Nine Weird Implications of the Many Worlds Interpretation

George Dvorsky, for io9:

Quantum physicists have used the [Many Worlds Interpretation] to reconcile an uncomfortable shortcoming of the Copenhagen Interpretation, namely the assertion that unobserved phenomenon can exist in dual states. So instead of saying that Schrödinger’s cat is both alive and dead, Many Worlders would say the cat has simply “branched” off into two different worlds: one in which it is alive and one in which it is dead.

Some 60 years after its introduction, the MWI remains a highly controversial subject. In a 2013 poll of quantum physicists, only a fifth said they subscribe to the MWI (as compared to the 42% who fall into the Copenhagen camp). That said, the list of thinkers who describe themselves as Many Worlders is an impressive one, and includes such eminent thinkers as quantum physicist David Deutsch, theoretical computer scientist Scott Aaronson, and physicist Sean Carroll.

Regardless of where one stands on the theory, it’s certainly interesting to think about the implications. Here are nine that are particularly weird.

This is a fun article that visits several of the most thought provoking destinations along this multiple world odyssey.