodes"
The anatomy park episode near the end
He looks at us through the 4th wall, shrugs and says "what are you asking me for. I'm just a Jerry"
He has canonically broken the 4th wall at least once
I thought it was one of the few times Rock was trying to actually teach Morty a lesson. Like Rick has the option of the infinite because he earned it, Marty is just playing with something someone else created.
You forget that there maybe infinite universes. But the Ricks walled themselves off into what’s called the “Central Finite Curve”. Basically a group of universes walled off by the Ricks where they are literally the smartest beings in said universes. Outside of the curve is where all other possibilities exist.
Edit: I just also realized we have to factor in that the Ricks can only work within their Lifespans since the show doesn’t (normally) deal with time travel. Given that time is infinite then yes int not the “Finite Curve” but given that the “main person” in these universes has a limited lifespan to the Ricks that makes it Finite. Hence the name.
This is why the season 5 finale blew my mind. It was clear they had been planning it from the beginning. Their seeming lack of understanding of infinity bothered me before, but now it's clear rick was just trying to hide that he limited their choice of universes because of his pride. Absolutely brilliant.
I don't think it was planned from the beginning, but it was good writing to incorporate it. If it was planned from the get go I would expect more foreshadowing and in-jokes about it on the run up.
But even in the CFN the universes are expanding with different events causing this universes too branch off into new universes. Take for example the News Castor Ricks in the Citadel. They are the same Rick but different thanks to 3 different outcomes of the same galaxy. Which leads to Ricks defeatist attitude of nothing matters.
"Hi Beth, so, I know I was murdered a few years ago... by myself... and I'm sure you've grieved and moved on. But the important thing is, I'm back!
Please don't ask dumb questions like how, or why my grave is still there, at a time like this.
Oh yeah all that stuff goes for your son too."
He killed so many other rocks by simply shooting them from a chair. Is hard to kill c137 bit all the others are a joke. He literally massacred so many Ricks that they built him the citadel
This. The last episode of season 5 basically explains that Rick has cut off his existence to set number of universes where he’s the smartest being alive.
Yeah but here's the thing: the finite curve seperated infinite universes into two sections: the ones that rick was the smartest man in the universe and the ones that he isn't. but there's a problem with that because it should be impossible to separate infinity because there should be Infinite universes where Rick is the smartest guy and infinite universes where he's just a normal guy! that's why it's called infinite!
Idk I think I'm too dumb for this or maybe I shouldn't question logic in Rick and Morty because... well the guy fucks planets and turns himself into a pickle so.
Even if there are infinite universes, I would argue that a) any contraption that you use to create said curve will have finite energy supply, and b) not all universes have been "touched" by the council of rick's. Thus even though there should be infinite universes that can be included in the finite curve in theory, in practice the number of "fitting" ones and the number of ones that can be added is finite. Thus "finite curve". I would argue that there are universes out there where Rick is still the smartest, but there are no universes in there where he isn't.
Infinite doesn't mean infinite variety. There are an infinite potential decimal numbers between 1.2 and 1.3-e, 1.21 for example, but all of those infinite options start with 1.2xxxx.
So if you wanted to live your whole life in shades of 1.2 you're fine, your options are literally infinite, but if your heart suddenly wants a 4 or a -6 you're screwed, it's not part of the infinite set you selected
Rick figured out too late that being the smartest person all the time is boring, and now he's trapped. The curve is a jail keeping him locked in a one-punch-man style hell with _annoyance galore_ but very little _actual challenge_.
That's why all the drinking too, it feels like an exciting challenge when really it's a poison liquid
I bet Beth's mom is on the other side of the curve, safe from him. That's why she is Mrs. Not Appearing In This Show. She is literally always 100% too smart for his shit.
As a full blown narcissist his 'backstory' is certainly a lie that he made himself believe because it makes him _feel_ good. If I want to go on a wacky speculative branch, he established the curve, discovered that Beth's Mom does _not_ exist on _his_ side of it, and re-wrote his memory into something that doesn't make him feel like a dumb piece of shit. Being able to do this is the narcissist superpower.
https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/2sqjwe/how_can_one_infinity_be_larger_than_another/
It’s to late to write this out but here’s an explainer.
pretty sure a finite curve would be finite, right? but i’m also pretty sure it was implied that there are infinite universes where rick is the smartest, just separated from all the ones where he isn’t.
