Quantum Mechanics & Parallel Universes

Quantum mechanics physics essentially states in very simple terms that on the atomic, and especially the sub-atomic level, nothing is predictable, and everything seems completely random. (At least for specific positions - it can predict "probability distributions" where a group of particles will probably be distributed.) In part this is because such extremely tiny matter sometimes behave as particles and sometimes as a wave. Einstein rejected this conclusion of complete randomness by famously saying "God does not play dice with the universe."

Einstein strove for the latter half of his life to find a unified theory that would explain this anamoly. However, he did not reach this goal before he died. Others continue in this work, but still have not reached this goal, though string theory (and now membrane theory) is thought to possibly provide an answer. As he strove on, Einstein was seen as increasingly irrevelant as quantum mechanics was used in many applications such as electronics and the transistor. My own feeling is that there are matters here that we do not yet understand, but will in time. Many matters in science remained unresolved for long periods of time in history before an answer was found, and I tend to believe eventually one will be found that will explain what now seems to us as uncertainty and randomness at the atomic and subatomic level.

However, in the meantime, many physicists and thinkers believed everything is essentially uncertain because of the implications of quantum mechanics. Along comes Hugh Everett III, a bright physicist student at Princeton in 1957, who wrote a dissertation, "The Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics." Basically, Hugh Everett proposed that the problem was in assuming only one observer, and that a solution would be to think of parallel universes at each point when a particle was there and then was not. If taken to its extreme, this could mean at every instant, a new parrallel universe is spun off, doing exactly the opposite. At first, Hugh Everett was isolated in the scientific community. Over time, his theory gained ground, at first with people who loved the concept of parallel universes, and then much later in the scientific community. However, the initial rejection devastated Hugh Everett, and he died in 1982 of a heart attack, still mostly unrecognized.

Hugh Everett had a son, Mark Oliver Everett, and bought him a toy set drums when he was 6. Eventually, Mark became the lead singer for the Eels, an alternative rock band whose music was featured in the Shrek soundtrack. Mark felt distanced from his father, and only started finding out about his father recently. That search is documented in a recent Nova program, "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives." The website for the show is at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds/. The show not only explores Mark Everett's search to find out more about his father, but explores and explains his father's ideas.

Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenbury, did a famous show that explored the whole concept of a parallel universe, "Mirror, Mirror," which aired on October 6, 1967 as Episode 4 of Season 2. In it, the major characters of the show have evil counterparts in a parallel universe. Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, and McCoy accidentally swap with these counterparts, and all sorts of confusions begin. Many other writers have explored parallel universes in other settings, and C. S. Lewis uses them in the "Chronicle of Narnia."

For a Christian the uncertainty posed by quantum mechanics does not need be troubling. God created an orderly universe with certain predictible laws. This premise is the foundation for modern science in the West. Discovering God's laws in science was the impetus for scientists in the West to test theory with observations and experiments to discover how the universe God created worked. I believe eventually, though I don't know how long it will take, we will come to understand how what now seems to us to be random and unpredictable at the atomic and subatomic level actually works.