This chapter was my favourite chapter to read because it explained a theory revolving on the fact that we can never know for sure where an electron is. Meaning that until you see a certain tree, for example, you can never know for sure if it’s falling or standing up, but you can calculate the possibility that it’s falling or standing up.
According to the quantum theory, there is small but calculable probability that you can suddenly dissolve and reappear on the other side of a wall! This is because electrons have the ability to dematerialize and rematerialize on the other side of wall. If electrons could not be in two places at once, we could not exist (Because of this fact electrons form a cloud around the nucleus allowing for atoms to bind).
I really like this chapter because I have always believed in parallel universes/worlds. This chapter explains there the possibility of parallel worlds is almost certain, and there is even a (extremely small) chance that we could slip between these two universes.
To calculate this probability we must use the infamous wave function created by Schrödinger.
Unfortunately, this leads to the “cat problem.” Say there is a cat in a box, then it is impossible to tell if it is dead or alive so we can say that cat is 50% dead and 50% alive at the same time. But, how can a cat be dead and alive at the same time just because we haven’t looked at it yet?
At this point, Hugh Everett III discussed that maybe the cat is both dead and alive at the same time but in different universes. So, when you finally open the box, the cat may be alive in your universe, but in a different one, the cat will be dead.
The many worlds theory has been my favourite theory so far because it confirms that anything is possible. For example, there must exist a world where dinosaurs never became extinct so they are currently living on the same planet we are. Or, there is even a universe where Jurassic Park actually happened and dinosaurs came back to life. There is only a small chance that this would happen in our lifetime, but in an infinite number of universes, this is very likely to happen at least once. The only problem is that our wave functions are different so we can’t interact with the other universes.
Our universe seems like the only universe, but it’s really just the only universe we can interact with. So, our reality simply depends on our specific wave function, and remember for every decision that you make, there is another you who made the opposite decision, and is living out the life you chose not to live...
SO RAD
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