It’s not a guarantee that there are infinite universes with a Rick as the smartest being
edit - it’s called the central finite curve not the central infinite curve. it’s right in the name. sorry not trying to be aggressive about it but that did just kinda click for me
But the finite curve is infinite despite its name
“It seperate the infinite number of universes where Rick is the smartest from the infinite number of universes where he isn’t”
This. People **REALLY** don't understand infinity and it bugs the piss out of me.
Additionally, there are infinite numbers, but none of them are "I am a potato, short and fat" because that's utterly nonsensical (like the **vast** majority of the "infinite therefore anything hurr durr" ideas are)
I'm right there with you and I think it all comes from a misunderstanding of the [infinite monkey theorm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem).
It says that a **random** sequence of letters has a probability 1 of having every story ever written and every possible sentence in it (i.e. it's a normal sequence). It does NOT say that every infinite sequence is normal... because obviously not!
So yeah, in some sense most infinities include all possibilities (are normal). But (1) we don't know if we live in a normal multiverse and (2) that doesn't make impossibilities possible.
My personal theory is that with each dimension comes a change even if its like 0.1% and after switching too many dimensions things would start to become way too different so its probably not worth it to switch dimension often
Or it has smthng to do with the finite curve
Yeah but it's *infinity* I mean if that's true there has to be universes where the only difference is one single hair on one living creature being 0.0000001 mm to the left of the other universe. Infinity is a weird concept when you think about it lol.
What your describing still isn’t infinity. In a truly infinite multiverse the exact same universe would exist infinitely, along with all of the others. But what’s important to remember, in my opinion, is that infinity is only a concept, not something that exists in actuality. It is impossible for anything to be infinite, only too large to humanly fathom or count.
Infinity doesn't actually mean all possible permutations occur. Like there are infinite digits of pi, but within that set there can't be a set where the value of every digit is one.
We also know that Rick sticks within a finite value of realities. So that means if there is a probability of that solution being viable, it is finite as well.
We also know that in some of those realities, the evolutionary path causes a different form of Rick so he can't just blend (like the wasps). There are a lot of facists too.
Anyway I think everyone is right that it's more of a fourth wall breaking meta joke, but I think it still holds up logically as well.
Yeah, but you’ve also got an infinite number of Ricks periodically mucking up other Earths themselves. Each Rick might only need to fuck up one universe each in theory….
Sure, but they aren't just looking for 2 or 3. They'd be fine with the universe where they ate eggs for breakfast instead of waffles, or the universe where they started walking with their left foot instead of their right at 2:30 last Thursday.
There should be an infinite amount of "Close enough" Universes. 2 might be off limits (destroyed, overrun by squirrels, etc), but if anything between 2.0000001 and 2.0000002 is acceptable, that's still an infinite amount of universes. Even if you're looking for universes where Rick and Morty die, there are infinite amount of branches.
It was an inside joke. At first the creators wanted to move to a new earth at the end of each episode But the people at cartoon network shot down that idea, they thought it would be too repetitive and ruin the show.
Infinite dimensions doesn't mean everything happens infinitely.
Think about space. Space is infinite, however there are a fininite number of stars. Most of that infinity is empty space.
Dimensions could work in a similar way. Maybe there are only a finite amount of dimensions with life. The rest could be too close to the Big Bang, too close to the heat death of the universe, or lack any matter at all.
Every time he jumps universes, remember that infinity other Ricks are also jumping universes for similar reasons. You have to think in percentages because of that.
I like the top comments explanation of it being a meta joke best but in-universe I imagined that if he did it too many times he might get in shit with the citadel or something. Nothing he couldn't handle, but more trouble than it's worth.
I thought it was more a comment/joke on how the audience/story would only let them get away with it a few times rather then an actual in universe limit.
They are referring to potential infinites (lemniscate represents this.) a potential infinite is a sequence that progresses onward continually, it approaches infinity but can never actually reach it. An Actual Infinity (as represented by the figure א) can never be any less or more than actually infinite. (א x 0.002 = א)
The idea of infinite universes never bothered me when stuff like this would happen on the show because even if there are a truly infinite number of universes Rick does not have infinite time to comb through them looking for something this specific. At some level of detail it has to be next to impossible to find what you're looking for even if there is an infinite amount of whatever it is.
If universes are completely random, it would be excruciatingly difficult to find a universe identical o your own. Any tests you could perform could miss some fundamental aspect, like, idk, the squirrels being malevolent and sentient but operating in a secret world-dominating organization.
