#Many worlds

[tayshifts]

Would anyone be interested if I did a post on the many worlds interpretation of quantum physics? As a scientist, it helped me rationalize shifting and understand its potential better

[thebardostate]

What Does Quantum Physics Imply About Consciousness?

In recent years much has been written about whether quantum mechanics (QM) does or does not imply that consciousness is fundamental to the cosmos. This is a problem that physicists have hotly debated since the earliest days of QM a century ago. It is extremely controversial; highly educated and famous physicists can't even agree on how to define the problem.

I have a degree in physics and did some graduate level work in QM before switching to computer science; my Ph.D. addressed topics in cognitive science. So I'm going to give it a go to present an accessible and non-mathematical summary of the problem, hewing to as neutral a POV as I can manage. Due to the complexity of this subject I'm going to present it in three parts, with this being Part 1.

What is Quantum Mechanics?

First, a little background on QM. In science there are different types of theories. Some explain how phenomena work without predicting outcomes (e.g., Darwin's Theory of Evolution). Some predict outcomes without explaining how they work (e.g., Newton's Law of Gravity.)

QM is a purely predictive theory. It uses something called the wave function to predict the behavior of elementary particles such as electrons, photons, and so forth. The wave function expresses the probabilities of various outcomes, such as the likelihood that a photon will be recorded by a detection instrument. Before the physicist takes a measurement the wave function expresses what could happen; once the measurement is taken, it's no longer a question of probabilities because the event has happened (or not). The instrument recorded it. In QM this is called wave function collapse.

The Measurement Problem

When a wave function collapses, what does that mean in real terms? What does it imply about our familiar macroscopic world, and why do people keep saying it holds important implications for consciousness?

In QM this is called the Measurement Problem, first introduced in 1927 by physicist Werner Heisenberg as part of his famous Uncertainty Principle, and further developed by mathematician John Von Neumann in 1932. Heisenberg didn't attempt to explain what wave function collapse means in real terms; since QM is purely predictive, we're still not entirely sure what implications it may hold for the world we are familiar with. But one thing is certain: the predictions that QM makes are astonishingly accurate.

We just don't understand why they are so accurate. QM is undoubtedly telling us "something extremely important" about the structure of reality, we just don't know what that "something" is.

Interpretations of QM

But that hasn't stopped physicists from trying. There have been numerous attempts to interpret what implications QM might hold for the cosmos, or whether the wave function collapses at all. Some of these involve consciousness in some way; others do not.

Wave function collapse is required in these interpretations of QM:

The Copenhagen Interpretation (most commonly taught in physics programs)

Collective Collapse interpretations

The Transactional Interpretation

The Von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation

It is not required in these interpretations:

The Consistent Histories interpretation

The Bohm Interpretation

The Many Worlds Interpretation

Quantum Superdeterminism

The Ensemble Interpretation

The Relational Interpretation

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, there are a boatload of other interpretations (e.g. Quantum Bayesianism). None of them should be taken as definitive since most of them are not falsifiable except via internal contradiction.

Big names in physics have lined up behind several of these (Steven Hawking was an advocate of the Many Worlds Interpretation, for instance) but that shouldn't be taken as anything more than a matter of personal philosophical preference. Ditto with statements of the form "most physicists agree with interpretation X" which has the same truth status as "most physicists prefer the color blue." These interpretations are philosophical in nature, and the debates will never end. As physicist M. David Mermin once observed: "New interpretations appear every year. None ever disappear."

What About Consciousness?

I began this post by noting that QM has become a major battlefield for discussions of the nature of consciousness (I'll have more to say about this in Part 2.) But linkages between QM and consciousness are certainly not new. In fact they have been raging since the wave function was introduced. Erwin Schrodinger said -

And Werner Heisenberg said -

In Part 2 I will look deeper at the connections between QM and consciousness with a review of philosopher Thomas Nagel's 2012 book Mind and Cosmos. In Part 3 I will take a look at how recent research into Near-Death Experiences and Terminal Lucidity hold unexpected implications for understanding consciousness.

