Devil's Advocate #2: Infinite worlds? (Part 2) I Don't Think So!
In a previous post, I pointed out that the "infinite worlds" of Many-Worlds Theory is not, in truth, infinite. Staggeringly huge, yes, but not infinite.
But I don't think the Many-Worlds theory is actually correct. I don't think the world - the universe, the multiverse - works like that. Exactly why that is is more a matter of off-the-cuff philosophy than the mathematics of the last post. This is summing up my feelings and beliefs on the subject, and it's not entirely based on logic. It certainly isn't based on proof. It's just a case of "I don't think it's right, and here's why."
Here's the thing: most people think of MWT either as, "Every time you make a decision, the universe splits and in the other universe you also make the other choice," or, "Every time something may go one way, the universe splits and things go the other way as well." And that's true. But it's inaccurate.
MWT doesn't give a damn about macroscopic events. MWT is all about energy states, Heisenberg uncertainty, and other quantum-mechanical fun. Many-Worlds Theory is properly defined as (or close to), "Every time a quantum outcome must be chosen by probability, each comes to pass, each in a different universe."
A lot of those differences are going to be essentially inconsequential. An electron might change energy states, giving out an extra photon. That could cascade into other changes... but they might be equally inconsequential. Who cares if a star gives out one extra photon? Will it really affect anything? No, probably not. So if MWT is true, there'd be a lot of universes that are functionally identical. If I were to travel to another universe (somehow) and the only difference was that one photon, I'd never be able to tell.
I don't believe in God, but this nevertheless strikes me as wasteful. The universe is all about taking the easiest road; water takes the easiest path downhill, energy propagates through the least resistance, and so on. Why would the multiverse spend so much energy doing things with no consequences? Even bringing up the Butterfly Effect doesn't really work, because I'm not at all certain events that small would cascade into something larger. I mean, yes, they can, but would they every single time? Surely not.
Still, if enough of those differences happen at once or that disparity happens in the right place and it cascades, then it would. If enough atoms zig instead of zag, you get a wind in one universe and a hurricane in another, or nothing. And if it happens to take place in some bit of circuitry, it might cause a computer to crash. And there are some who think brains may operate, in part, on a quantum-mechanical level, so possibly the right change in a single particle or atom in someone's brain could, indeed, make you choose ice cream over cheesecake for dessert, or even something more crucial.
It's even possible for these macroscopic consequences to be outrageously weird. After all, the location of a particular particle is never definite. It's a matter of probabilities, and those are determined by quantum mechanics. So there might be a 99.99999999999% chance that the electron is in location A, but that leaves a miniscule chance it's really somewhere else. And that somewhere else is anywhere in the universe. Each location has its own probability of containing that electron. It is possible for an electron that is here to suddenly be there. And in fact that happens all the time, over short distances. Look up quantum tunneling, if you doubt me. Electronics depend on it.
But it can happen over long distances, too, at least in theory. It's quite possible for that electron to suddenly shift across the room. Or the planet. Or the galaxy. There's a probability that it's there; all there needs to be is something to make that infinitesimally tiny chance the real one, and it's there. And there's a chance that all the particles in your body decide to do that. At once. You would essentially teleport across the room, or planet, or galaxy. They say that likelihood is so small that you'd have to wait many, many times longer than the universe has existed for that to ever come to pass, but it is possible.
And that is the other problem I have with MWT. If every single probability gets expressed somewhere in the multiverse, then there is a universe out there where something has teleported. "Okay, big deal," you say. "Kinda cool, actually."
Yup. It is. But the chances of something spontaneously teleporting apply to everything. Which means that there's a universe out there with lots of things teleporting. Repeatedly. Including people. And getting even further off the line of probability, but still withing the realm of possibility, things would appear and disappear all over the place, at random. Brownian Motion, the "random walk" of atoms and molecules, would suddenly line up and all the air would rush out of rooms, and coffee might flash into steam or freeze solid. The teleportation of molecules and atoms would align just right and concrete buildings would turn into tofu. People could change into Pokemon.
And it might happen at just the right instant to create some interesting effects. Imagine that every time someone shouted "fus ro da" Brownian Motion of the air around him would align into a massive gust of wind, blowing things away from him. Every time. It could happen. If every time people waved their hands in a certain way and, coincidentally, all the electrons in his hand changed energy states, he just threw a lightning bolt.
Magic, apparently, can exist. If MWT is real, so is magic. Somewhere.
This is nuts. If this happened here, people would literally go insane. Nothing could be certain anymore. Except... maybe they wouldn't go insane at all! After all, there's a possibility that the electrons and other reactions in your head would react just so, and you'd accept it calmly. There's a chance everyone on the planet would just go about their daily business, just working around whatever the daily weirdness is.
And there's a chance that, however normal things are right now, it all begins in the next instant. There's nothing that says such a universe had to start out so bizarre. At any second you could start teleporting all over the universe, or explode into your component atoms, or turn into a couch. With a really ugly upholstery pattern.
If MWT is true, it's already happened. Somewhere in the multiverse, you have transmogrified into a couch.
Perhaps now you can see why I don't think MWT is real.
Now, keep in mind I'm an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy, and an amateur author at it. I like the idea. It allows for some absolutely awesome story possibilities. So I'm not going to fault any author who uses it, and I'm going to use it myself on occasion. But I don't think it's actually true. It's just too messy!
