From multiverse theory to inter-dimensional travel to cloning, there are lots of scientific theories (and pseudo-science) that Rick and Morty exploit to try to seem like the smartest show out there. And some of the science is actually backed up by evidence. But at the end of the day, the show is a narrative endeavorit often fits science around its plot-lines, to make the episodes work, whether the science is true or not.

Theres a reason why it took so long for season 3 (and now season 4) to come out: these pseudo-scientific ideas are complicated, and once Pandoras Box has been opened, its hard to close it. There are millions of Reddit theories out there explaining everything, but were here to point out a few things that simply dont make sense.

In a show with so much hoopla and head-scratching ideas, it isnt hard to come up with a nonsensical list. And no, you dont have to be a genius to understand these 18things in Rick and Morty that make no sense (just like you dont have to be a genius to enjoy or understand the show).

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Many scientists believe in some sort of multiverse theory these days, which basically says that there is an infinite number of universes where the actions we didnt take are being played out. In a nutshell, these parallel universes comprise of everything that exists. In Rick Potion #9, Rick explains that there is an infinite number of realities, but even multiverse theory calculated a huge number of possible universes, but not infinite. The number is roughly 1 with 500 zeroes, according to cosmologist Richard Matzner. The estimate derives from string theory.

In one strange episode, Morty accidentally impregnates an extraterrestrial doll (Gwendolyn), who successfully bears a human-alien hybrid. We already know that its impossible to crossbreed chimpanzees and humans, and they have a 98% DNA sequence similarity, so what are the odds of impregnating an alien with 0% DNA sequence homology? Not very likely, but it still made for a hilarious episode.

The main deus ex machina in Rick and Morty is Ricks portal gun, which allows him to jump to different dimensions at will. The problem is that we dont actually know how Ricks portal gun works. He showed it being made, and we assume it shoots wormhole-like blasts. Inter-dimensional travel isnt always as carefree as Rick would like it to be. Ricks portal gun might explain how quantum theory can be used, or we might be overcomplicating something that doesnt need a unified theory to form its basis.

In Rick Potion #9, Morty receives a love potion to have his high school crush instantly infatuated with him. The potion is a mixture of oxytocin extracted from a volea rodent that mates for lifeand some of Mortys DNA. And it works like a charm! But oxytocin wouldnt really work like that in real life. While it does play a part in social bonding and sexual attraction, it can also augment memories and induce crazed thoughts (which sort of happens, in the episode).

Just like Inception, Ricks dream hopper doesnt make a lot of sense. A device that lets someone enter someone elses dreams is so far off the realm of possibility, that even pseudo-science cant really explain this one. If we were all connected by means of digital devices, with a common server, maybe it could work (which many futurists believe in). But as it stands, wed need a neural implant (see: Black Mirror) for this to ever have a hope of working.

Ricks freeze gun showed up on the pilot episode, so maybe all the scientific kinks werent worked out yet. The gun is a high-powered liquid nitrogen weapon that turns Rick into Mr. Freeze, basically. Ricks gun works too fast and localized for modern technology, though, and liquid nitrogen wouldnt instantly freeze someone like in the show. This might be a bit nitpicky, but its the truth, and were sure Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon knew that.

Rick is supposed to be the smartest person in the multiverse, and hes also a jerk. Most people who become more knowledgeable of the world become wiser, and thus kinder, but this isnt true for Rickhis ego trumps all. He is the epitome of individualism but does contradictory things all the time that are counterintuitive to his own growth. Basically, he has no growthyet he can be kind, which we see him do on occasion (usually to Morty). It leads us to believe that the Rick we know and love isnt as wise or knowledgeable as he would have us believe.

Here are some examples of Ricks counterintuitive contradictions of character. He has no problem letting Unity take over an entire planet but tries to save Earth when a Cromulon appears. He destroys an entire universe (via throwing a battery on the ground), but saves a homeless man and creates a navigable park inside of him. Rick goes into Mortys teachers mind to manipulate him into giving Morty an A, but Rick also doesnt like the Devil trying to manipulate people. In a way, Rick encapsulates Absurdism at its finest (according to Medium.com).