(Image source: @linusquotes)

[oliviabutsmart]

Physics Friday #15 [DWQ]: Multiverse theories

Preamble: What is DWQ?

This is another mini-series that will be ongoing. Similar to opinion posts, there is another type of post that I want to explore.

DWQ - Dealing with Quacks (alternatively, Crackpots or Nuts)

Both crackpots and quacks are unified by what they do. They propose there is something "fundamentally wrong with physics" and that they have this new theory that will change everything.

Their theory is about some fundamental truth with the universe. That the "physics establishment" is constantly attempting to chase ridiculous theories because they don't want to accept reality.

A crackpot is someone who generally has expertise in physics, or a related field like chemistry or engineering. Often they are motivated by a desire for fame.

A quack is someone who has no experience in the field, often with a monetary interest in what they are selling.

"Nuts", which is short for "religious nuts" are those who promote their ideas out of faith and a desire to spread their beliefs. They are more likely to strawman existing ideas first.

I hope that you, the reader, can already understand why I don't like these people. They muddy the waters, mess around with science communication, and give the profession a bad rep. They also lie and pedal disinformation, which ends up acting as a gateway to more serious conspiracy theories within the medical or political realm.

It's also important to identify that this acts on a scale. Technically, some string theorists are a lite form of crackpot - particularly in the way they present their theories and ideas to the public.

But they are significantly more respectable than a flat-earther, or a self-help guru, or a evangelical apologist.

The Multitude of Multiverse theories, or the MultiMultiverse

Multiverse theor(ies) are usually strawmans made by religious fanatics. Think PragerU as a great example.

The argument goes like this:

Scientists have no empirical explanation for fine tuning or the reason for the existence of the universe

In order to explain it, they constructed multiverse theory to explain the source of it

By occam's razor, the simpler argument is the existence of a creator entity, that fine-tuned things for us

Of course you can see how bad the arguments are. The problem is of course that science hasn't accepted any multiverse theory.

Multiverse theories are neat explanations or consequences of other theories, but they are either limited in their explanatory power, or their efficacy to test.

But what are the multiple multiverse theories? Here's three that people claim are multiverse theories:

Many worlds interpretation (a QM thing, and only a multiverse theory in pop culture)

Inflation multiverse theory (one possible consequence of the cosmic inflation hypothesis)

Just an actual multiverse theory (arguable cosmic inflation can lie here)

Many Worlds Interpretation

I've already run through the main gambit of what the Everett interpretation is, so I'm going to tackle this from a pop sci perspective.

When you were younger, you might've heard that the many worlds interpretation literally means many worlds. That with every decision you make, you create a new seperate branching reality. And that multiple realities can simultaneously exist.

Of course, there is an issue with this. Mainly that there aren't multiple realities - there is just one reality, in a superposition of states.

This superposition dictates there is one reality, just that this reality is probabilistic. These realties aren't separated by physical space. It's just one big 'wavefunction'.

Decisions in the many worlds interpretations are also examples of when pop sci goes wrong. It's not necessarily the religious nuts who cause this misconception.

What causes more splits in the wave function is the interactions within it. When an electron collides with a positron, when a chemical in your brain goes from one end to the other. Interaction is what creates these splits.

Technically, decisions are caused by the interactions between electrical signals in our brain, and us making a decision often involves interacting with the world around us. This is how the misconception arises, but the reality is that the split occurs well before and well after a choice is made.

Of course, it's important to state that, the many worlds interpretation is still not the "correct" interpretation. What it posits hasn't been proven.

Inflation Multiverse theory

Inflation theory in itself is already a bit on the rocks in terms of an explanation of why our universe is the way it is. There isn't really any way we can use GR/the standard model to explain why inflation happened. At least, without having to add an extra field or constant in our equations.

