I enjoy this debate. It makes for an interesting discussion.
The A/C analogy is inadequate. The idea the Universe is a 'closed system' is an assumption. Fact is, nobody knows if it is or isn't.
Likewise, nobody knows if the reality we experience in our lifetimes is balanced even on a small planet as this.
There are however, many examples of real life imbalances.
Environmental
Health
Wealth
Land mass
Temperature
Intelligence
Wisdom
Justice (punishment/reward)
Plant/Animal/Bacterial populations
and so on...
True they all equal what is known as Planet Earth but even that is imbalanced to the bodies of the Solar system.
The observation that space is expanding also indicates a Universe imbalance.
In weather, low pressure/high pressure differences causes winds and storms (a condition of imbalance). Space has storms as well.
If one believes in the Big Bang (an exploding Universe), and many people do, The very act of an explosion is an imbalanced condition. If the Big Bang is believed, we are currently inside a great explosion because we have observed the Universe expanding (in movement). If the Universe were in balance it would be tranquil (as a whole).
In reality, we see cause and effect. We see chaos. We see generation and destruction. We are part of the Universe and reflect its nature.
The human species is out of balance as well. More people are born than die.
Our over-population sets other things out of balance. One imbalance affects others. It ripples outward.
Uniqueness is also a condition of imbalance. It puts an unequal condition into the mix. The Earth has a specific Moon at a specific size at a specific distance that allows a specific condition to occur on a specific planet in a specific star system in a specific galaxy. If it were a balanced system, all star systems would have the same conditions we find in the solar system.
Our uniqueness indicates an imbalanced Universe.
There are many things we assume without proof.
We assume there is a single Universe but there might be billions of Universes. Every moment in time could be a separate Universe.
Every Boson could be a separate Universe.
With something like gravitational lensing, what we think is part of our Universe may be another Universe which we can't see the boundaries to differentiate the edges. So many unknown factors.
The only reality we actually know is the reality before us at a specific time. Even that is subject to perception and expectation. Add into that the fact we humans have the capacity for self-delusion and biased perception and who knows what reality actually is.
I see a Universe which is imbalanced and unequal.
You may see a Universe which is balanced and equal.
Who is actually right? Does it really matter?
You have a scale (calibrated correctly).
There are 10 bricks on each side balanced out.
You add one brick to one side and remove one brick from the other.
The scale is imbalanced.
It will remain imbalanced until equality returns.
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On the subject of parallel Universes if there are, if one is imbalanced the others will be too. If one is balanced, the others will be too.
We don't know if there is an ultra-existence in which Universes reside.
But if there were, parallel Universes would also put that ultra-existence realm out of balance.
More likely, in a multiverse scenario, the different Universes are similar but not parallel. Kinda like a vast line of color shades at a paint store.
Each Universe similar to the one next to it but differing more and more at a distance. At the two extreme ends of the scale very different.
In my mind I picture it as a 1 dimensional point bisected with a line thru it. Each bi-sectional direction radiates outward like a sphere. Then each radial line is composed of more 1 dimensional points likewise bisected.
Every moment of time has multiple paths and reality is the path we are aware of because it is the path we follow.
When we die, our path stops, no more bisection, no more lines. Yet all the other possible paths remain. In effect, we continue on the paths of our similar dimensions. It is not until all paths have ended that we actually die from existence. Since the bi-sectional paths initiate from the moment of our conception, our dimensional probabilities diminish as time occurs. Eventually there will be only one occurrence of us on a single path bisection. It may be the one right now or a path on the other side completely.
There could be billions of versions of you, some similar, some very different but all you.