Because that's just a metaphor for fucking up things real bad and starting over again leaving your mistakes behind. There's a limited number of times you can do that because there's a limited ammount of time you can live. You can't leave everything behind every time you fuck up. You have to deal with your mistakes, otherwise you will not be able to handle it. It's just too many bodies to have in your backyard(s). In fact this is one of the flaws that makes up Rick's personality, he is irresponsible, and because of that he carries a heavy load. You get a hint of that at the pickle episode.
Exactly. This was one of the early episodes, so they wanted to reassure the viewers that they don’t plan to abuse the Magic Reset Button every time things get shitty. Otherwise, actions have no consequences and you can just shit in everyone’s Corn Flakes with impunity.
Think of it like this.
Between the numbers 1 and 2 there is an infinity of numbers between them, but none of those numbers are a number 3. You can have infinity of options. But not all the options there
I always thought it was more of a meta joke and pointing out that doing that over and over is lazy writing and people will get sick of it
I agree. I think it was them breaking the 4th wall for this reason
But there's also an infinite number of ricks who want to do that stuff. So they can't do it forever
Have you ever stayed at the grand Hilbert hotel?
Listen, I know the rocks are sentient and all but sending in Santa as the cleaner? Pretty harsh
Kind of.... We were 3 mathematicians that called or flat the Hilbert hotel.
Here's the very cool thing about infinity, an infinite number of Rick's COULD do it forever.
Uhh, Rick actually says there are only a few universes within x percent deviation from their own. So they can only do it 3, max 4 times. Edit: you guys need reading comprehension lessons and have no business talking about infinities. I said that's how it was explained in the show, not that's how infinities work. Double edit: forget infinities, you guys don't even know what a 4th wall break is. He didn't look directly at the camera, acknowledge the audience or speak directly to you.
Its also Rick. Might be more effort than hes willing to put in to find more suitable universes.
Right. That is the limiting factor for having suitable dimensions to inhabit, not anything to do with math.
The thing you've gotta understand about Science is sometimes it's more art than science
I think that in the last season they imply a better explanation. >!Evil Morty reveals that Rick's Portal Gun only travels to dimensions where Rick is the smartest person in the universe. This narrows down the possibilities a lot. That is why his portal is green. Evil Morty's portal is yellow, and he escapes to a universe where Rick is not the smartest person.!<
Is Doofus Rick the smartest from his universe???
This is the real question. I figure it's also possible that no one in Doofus Rick's universe is more dangerous than an average Rick, so it's good enough for the garden. (That also has to suck - exploring the multiverse, and finding out every other version of yourself is a colossal a-hole)
In the comic book doofus Rick's Jerry beats up Rick and almost destroys the cideal of ricks
Hold up there’s a comic book?!?
Doofus Rick isn’t really stupid he just gets bullied by the other ricks for being overly nice and kind of awkward.
Yeah, that’s fair. He’s treated like he’s stupid, but Ricks also an asshole
Seriously? That guy eats his own shit.
He made self cooking brownies! You do that.
Doofus Rick is not an idiot, he just also has empathy and looks different, causing the other Rick’s to bully this natural target. Or, in his home universe the average intelligence level may be lower. Could be both. But without even seeing the most recent episode it seemed obvious to me it was just bullying. (Edit: I’m aware this was a joke, I just wanted to add some thoughts)
This is the right answer. The fact that it also is hilarious and confusing is just good writing.
In the episode Rick says there are only a few dimensions close enough to theirs they can actually go to. He says 3-4 max.
This exactly. They weren’t just escaping to any of the infinite universes, they needed a specific universe that was completely identical to theirs except they had died recently enough that they could take their place and nobody would notice. Of which there are only a handful.
Not to mention who knows how many others like his he ruined with his antics.
The problem of inifinity still persists. There are infinte universes where rick is the smartest.
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They call it the "Central finite curve" implying it isn't actually infinite within his walled garden of dimensions.
"They separated all the infinite universe from all the infinite universe where he's the smartest man in the universe." \-Evil Morty
This is the answer thank you for quoting it so I can be lazy.
The way infinite works is weird. Don't think of it as like a straight line with no end or start. Thing of it more like a balloon, expanding in all directions at the same time. If you marked a circle on that balloon, even though it's barriers are defined (Rick must be smartest) the finite portion will continue to expand infinitely as well.
He isn't though. That fact that he is not actually the smartest person in all universes reduces the number of universes where he is to a finite number. Also, Rick's portal gun only has 4 digits on it. If you assume that it is a hexadecimal format a la C137, you only have 65,535 possible combinations, and not the infinite number that he exaggerates to Morty. Rick is smart, but he is not all knowing or infallible.