Generally, inflation is explained using the addition of a new inflaton field, which in the higher temperatures of the early universe, caused a rapid expansion of spacetime.

This rapid expansion is generated by the field living in a heightened energy state.

At some point, the field reaches a sudden drop-off, at which point the expansion rate suddenly slows down to our expected GR level. The inflaton field then remains at a local minima.

Where does the Multiverse theory come into this?

The drop-off of the inflaton field is not universal. It only occurs at particular points in spacetime. This creates a 'bubble' of space that slowly expands in comparison to the surrounding ocean of space that is rapidly expanding.

We exist in one of these bubbles, which expands at a normal rate. But we aren't the only bubble.

There could be several bubbles surrounding us. All separated by physical space that expands at incredible rates. These bubbles create an effective multiverse.

It's not technically a multiverse because every bubble is still in one single physical universe.

Generally, this version of inflation multiverse theory is better accepted as it has inflation theory to back it up. But it's still not provable, so it's not regarded as truth.

The actual Multiverse theories

There are several multiverse theories. But the key thread linking the other multiverses, is that there is no physical way to traverse the space in-between worlds, and that each universe is seperate in beyond a physical capacity.

I can't go into many different multiverse theories, because the main point is that they're all either bullshit or thought experiments.

One example is the "temporal multiverse theory" which states that time is actually a 3-dimensional quantity, were our multiverses are caused by separations in time.

When you go back in time and alter the past, you end up in an alternate timeline future. This is a common way to interpret most time travel movies or scenarios.

Another is the "10-dimension" theory. There are 3 dimensions of space, 3 dimensions of time, and 3 dimensions of "universe". What is this universe dimension? Well it's effectively supposed to be an altering of the fundamental physical parameters.

The problem is that we don't think that the universe happens to perfectly have three degrees of freedom in it's construction.

The 10th dimension is usually unexplained in this theory.

So what was that fundamentalist strawman about?

There is an idea in physics called "quantum darwinism". This theory basically states that from the many worlds interpretation, there will be one probabilistic reality where human consciousness lives in. And thus that version of reality will be the one we see, as it was fit for human life.

This principle can be extended to various different versions of multiverse theory. That out of the many possible realities, we observe the reality that created the perfect conditions for human life.

This argument, that the universe was predisposed to observation, because it had to circularly, is called the anthropic principle. It can be said that it's an extension of the copernican principle.

And that's it. That's the strawman. Of course, this form of darwinism is not really an actual theory, more a thought experiment.

Conclusion

This post is slightly less long than the other ones but still a lot. Oops! Ruh roh!

Anyways, I hope y'all like this post with a different topic. They will be rarer because I want to take my time tackling these types of posts. Please lmk if you think this post was informative or if you'd like to see more!

Next week will probably be on Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. Follow if you wanna see more!

[manyworldsmw]

Polaris

(poe-LAR-iss) Polaris is one of the coldest planets in Astera, being covered in snow and ice. It has very little plant life, and any fauna that resides on the planet has adapted to the severely cold climate. Those who live on Polaris are referred to as Polarans (or Polarians) and are ruled over by a King and Queen. The Polarans range from large creatures that can smash through solid ice, to smaller ones who can quickly dig themselves a burrow to hide in. If they can survive the cold, then they can live in it, too.

Polaris, and it's two moons.

Polaris closely neighbors three other planets. Florin, Lavarra, and Maris. However, the Polarans have rarely had peace with them, and the four planets have been at war for many years now, fighting without end.

They definitely have a strong hatred towards the Lavarrans, especially after what they did.

[avaganda]

1986 - Perth, Western Australia - Bad Wolf Hijacks the DeLorean from Marty in the Time Vortex and paints it the same colour as her outfit.

