Westworld’s MWI Is Not String Theory

Published June 10, 2018 · Updated July 6, 2022

During the most recent Telegraph podcast, you read an “um actually” email that pointed out that string theory has nothing to do with infinite dimensions. The listener who wrote that is correct.

However, there IS a mainstream quantum physics theory that features infinite
parallel universes… or at least an absurdly large number of parallel universes. I’m referring to the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation) first proposed by Hugh Everett in the 1950s. In MWI, each time an interaction has more
than one possible outcome, the universe splits so that each possible outcome is realized in some universe. MWI eliminates the infamous “measurement problem” from quantum theory by allowing the Schrodinger wavefunction to evolve continuously over time with no “collapse.”

David Deutsch proposed an even more extravagant version of MWI, in which an infinitude of parallel universes have existed since the beginning of time, so that no splitting of the universe needs to occur, and each possible outcome is realized an infinite number of times, in an infinite number of universes. (See chapter 11 of Deutsch’s 2011 book The Beginning of Infinity.)

A surprisingly large number of physicists believe MWI is more likely to be correct than the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics proposed by Niels Bohr in the 1920s (which is still indoctrinated into gullible young physics students, along with the dictum — often attributed to Richard Feynman — to
“shut up and calculate” rather than think about the foundations of the theory).

If that listener’s email actually did mention MWI but you truncated it when you read it aloud, that was unfortunate, because your omission made him appear ignorant of something someone into string theory should also know about.

Personally, I believe neither MWI nor the orthodox interpretation is likely to be
correct. During the last few decades, experiments on entanglement have demonstrated non-locality: an influence on something located outside one’s lightcone (either by a faster-than-light propagation through normal space, or a wormhole-like connection outside of normal space). Given non-locality, it’s
possible to come up with “realist” interpretations of quantum mechanics that are consistent with all experiments ever performed. Two examples: (1) DeBroglie-Bohm pilot wave theory, and (2) a “waves-but-no-particles” theory in which absorption of a vastly spread-out wave at a small location violates locality. Elaboration is beyond the scope of this email, but if you’re curious you can google DeBroglie-Bohm; the closest things to the “waves-but-no-particles” theory you’re likely to find are “quantum field theory,” “self-entanglement,” and Don Eigler’s comment about wave-particle mumbo jumbo.

I skoff at the idea that led you to mention string theory in the first place: your idea that the Cradle can simultaneously run an infinite number of simulations. That’s impossible because the Cradle hardware must contain a finite number of bits or qubits. Running even one highly detailed simulation faster than real-time would be quite an accomplishment.

I presume that in the simulation we saw last episode, the Cradle interfaced with the sensory and motor input/output pins of Bernard’s control unit (like the “brain in a vat” idea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_in_a_vat). At any given moment it would simulate only the details of Westworld that Bernard was perceiving, and sending the necessary signals to Bernard’s CU so he would experience those
details from his own perspective. The visual representation we saw was entirely within Bernard’s CU. (And in Ford’s CU too, if the Ford avatar interacting with Bernard was more than just code.)

Simultaneously with Bernard’s simulation, if the Cradle had enough hardware it might have been able to run a few additional simulations, presumably to help Ford predict likely behaviors in the real-world battle for world domination… in which Dolores may eventually send out the clones as in the movie Futureworld and the recent tv series Counterpart. To increase the horror and satisfy her desire for revenge, Dolores won’t give the clones free will… although they’ll
be human, they’ll be as trapped in their narratives as unwoke hosts.

Regards,
Steve

Subscribe Now