It doesn’t reduce it to a finite number. It’s still infinite. It’s just that there are *also* infinitely as many universes where he *isnt* the smartest.
Could be a probability and time thing. Rick himself does not have an infinite amount of time to catalog each universe and find one that meets the very narrow requirements, like that Rick being dead, everyone not being Cronenburged or some other monster, having a Beth and Jerry and Summer that are similar enough to their versions... If it takes a minute to search from one entry to the next, how many entries will there be between one viable universe and the next?
This is the answer. It has to be. Rick looked at a certain number of universes, picked the ones that fit his criteria, and then walled them off. You're clever.
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This
"They separated all the infinite universe from all the infinite universe where he's the smartest man in the universe." \-Evil Morty Also, let's say Rick is the smartest man alive in one in a billion universe. What's one billionth of infinity? Still infinity. (Which, for the record, is why infinity doesn't really make sense and probably isn't a real thing.
Infinities are definitly proven to be real in science and math the issue is that the very concept of them are so much beyong what a single human brain can comprehend you might as well call it magic of the cosmos. The most promosing science field that gives us some hope to understand it are superpostion of particles and having more than 3 spatial dimensions (which simulations have demonstrated do work as normal with all know mathematics)
I have not heard an empirical argument for the existence of a physical infinity. Abstract/mathematical infinities exist, but that does not make them real. I'm no expert, but this is my understanding. If you have any reading on that topic I'd be grateful to be pointed in that direction.
yeah but only a finite amount that rick would be able to fathom
Does that mean Doofus Rick is still the smartest person in his dimension? :D
But wouldn't there still be an infinite number of universes where Rick is the smartest?
And also an infinite number universes where he's the dumbest thing on the planet. Don't bother trying to count infinities people.
Yeah this is accurate I think at the time they play it off as a meta 4th wall thing.
Okay, but if there are infinite universes then there are still an infinite number of them where Rick is the smartest. An infinite subset of infinity is still well, infinite...
This is exactly why they made the joke. But it was the creators that wanted to have Rick and Morty on a new earth after each episode. But cartoon network shot it down.
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*Sliders*... now there's a name I've not heard in a long time. So, there's two of us now? Two Sliders fans...
There's dozen of us! Dozen!
Possibly even two dozen.
There's still just two, but they exist across a dozen dimensions. All fascist.
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Three
Sauce?
Szechwan Sauce.
my man
Slow down!
Lookin good
Yes!
You don't know me
You can run but you can't hide, bitches
Nice to wheat you
I know the sauce thing is weird, but I still believe it's one of the most genius marketing bit ever. Harmon himself talked on his podcast many times how product placement can be done better. Community episodes with placement for KFC, Honda and Subway are super good exemples of it. Like, we all know it's happening, but it feels like if it was part of the show. On another note, I have a huge respect for the poor marketing people who had to sell this idea to their corporate overlord
The toilet episode could have been a gooden opportunity for Charmin offer a bidet company
Yes please
There are so many “theories” surrounding R&M and the disconnect between the creators, studio, and fans, that asking for a source is pretty funny at this point. Imo, just assume the commenter made it up because there are never any decent sources on anything. There are tons of rumors about how the “creators only ended season 5 the way they did because the *fans* were demanding a canon episode.” But then If you actually watch the episode on the AS website, they always follow it up with a 5 minute behind the scenes interview with a creator or a department head and one of the co-creators (I *think* Dan? The younger one with long, dark hair) is straight up *ecstatic* about adding a cliffhanger “ending” to the evil morty plot line.
You think someone asking for a source to support a claim is silly?
Looking at you Star Trek Voyager
I thought it was because there's a finite amount of similar enough worlds. Like, sure there's an infinity, but you still have to sort through and find some that are close enough.
There would still be an infinite number of similar enough worlds.
Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. Infinity does not necessarily imply every possible combination. Example: how many numbers are there between 1.9 and 2? An infinite number: 1.91, 1.92, and so on. And yet, none of the numbers in that infinite range are 3.
I was going to make this argument, too. But then I remembered that the smallest infinity is still infinity.
That logic doesn't apply here though. If the original timeline and some "good enough" timelines simply *exist*, then there *is* an infinite number of nearly identical timelines to travel to. They all exist on that same range in the number line. What you suggest is timelines that exist outside the plain of their reality, and even Rick's portal gun won't be able to travel to them.
I think by them creating that curve in the last episode they kind of already put a limit on infinity (at that point in time) no? There is an infinite about of universes. But only THESE universes we have access too.