[cave-johnson-multiverse]

Cave Johnson here. Chariots chariots. Just got another quick message from the Multiversal Cave Archivist. This Pride Month, apparently it's important for you all to know that she's a pansexual transgendered woman. Honestly she could identify as a bowl of soup for all I care, as long as the other Cave's and I can get some love again.

. . . But not in that way.

. . . And if any of you has an issue with her identity, I'm about to identify as a problem.

Cave out.

[woodsfae]

one of my ADHD life hacks is The Universe Splitter. Sometimes when I have decision fatigue, or feel stuck on an activity and unable to choose to do something else, I can circumvent it by selecting two options and letting a high-tech physics device tell me which universe I'm in.

A few weeks ago I was having trouble sleeping. (because I was camping in Wyoming, in the area with the highest number of grizzly bears in the lower 48. And my sister, who was living and sleeping inside the high-voltage electric bear fence, kept telling me about a griz who ate people in Banff. And how her neighbor got bluff charged awhile ago. And about a mule that stomped a grizzly off a teen boy and saved him. Right before I went outside of the bear fence to camp every single night!) So I put "keep reading" and "go to sleep" into the Universe Splitter app and...it didn't work because there was no cell service to reach the quantum device in Switzerland.

BUT. I have so powerfully conditioned myself to do what the Universe Splitter says, that I thought to myself "there is a universe where I go to sleep and it's this one," and fell asleep almost immediately

This app is more powerful than my concern about being eaten by a grizzly bear.

[rustyjoe]

What if our thoughts are events happening to us in parallel universes?

[sapphyreopal5]

Do you know anything about reality shifting?

Hello Anon, thank you for the interesting ask. So to make sure I have things straight with what you're asking, it sounds to me like you're more or less talking about either the so called "many worlds theory" pointing to parallel universes with all possible timelines occurring in each of them as is described here or about essentially "shifting" to somewhere else while meditating perhaps as is said here, am I correct? I also assume you chose to send me this ask because of the spiritual and metaphysical nature of some of my posts. A brief definition of reality shifting states "Reality shifting is the practice of shifting your subconscious to an alternate reality and is largely based on the Multiverse Theory." Instead of quoting this entire article, I am going to focus more on some of the comments I read in response to this article even one from the original author who has a PHD.

One user asked because I too like to have things laid out in normal terms (not a physicist here afterall and most people here on Tumblr aren't either):

"I am not a physicist or mathematician but am trying to grasp the arguments. Are you saying that, actually, 'universe' is a synonym for 'mentality'? It is a scientific fact that we different mentalities and we see the world and universe through our own personal bias. That is perfectly acceptable to me."

The author responded to this comment with:

"Not exactly. A universe is really a set of observations that you or I make about reality. In quantum many worlds, we believe that each possible observation of a quantum experiment, which as random outcomes, have their own universe. So, if I flip a (quantum) coin, there is a heads universe and a tails universe. Each one has a copy of me in it, one of me observing heads, the other observing tails. It doesn't have to do with bias so much as how we slice and dice what we observe (which could be biased). I say a coin has heads or tails but that is an interpretation of that coin that I have made. Even if other people agree with me, the coin doesn't know that it has heads or tails. Therefore, there cannot be a heads universe and a tails universe."

Anon, I chose to highlight the last tidbit of the author's response here and also the first part of it because this implies to me the many worlds theory is in fact more of how we interpret the universe as opposed to literal universes, which is what a commenter on this post was refering to as "new age wizards". The full comment I talk about here is stated as such:

