Parallel multiple universes are a staple of science fiction and fantasy. What’s not to love about endless possibilities? There is even a scientific basis for it. Quantum theory allows for the possibility of universes overlapping in time and space.
In popular culture, we see this yearning in Sliders, Sliding Doors, Back to the Future, Russian Doll, and my favourite episode of Community. Every time a decision is made, a new timeline splits off, one for each choice. In another universe, you’re a millionaire. In another universe, someone you lost is still alive.
What if multiple universes exist but they aren’t split by actions, they’re split by perception?
We already live in multiple universes. Our stories, our version of events overlay each other and split off into multiple worlds. How many universes exist, right beside us? Walking past us? Overlapping on a peak hour train? To explore an entirely different world, all we have to do is be curious and ask (but not on the train because that’s weird).
If particles behave differently when observed, it is because perception influences it, maybe adding dimensions.
This is not solipsism – where you can only be sure that you exist and other people might be a dream, but the coexistence of entire universes. I am a dream in yours just as you are in mine. We can’t compete for best grasp of reality, because neither of us truly has it to begin with. It’s impossible, without being everyone.
Much of the story we tell ourselves about what happened fills in gaps that we can’t know or measure. People’s thoughts, expressions and even their actions are interpreted and overlaid by our own beliefs and narrative. Personally, I believe there is a scientifically verifiable sequence of events, a thread that bind us all together. Perfect relativism is insanity. A thing either happened or it didn’t, and fake news is symptomatic of deep illness in our society. Yet, on any bare bone sequence of events, there are innumerable stories and versions of why it happened, which colours our understanding of what and how.
If there is any ultimate truth to be found, it’s not in deciding whose version is most correct, it’s in acknowledging that the truth encompasses all experiences and that they exist side by side.
Pingback: Compass in the wild | Muchness