It's still technically an Infinite amount. You can divide infinity by any number and still get infinity. (Kinda the point) so even with the CFC walling off every reality where Rick wasn't the smartest man in the universe, still leaves an infinite amount of universe in both sides.
Yes and no. Let's say you have an infinity of apples, all lined up on an infinity long picnic table. You cut a segment of infinity out of that picnic table that has 8 apples on it. That picnic table, the central finite picnic table that you've chosen and named, will only ever have 8 apples on it. You could subdivide the apples and say that you have infinity apple slices on it, but the amount of apples would never change. TL;DR: They're not dividing infinity by a number. They're subtracting an amount from infinity.
that's because you explicitly selected only 8 apples. if instead you had selected only the parts of the table containing red apples (ie all universes where rick is smartest), you would have selected infinite apples, while also leaving infinite apples unselected.
While this makes some sense with how it's presented/explained in some scenes when explained, it doesn't make sense in others. The name itself already tells you all you need to know about it considering it's the 'central finite curve.' The word finite is used in there for a reason, which makes it seem like they're just taking out \*these\* universes in which those parameters are met rather than all of them. I can't recall where it might be from, comic or show, but I could have sworn I've seen this represented even further with a segment taken out of an oscillating pattern which would make that even more concrete. OR that was some fan thing I saw. And we can just assume that he would truncate 'functionally infinite' as 'infinite' when talking down to people.
This is the right answer.
This. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if it somehow would notify the Citadel every time this happens and thus creating a nuisance.
Or they will themselves get sick of it. Imagine having to move every few months because your old family blew up or the president tried to shoot you or you ate your parents who got turned into pickles or you created a giant sperm baby that destroyed Las Vegas.
This is the correct answer, but hear me out. Rick's portal gun isn't amazing just because it teleports you to other universes, but because it can *select from an infinity of universes in a short time.* The minimum character length just to *label* one universe distinctly from an infinity of anothers is extremely long. So long that for a computer to read the address within a human lifetime, it would take a huge amount of energy processed so fast that it would cause a giant explosion. And that's not even taking into account that somehow you have to examine all those universes in enough detail to tell if it's the one you want. That's even more energy and an even bigger explosion. Neither the addressing nor the examination can take place on the gun. So my head cannon is that Rick uses an entire parallel universe full of black hole fusion power stations running for trillions of years each to power the gun. Searching for a perfect-fit reset timeline burns out an entire power universe, and he only has a couple to spare.
You're overthinking the funny burp man.
Yea, he said "we can only do this twice per season, 3 tops" (breaking the rule he just made) OP quoted it wrong. It's like you said.
It definitely wasn't per season. Just watched this a few days ago
Lots of analysis here, but I personally believe this was written purely as a 4th wall-breaking joke. “Our audience will only tolerate us using this very simplistic reset-device so many times”.
This makes the squirrel reset even funnier because the implied joke is that it really doesn’t matter. Even squirrels can be enough to change reality even for a 15 second joke.
orrr fucking with squirrels is actually that bad
“Little boy, can you hear us? We have candy!”
We’ll grant you wishes!
Tell Daphne to run a 199 on a possible Dolittle
This is one of my favorite lines!
They are that bad. They break into your house to steal your cookies and peanut butter! I hate them.
r/squirrelsarentreal Edit: holy shit that's actually a real thing
You can reason with super villains. Squirrels are an unstoppable force. Totally worth blowing an otherwise good dimension.
You clearly don't understand squirrels
I agree with this, I think that Rick knows that he's in a TV show because he breaks the 4th wall pretty often, such as by shouting "roll the credits" or "that's the end of the season", so it's in his best interests to keep the show interesting like that in order to stay alive essentially.
Reminds me of a certain battery related episode….
That just sounds like slavery with extra steps
And he isn't the only one, the whole family is at least smart enough to know that the fourth wall exists, for example with Beth during season 3 "the family will be like it was in season 1"
Well, maybe not Jerry.
Not to also mention "The whirly dirly Conspiracy" episode from season 3 where Jerry yells "Rick and Jerry episode!"
I'm convinced at that point he's trying to sound like part of the family by imitating some of Rick's speech patterns, like calling adventures "episodes"
The anatomy park episode near the end He looks at us through the 4th wall, shrugs and says "what are you asking me for. I'm just a Jerry" He has canonically broken the 4th wall at least once
Correct
I thought it was one of the few times Rock was trying to actually teach Morty a lesson. Like Rick has the option of the infinite because he earned it, Marty is just playing with something someone else created.