"Well, lets see: Yuri reminds us that relativity allows observers to disagree on the simultaneity of two events. It’s useful to keep this in mind, for this is still compatible with an objective reality. I don’t think you are justified in saying it isn’t on the basis of the experiment with qubits. This is an imprecise statement; poetry, not science. Physicist learned a lesson when they used the term “measurement” instead of the term “interaction” which precisely fits the phenomenon. “Measurement” smuggles “consciousness” into the discussion, and this empowered a flood of new age wizards claiming to have been vindicated by science. I’ve noticed physicists like Sean Carroll have recently become much more careful about the way they explain these things. Your explanation of this experiment I suggest makes a similar error. It is not objective reality that is being proven wrong. It is that our understanding of what objective reality actually is, is once again being expanded to include observed facts that we’ve never observed before. Reality is no less objective, it’s just not quite the way we thought it was. Our understanding of it has become more sophisticated again, just as Newton’s understanding of it became a special case within the greater and more accurate Einsteinian model. So please, don’t unnecessarily unleash the crazy. Reality is what it is, and we are discovering it."

It has been stated here ultimately that we "live" in many universes based on the understanding of how we perceive things but share one objective universe. Now, if you would like to know what my guides have said from a divination standpoint before I even delved more into the many worlds theory just today (did a little bit of research years ago), they have told me that it is "New Age bullshit" (namely, with their view being literal parallel universes existing side by side). Now there are divine blueprints, which are variations of the divine plans with said milestone events but things happening at slightly different times and sometimes even friends and lovers can change in this sense based on the small decisions we make every day. These do exist in the astral/spirit planes and can't be accessed from the physical but literal universes of every possible outcome happening side by side is not a thing. Sorry if this disappoints anyone reading this.

As for whether time travel is possible or not, my guides also also said no which this article here implies is the case coming from a theoretical physicist. Hermes one time said to me "should anyone attempt to go time traveling, they will end up in the astral planes and remain there". He also said the 2002 movie "The Time Machine" holds a lot of accurate truths about what would really happen should someone attempt to time travel. The ending where Alex is "side by side" Philby in "different times" in the same place as seen in the clip below is really Alex in the astral plane and Philby being in the physicals plane. Someone I went to high school with was talking about time traveling in the sense of doing so mentally, I believe looking he was talking about "reality shifting" via meditation or doing so via dreams as well. He did get caught skipping class a few times in high school meditating by the trees and even one time was seen feeding a squirrel. Oh the people I made friends with in school...

Based on the view of reality shifting being more or less about mindfulness meditation and essentially picturing yourself and your senses being elsewhere, I think that it sort of can be perceived by the senses but not nearly the same as actually being there. According to this Forbes article, it states the following 3 traits are most common amongst those who partake in "reality shifting" in this sense:

"Absorption refers to an individual’s capacity to become deeply immersed in sensory experiences, fantasies or imaginative activities. Individuals with high capacities for absorption tend to have vivid imaginations, a heightened ability to concentrate and a propensity for intense emotional and sensory experiences."

"Dissociation is a psychological phenomenon characterized by a disconnection between thoughts, identity, consciousness and memory. It can manifest in various forms, ranging from mild detachment or spacing out to more severe experiences of depersonalization and derealization, where individuals feel disconnected from themselves or their surroundings."

"Fantasy-proneness is characterized by a heightened tendency to have intense and vivid fantasies, daydreams or imaginary experiences. Individuals who are fantasy-prone often find it easy to immerse themselves in imaginative worlds, sometimes to the extent that they have difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality. Fantasy-prone individuals typically have a rich and detailed imagination, allowing them to conjure elaborate mental images and scenarios."

In this sense, when I first heard the term I was thinking it may have to do with something like this. I don't partake in reality shifting so much but I have had experiences of being in the astral planes physically. I also have posted about things like dreamwalking and other places I have visited while doing so. While I of course believe this is my reality and what I've experienced in the past including all of my physical senses being truly present (and not imagining things), I think that reality shifting is more or less vividly believing you're somewhere else. I think things like virtual reality gaming is becoming more of a thing (the Oculus was very popular this past Christmas season for example). It's also interesting that in past years 3D movies were more popular but less 3D movies are made today. It seems this goes back some to the fact that many 3D movies were made as 2D and simply converted to become 3D. it seems also the glasses were uncomfortable to wear for some people and the simple fact it's more expensive to make 3D than it is so called 2D. I wonder if this reality shifting trend going on with namely teens and younger adults yo speak of Anon is going to make 3D be more in demand one day.