But I don't think the Many-Worlds theory is actually correct. I don't think the world - the universe, the multiverse - works like that. Exactly why that is is more a matter of off-the-cuff philosophy than the mathematics of the last post. This is summing up my feelings and beliefs on the subject, and it's not entirely based on logic. It certainly isn't based on proof. It's just a case of "I don't think it's right, and here's why."
Here's the thing: most people think of MWT either as, "Every time you make a decision, the universe splits and in the other universe you also make the other choice," or, "Every time something may go one way, the universe splits and things go the other way as well." And that's true. But it's inaccurate.
MWT doesn't give a damn about macroscopic events. MWT is all about energy states, Heisenberg uncertainty, and other quantum-mechanical fun. Many-Worlds Theory is properly defined as (or close to), "Every time a quantum outcome must be chosen by probability, each comes to pass, each in a different universe."
A lot of those differences are going to be essentially inconsequential. An electron might change energy states, giving out an extra photon. That could cascade into other changes... but they might be equally inconsequential. Who cares if a star gives out one extra photon? Will it really affect anything? No, probably not. So if MWT is true, there'd be a lot of universes that are functionally identical. If I were to travel to another universe (somehow) and the only difference was that one photon, I'd never be able to tell.
I don't believe in God, but this nevertheless strikes me as wasteful. The universe is all about taking the easiest road; water takes the easiest path downhill, energy propagates through the least resistance, and so on. Why would the multiverse spend so much energy doing things with no consequences? Even bringing up the Butterfly Effect doesn't really work, because I'm not at all certain events that small would cascade into something larger. I mean, yes, they can, but would they every single time? Surely not.
Still, if enough of those differences happen at once or that disparity happens in the right place and it cascades, then it would. If enough atoms zig instead of zag, you get a wind in one universe and a hurricane in another, or nothing. And if it happens to take place in some bit of circuitry, it might cause a computer to crash. And there are some who think brains may operate, in part, on a quantum-mechanical level, so possibly the right change in a single particle or atom in someone's brain could, indeed, make you choose ice cream over cheesecake for dessert, or even something more crucial.
It's even possible for these macroscopic consequences to be outrageously weird. After all, the location of a particular particle is never definite. It's a matter of probabilities, and those are determined by quantum mechanics. So there might be a 99.99999999999% chance that the electron is in location A, but that leaves a miniscule chance it's really somewhere else. And that somewhere else is anywhere in the universe. Each location has its own probability of containing that electron. It is possible for an electron that is here to suddenly be there. And in fact that happens all the time, over short distances. Look up quantum tunneling, if you doubt me. Electronics depend on it.
But it can happen over long distances, too, at least in theory. It's quite possible for that electron to suddenly shift across the room. Or the planet. Or the galaxy. There's a probability that it's there; all there needs to be is something to make that infinitesimally tiny chance the real one, and it's there. And there's a chance that all the particles in your body decide to do that. At once. You would essentially teleport across the room, or planet, or galaxy. They say that likelihood is so small that you'd have to wait many, many times longer than the universe has existed for that to ever come to pass, but it is possible.
And that is the other problem I have with MWT. If every single probability gets expressed somewhere in the multiverse, then there is a universe out there where something has teleported. "Okay, big deal," you say. "Kinda cool, actually."
Yup. It is. But the chances of something spontaneously teleporting apply to everything. Which means that there's a universe out there with lots of things teleporting. Repeatedly. Including people. And getting even further off the line of probability, but still withing the realm of possibility, things would appear and disappear all over the place, at random. Brownian Motion, the "random walk" of atoms and molecules, would suddenly line up and all the air would rush out of rooms, and coffee might flash into steam or freeze solid. The teleportation of molecules and atoms would align just right and concrete buildings would turn into tofu. People could change into Pokemon.
And it might happen at just the right instant to create some interesting effects. Imagine that every time someone shouted "fus ro da" Brownian Motion of the air around him would align into a massive gust of wind, blowing things away from him. Every time. It could happen. If every time people waved their hands in a certain way and, coincidentally, all the electrons in his hand changed energy states, he just threw a lightning bolt.
Magic, apparently, can exist. If MWT is real, so is magic. Somewhere.
This is nuts. If this happened here, people would literally go insane. Nothing could be certain anymore. Except... maybe they wouldn't go insane at all! After all, there's a possibility that the electrons and other reactions in your head would react just so, and you'd accept it calmly. There's a chance everyone on the planet would just go about their daily business, just working around whatever the daily weirdness is.
And there's a chance that, however normal things are right now, it all begins in the next instant. There's nothing that says such a universe had to start out so bizarre. At any second you could start teleporting all over the universe, or explode into your component atoms, or turn into a couch. With a really ugly upholstery pattern.
If MWT is true, it's already happened. Somewhere in the multiverse, you have transmogrified into a couch.
Perhaps now you can see why I don't think MWT is real.
Now, keep in mind I'm an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy, and an amateur author at it. I like the idea. It allows for some absolutely awesome story possibilities. So I'm not going to fault any author who uses it, and I'm going to use it myself on occasion. But I don't think it's actually true. It's just too messy!