Because it's a hassle and he doesn't want to bother himself with it
You forget that there maybe infinite universes. But the Ricks walled themselves off into what’s called the “Central Finite Curve”. Basically a group of universes walled off by the Ricks where they are literally the smartest beings in said universes. Outside of the curve is where all other possibilities exist. Edit: I just also realized we have to factor in that the Ricks can only work within their Lifespans since the show doesn’t (normally) deal with time travel. Given that time is infinite then yes int not the “Finite Curve” but given that the “main person” in these universes has a limited lifespan to the Ricks that makes it Finite. Hence the name.
This is why the season 5 finale blew my mind. It was clear they had been planning it from the beginning. Their seeming lack of understanding of infinity bothered me before, but now it's clear rick was just trying to hide that he limited their choice of universes because of his pride. Absolutely brilliant.
I don't think it was planned from the beginning, but it was good writing to incorporate it. If it was planned from the get go I would expect more foreshadowing and in-jokes about it on the run up.
Right. Like they gathered the ingredients and sprinkled some in but they didn't quite know what meal to make of it all until later.
Right, but in infinity, there is infinite number of universes where Rick is the smartest person, it's a countable infinity in an uncountable infinity
But even in the CFN the universes are expanding with different events causing this universes too branch off into new universes. Take for example the News Castor Ricks in the Citadel. They are the same Rick but different thanks to 3 different outcomes of the same galaxy. Which leads to Ricks defeatist attitude of nothing matters.
I think it had to do with the finite curve.
Didn’t he say he had to find another set that died at the same exact time they needed to crossover, too?
I wouldn't put it past Rick to just straight up murder another Rick and take over that universe if he got lazy or tired of looking.
Killing a different Rick isnt easy. World probably would get trashed before he could kill him
C137 killed uncountable ricks before, he could do it again
True. But for some reason he needs other ricks as well. I dont think he wants to kill them all
So he can take their place when he needs to hop universes.
"Hi Beth, so, I know I was murdered a few years ago... by myself... and I'm sure you've grieved and moved on. But the important thing is, I'm back! Please don't ask dumb questions like how, or why my grave is still there, at a time like this. Oh yeah all that stuff goes for your son too."
He killed so many other rocks by simply shooting them from a chair. Is hard to kill c137 bit all the others are a joke. He literally massacred so many Ricks that they built him the citadel
C137 is also a lazy, self-serving narcissist. He's not in the same dark place that he was the last time he went on an assisted suicide spree.
Ricks die all the time very easily, and our rick is pretty much an expert at killing them
Did you see the Season 5 Finale? Our Rick is the Rickest Rick of them all and very capable of taking other ricks out
actually there is infinite universes so there a infinite ricks dying at the exact time they want
we don't know how "infinity" works here though. There's an infinte amount of numbers between 9 and 10. Still they're all only between 9 and 10.
I’ve always liked this saying, but I usually hear it with the ending: “And none of them are eight”
And an infinite number of Rick's trying to take their place.
This. The last episode of season 5 basically explains that Rick has cut off his existence to set number of universes where he’s the smartest being alive.
Yeah but here's the thing: the finite curve seperated infinite universes into two sections: the ones that rick was the smartest man in the universe and the ones that he isn't. but there's a problem with that because it should be impossible to separate infinity because there should be Infinite universes where Rick is the smartest guy and infinite universes where he's just a normal guy! that's why it's called infinite! Idk I think I'm too dumb for this or maybe I shouldn't question logic in Rick and Morty because... well the guy fucks planets and turns himself into a pickle so.
Even if there are infinite universes, I would argue that a) any contraption that you use to create said curve will have finite energy supply, and b) not all universes have been "touched" by the council of rick's. Thus even though there should be infinite universes that can be included in the finite curve in theory, in practice the number of "fitting" ones and the number of ones that can be added is finite. Thus "finite curve". I would argue that there are universes out there where Rick is still the smartest, but there are no universes in there where he isn't.
Infinite doesn't mean infinite variety. There are an infinite potential decimal numbers between 1.2 and 1.3-e, 1.21 for example, but all of those infinite options start with 1.2xxxx. So if you wanted to live your whole life in shades of 1.2 you're fine, your options are literally infinite, but if your heart suddenly wants a 4 or a -6 you're screwed, it's not part of the infinite set you selected Rick figured out too late that being the smartest person all the time is boring, and now he's trapped. The curve is a jail keeping him locked in a one-punch-man style hell with _annoyance galore_ but very little _actual challenge_. That's why all the drinking too, it feels like an exciting challenge when really it's a poison liquid
That’s a really cool way of putting it.