Overall, I would chop up reality shifting as being more or less about having a vivid imagination is what it boils down to. I believe that people can travel to different places via dreamwalking or even somehow entering the astral plane physically like I did one time wide awake (hello Stranger Things!) but reality shifting is not quite the same thing.

Thanks for the interesting ask Anon!

[manyworldsasks]

This is the official ask blog for Many Worlds, created by @rosebuddy14 Here, you will be able to ask questions about @manyworldsmw Any question counts.

[xavier42]

C is the 3rd letter and N is the 14th letter, Cartoon network= PI network

Finn's birthday= March 14th PI day

[lufifer-morningstar]

fellow multiverse believers: there is at least one universe where we all watched goncharov

[manyworldsmw]

Florin

(flor-in)

Florin is one of the planets that are at war with Polaris, Maris, and Lavarra, though they especially have a hatred towards the Polarians and Lavarrans.

Florin is a planet covered in flora, from little flowers, to great trees that tower overhead like skyscrapers. The planet is very beautiful, but those with pollen allergies may want to avoid it at all costs.

Florin, and it’s four moons.

Besides the war and pretty plants, Florian is also well known for hosting weddings for those who request to have them on the planet.

The leader of the Florins, Vye, has even helped host many weddings.

Florin is just a lovely planet overall.

[brokenspring]

Funny story

Funny story:  Many Worlds Interpretation, the theory that all probability is a series of branching universes, is a restating of an ancient occult mystery called ‘The Veil.’  Everett even forgot to remove the extra e at the end of a few words while copying.

[cave-johnson-multiverse]

Chariots chariots.

It's come to my attention that Reddit and Twitter are currently dying horrible, widely publicized and controversial deaths due to aggressive monetization and being run by a petty and fickle little crybaby respectively.

I want to assure all you wonderful Tumblerinas that the Cave Johnson Multiverse is gonna stay strong here on Tumbler, as it's never had a home on either of those husks of websites, and by the looks of it, never will.

Greg and I are doing crack science over here and on most other Earths. Though those worlds with the talking robots kinda freak me out.

Cave Johnson, we're done here.

[spiced-wine-fic]

“There are really two main schools of thought on multiverses, or at least there are in this world. One is known as the “cosmological multiverse”, and suggests that when the universe was created in the Big Bang, it all happened so quickly and with so much energy that when the universe started to rapidly expand there were quantum fluctuations that created separate universes which also started to expand and through their own expansion caused yet more to come into existence, and on and on and on… This idea came from Russian physicist Andrei Linde, who said that this could account for an infinite number of universes that developed, really, in a completely different way to ours.  The other multiverse idea is a bit closer to the one most commonly presented in fiction and also has a pleasing pop-cultural crossover as well. The idea of the “quantum universe” suggests that the universe is constantly splitting into other versions of reality, thanks to every single decision we make. With 7 billion people on Earth making decisions every second of every day, that’s a lot of parallel worlds out there, potentially ranging from ones where Donald Trump woke up one morning and thought, “Hey, today I’ll nuke North Korea!” to ones where you had Pop-Tarts for breakfast instead of porridge.” ”In a way, all fiction is multiverse fiction. Even that which cleaves most closely to the life we are familiar with. Even Coronation Street and EastEnders are multiverse stories. We see these characters, we recognise them as people we could know or live next door to. And yet, they don’t exist. Albert Square is not a real place, nor is Weatherfield, as familiar as they look. These stories, these lives, never happened. Each episode of a soap is essentially a window into a parallel universe almost exactly like our own. The same with every single novel, in which people who do not exist in our world do things in worlds almost precisely like our own, but the very act of them being there and doing those things and having those thoughts creates a whole separate reality.”