For a man who seems so sure of himself all the time (one episode even hinges on this fact), we dont really know what Rick believes in. Hes ambiguous, purposefully, and were led to believe that maybe HE doesnt even know what he believes in. For instance, in one episode when he thinks hes going to die, he prays to Godimplying he believes in god, deep down. Rick knows he doesnt matterthat no one matters, and it makes him supremely arrogant, and sometimes even suicidal.

Even though Rick is supposedly the smartest man in the multiversethe idea of the multiverse alone refutes that thought. Rick knows that hes not a unique person, and he believes no one is. There is an infinite combination of events that can happen, infinite times, so the only thing that he resorts to his personal gain. Personal gain explains his motivations a bit, and also shows that Rick isnt the smartest person in the multiverse because hes not unique and there are infinite other Ricks out there who should be just as smart.

In the episode Mortynight Run, Rick drops off Jerry at the Jerryboree daycare center, and we make an interesting discovery when he fills out the form to admit Jerry. We know Rick is from dimension C-137 (he writes it on the form), but he puts N/A for Dimension of your Jerry. But Rick manually entered (into his portal gun) the dimension where he got his Jerry from, so he knows which dimension Jerry originates from. Why would he keep it a secret from us, unless theres something significant hes trying to hide?

The Bootstrap Paradox is a phenomenon where an object travels back in time and is trapped within an infinite cause-effect loop, wherein the item no longer has a point of origin. The item is self-created or uncaused, meaning its just always been. In the season 3 opener, Rick goes back in time to retrieve the secret to his portal gun technology, so he can invent (or reinvent) the portal gunbut that secret wouldnt exist, given the Bootstrap Paradox, in that timeline if that makes any sense.

Rick has been away from his family for an indeterminate amount of time at the start of the show after things spiraled out of control and he had to relocate to another dimension. We learned that he escaped to another dimension to find a Beth that is still alivethough is this Beth the one we follow on the show, or is this a fabricated memory of Ricks? Are the Morty, Beth, Jerry, and Summer from C-137 actually adopted from another dimension of Ricks?

And that brings us to another question: Which Morty is Evil Morty (given that hes the main antagonist at this point)? Evil Morty first appeared in S1E10, and theres a long-running theory that Evil Morty is actually the original Mortya.k.a Ricks Morty from C-137. The idea is that Rick returned to his family after 20 years, but Morty is only 14it doesnt take a mathematician to know that doesnt add up. So perhaps our Morty isnt the Mortiest Morty, and the Morty from Ricks dreams that he cared for in another dimension could be the one who later grew up to be Evil Morty.

Theres an episode where Mortys brainwaves cancel Ricks because hes as stupid as Rick is smart. But is Morty really that stupid? (Also, thats not how waves work.) Morty can think fast on his feet, is good at deducing situations (such as figuring out the weakness of the Parasites when Rick was clueless to it), and he has sensible reactions to Ricks insanity. And perhaps the most telling clue: Evil Morty is found out to be remote-controlling Evil Rick with a transmitter under his eye-patch. Is this malevolent, genius Morty smarter than all the Ricks?!

The shows logline tells us that Rick has returned after two decades to his family, after being in hiding in another dimension. But Morty is only 14, which means that the Morty were following in the show isnt Ricks original Morty. The relationship between Rick and Morty that we know is not all it seems to be! This is a big reason why people believe the Morty from Ricks dreams is the Original Morty, who grew up to become Evil Morty to get back at Rick for betraying his family, and is on a vengeance mission.

There have been hundreds of Ricks and Mortys weve run into throughout the showmost recently shown visiting the Citadel of Ricks. The show has had several subplots involving Doofus Rick, Pickle Rick, Cyclops Morty, The One True Morty, etc. The bottom line is that theres an infinite variety of Ricks and Mortys out there, enough to populate a governing council of alternate universes, so we might never really know who is who.

There are some scientific theories that Rick and Morty get right, but cloning humans is a bit of a stretch. In several episodes, Rick clones people: himself to send a younger Rick to hunt vampires in high school; Beth so she can abandon her family to replace Beths childhood friend Timmy, and to save Timmys father. A clone is an organism created from identical copies of genetic information, and while it would be biologically possible to clone a human, developmental deformities would be a high risk, and the brainwashing that Rick puts his clones through probably wouldnt happen.

References: medium.com, vulture.com, reddit.com, livescience.com

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18 Things About Rick And Morty That Make No Sense - TheThings