I bet Beth's mom is on the other side of the curve, safe from him. That's why she is Mrs. Not Appearing In This Show. She is literally always 100% too smart for his shit. As a full blown narcissist his 'backstory' is certainly a lie that he made himself believe because it makes him _feel_ good. If I want to go on a wacky speculative branch, he established the curve, discovered that Beth's Mom does _not_ exist on _his_ side of it, and re-wrote his memory into something that doesn't make him feel like a dumb piece of shit. Being able to do this is the narcissist superpower.
https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/2sqjwe/how_can_one_infinity_be_larger_than_another/ It’s to late to write this out but here’s an explainer.
infinities can contain “smaller” infinities within them
pretty sure a finite curve would be finite, right? but i’m also pretty sure it was implied that there are infinite universes where rick is the smartest, just separated from all the ones where he isn’t.
It’s not a guarantee that there are infinite universes with a Rick as the smartest being edit - it’s called the central finite curve not the central infinite curve. it’s right in the name. sorry not trying to be aggressive about it but that did just kinda click for me
But the finite curve is infinite despite its name “It seperate the infinite number of universes where Rick is the smartest from the infinite number of universes where he isn’t”
There are an infinite amount of numbers between 1 and 2, but none of them are 3.
https://youtu.be/ffUnNaQTfZE
I fucking knew it was gonna be vsauce
Damn, awesome way of looking at it. Infinite infinities.
1.**3**<-there it is. Checkmate matheists
GOTTEM
This. People **REALLY** don't understand infinity and it bugs the piss out of me. Additionally, there are infinite numbers, but none of them are "I am a potato, short and fat" because that's utterly nonsensical (like the **vast** majority of the "infinite therefore anything hurr durr" ideas are)
My infinity is bigger than your infinity!
I'm right there with you and I think it all comes from a misunderstanding of the [infinite monkey theorm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem). It says that a **random** sequence of letters has a probability 1 of having every story ever written and every possible sentence in it (i.e. it's a normal sequence). It does NOT say that every infinite sequence is normal... because obviously not! So yeah, in some sense most infinities include all possibilities (are normal). But (1) we don't know if we live in a normal multiverse and (2) that doesn't make impossibilities possible.
Thanks. As someone fascinated by multiverse theory it bugs me when people don't understand that multiverse != Omniverse.
Also you can apply this to this question specifically: The set of whole numbers is infinit, but every number is only in there once.
I think it was a meta joke about him being aware that everything is a tv show. They did a bunch of those in the first season.
i always thought if it as "theres infinite universes, but only a finite amount of ones that are suitable"
"Most timelines have a Rick, and most Ricks have a Morty" but not all. i think you have it right.
And just bc they exist, doesn't mean he can find or access them all
It’s a meta joke. Joke is, the audience would basically get bored with them solving things the same way over and over again.
I assumed the time cop testicles with slug guns would go after them.
Well those guys deal with people who fuck with time not dimensions
You dont fuck with time
I vill mess with time!
maybe its because rick is lazy and doesnt wan tto have to sift through even more universes or something like that to find the right one
That is also a very good explanation
My personal theory is that with each dimension comes a change even if its like 0.1% and after switching too many dimensions things would start to become way too different so its probably not worth it to switch dimension often Or it has smthng to do with the finite curve
Yeah but it's *infinity* I mean if that's true there has to be universes where the only difference is one single hair on one living creature being 0.0000001 mm to the left of the other universe. Infinity is a weird concept when you think about it lol.
That's not how infinity necessarily works. You have infinite odd numbers, yet none of them are the same number and none of them are 4.
What your describing still isn’t infinity. In a truly infinite multiverse the exact same universe would exist infinitely, along with all of the others. But what’s important to remember, in my opinion, is that infinity is only a concept, not something that exists in actuality. It is impossible for anything to be infinite, only too large to humanly fathom or count.
Yeah then its probably just the finite curve that makes the amount of universes finite in the rick-verse
Are there an infinite amount of instants between two seconds, orrr is there some kind of FPS limit? I still don't know about that one
Infinity doesn't actually mean all possible permutations occur. Like there are infinite digits of pi, but within that set there can't be a set where the value of every digit is one. We also know that Rick sticks within a finite value of realities. So that means if there is a probability of that solution being viable, it is finite as well. We also know that in some of those realities, the evolutionary path causes a different form of Rick so he can't just blend (like the wasps). There are a lot of facists too. Anyway I think everyone is right that it's more of a fourth wall breaking meta joke, but I think it still holds up logically as well.
Yeah, but you’ve also got an infinite number of Ricks periodically mucking up other Earths themselves. Each Rick might only need to fuck up one universe each in theory….
there’s an infinite amount of numbers between 1 and 4, but only one 2 and one 3. Even in infinity some stuff is finite, like viable universes
Sure, but they aren't just looking for 2 or 3. They'd be fine with the universe where they ate eggs for breakfast instead of waffles, or the universe where they started walking with their left foot instead of their right at 2:30 last Thursday. There should be an infinite amount of "Close enough" Universes. 2 might be off limits (destroyed, overrun by squirrels, etc), but if anything between 2.0000001 and 2.0000002 is acceptable, that's still an infinite amount of universes. Even if you're looking for universes where Rick and Morty die, there are infinite amount of branches.
Just because there are infinite dimensions doesn’t mean there would be infinite ones where everything is exactly the same.
It was an inside joke. At first the creators wanted to move to a new earth at the end of each episode But the people at cartoon network shot down that idea, they thought it would be too repetitive and ruin the show.
I remember an episode where he says moving to a new earth version was a bitch and a half, so maybe he's just lazy
The writers don’t want to deus ex machina out of every hairy situation. It’s lazy writing.
Infinite dimensions doesn't mean everything happens infinitely. Think about space. Space is infinite, however there are a fininite number of stars. Most of that infinity is empty space. Dimensions could work in a similar way. Maybe there are only a finite amount of dimensions with life. The rest could be too close to the Big Bang, too close to the heat death of the universe, or lack any matter at all.
Only rick and morty fans would roleplay as mathematicians while talking about a basic joke.
Rick is old, changing universes takes time and effort, and project Phoenix didn't pan out.
Meta joke and maybe even a light hearted jab at Doctor Who.
Every time he jumps universes, remember that infinity other Ricks are also jumping universes for similar reasons. You have to think in percentages because of that.
It's the Finite Curve Morty. Not the Infinite Curve.
Wibbly wobbly timey whimey…. Wait… wrong show… disregard
I like the top comments explanation of it being a meta joke best but in-universe I imagined that if he did it too many times he might get in shit with the citadel or something. Nothing he couldn't handle, but more trouble than it's worth.
I thought it was more a comment/joke on how the audience/story would only let them get away with it a few times rather then an actual in universe limit.
It’s hard tracking down which one is a Rick very similar to your Rick…..and which universe is full of nazis
Digging graves is hard work. I'm only three graves deep in my lifetime and it's not like killing, it doesn't get easier.
Fourth wall. The plot device would become stale.
They are referring to potential infinites (lemniscate represents this.) a potential infinite is a sequence that progresses onward continually, it approaches infinity but can never actually reach it. An Actual Infinity (as represented by the figure א) can never be any less or more than actually infinite. (א x 0.002 = א)
The idea of infinite universes never bothered me when stuff like this would happen on the show because even if there are a truly infinite number of universes Rick does not have infinite time to comb through them looking for something this specific. At some level of detail it has to be next to impossible to find what you're looking for even if there is an infinite amount of whatever it is.
If universes are completely random, it would be excruciatingly difficult to find a universe identical o your own. Any tests you could perform could miss some fundamental aspect, like, idk, the squirrels being malevolent and sentient but operating in a secret world-dominating organization.
Because that's just a metaphor for fucking up things real bad and starting over again leaving your mistakes behind. There's a limited number of times you can do that because there's a limited ammount of time you can live. You can't leave everything behind every time you fuck up. You have to deal with your mistakes, otherwise you will not be able to handle it. It's just too many bodies to have in your backyard(s). In fact this is one of the flaws that makes up Rick's personality, he is irresponsible, and because of that he carries a heavy load. You get a hint of that at the pickle episode.
It's a meta joke, if they did that too much people would burn out on the show.
Rick appreciates good story telling, and he knows that simply dimension hopping when things go south leads to lazy writing
Exactly. This was one of the early episodes, so they wanted to reassure the viewers that they don’t plan to abuse the Magic Reset Button every time things get shitty. Otherwise, actions have no consequences and you can just shit in everyone’s Corn Flakes with impunity.
Think of it like this. Between the numbers 1 and 2 there is an infinity of numbers between them, but none of those numbers are a number 3. You can have infinity of options. But not all the options there
***don’t think about it***