Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives

Has anyone else watched this documentary? I watched it when it was first shown last year and was blown away by it. It's available on iPlayer again as it was repeated this week. I would be interested to know what others make of the Many Worlds interpretation of the Universe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b008d2zj/Parallel_Worlds_Parallel_Lives/

Documentary which follows Mark Oliver Everett, the lead singer of US rock band Eels, as he travels across America to learn about the father he never knew, quantum physicist Hugh Everett III.

Hugh died of a heart attack in his home in 1982, where his body was found by 19-year-old Mark. Even though they had lived in the same house, the two of them were alienated. Only by entering the paradoxical world of quantum mechanics can Mark hope to understand why he was such a stranger to his own father.

What an absolutely fascinating documentary-not what I was expecting at all. The quantum physics thing, of course...is way beyond my patience for extreme detail, or intelligence. Although, things are explained in a way, that makes it very watchable for anyone not previously interested in these things.

What do I think of the 'many worlds' interpretation of the universe? Well, I suppose it's a bit like another possibility of what could happen next, like in the film 'Sliding Doors', only if the theory is true, then everything that happens could have a diifferent path, and it could go on, ad infinitum. Only as things aren't perceived this way to our experience of what is happening, I wonder how much worth is there in spending time thinking about it?

The father/son relationship is a journey of discovery, Mark's monotone voice is quite deceptive, you never quite know what he's going to say next. Had me smiling a few times (like when he was in the Pentagon). Ends with a strange irony, but I won't say anymore in case it spoils it for any others who may like to watch it. And nice music anyway for those who like bearded geek-boy folk/rock like Ray LaMontagne sort-of-stuff.

Anyone vaguely interested-give it at least 10 minutes before you decide to switch off.

Nice one Alastair-good find.

As well as winning awards, this documentary was actually screened at Eels gigs earlier this year instead of the obligatory boring support act.

Fascinating stuff and Mark Everett is a natural in front of the camera.

Can't recommend this highly enough.

I saw this and found it fascinating.

Looked for it yesterday . . . no longer available.

Looked for it yesterday . . . no longer available.

What a shame, anyone know how, or if, it can be watched again?

I'm glad people liked it. It made me seek out the music of Eels which is now on my iPod.

It's still available on the usual torrent sites. Not that I would ever condone downloading for free, oh no.

One of the more interesting thought experiments of the Many Worlds interpretation is "Quantum Suicide" or in fact proving immortality -

An experimenter sits in front of a loaded gun which is triggered or not triggered depending on the decay of some radioactive atoms.

With each run of the experiment there is a 50-50 chance that the gun will be triggered and the experimenter will die. If the many-worlds interpretation is correct then at each run of the experiment, the experimenter will be split into one world in which he lives and another world in which he dies. After many runs of the experiment, there will be many worlds. In the worlds where the experimenter dies, he will cease to exist.

However, from the point of view of the non-dead copies of the experimenter, the experiment will continue running without his ceasing to exist, because at each branch, he will only be able to observe the result in the world in which he survives, and if many-worlds is correct, the surviving copies of the experimenter will notice that he never seems to die, therefore "proving" himself to be invulnerable to the gun mechanism in question, at least from his own point of view.

I'm glad people liked it. It made me seek out the music of Eels which is now on my iPod.

 

It's still available on the usual torrent sites. Not that I would ever condone downloading for free, oh no.

 

Onbe of the more interesting thought experiments of the Many Worlds interpretation is "Quantum Suicide" or in fact proving immortality -

 

An experimenter sits in front of a loaded gun which is triggered or not triggered depending on the decay of some radioactive atoms.

 

With each run of the experiment there is a 50-50 chance that the gun will be triggered and the experimenter will die. If the many-worlds interpretation is correct then at each run of the experiment, the experimenter will be split into one world in which he lives and another world in which he dies. After many runs of the experiment, there will be many worlds. In the worlds where the experimenter dies, he will cease to exist.

 

However, from the point of view of the non-dead copies of the experimenter, the experiment will continue running without his ceasing to exist, because at each branch, he will only be able to observe the result in the world in which he survives, and if many-worlds is correct, the surviving copies of the experimenter will notice that he never seems to die, therefore "proving" himself to be invulnerable to the gun mechanism in question, at least from his own point of view.

How many times does the experimenter undergo this? If it's more than once, isn't the law of probability against him?

How many times does the experimenter undergo this? If it's more than once, isn't the law of probability against him?

No, because every time he kills himself there is also another world created where he doesn't kill himself. In the world where he doesn't die he tries again, but again a world is created where he doesn't shoot himself. And so on, that's whyn it's also known as quantum immortality.

Maybe this explains it better? http://science.howstuffworks.com/quantum-suicide.htm

No, because every time he kills himself there is also another world created where he doesn't kill himself. In the world where he doesn't die he tries again, but again a world is created where he doesn't shoot himself. And so on, that's whyn it's also known as quantum immortality.

 

Maybe this explains it better? http://science.howstuffworks.com/quantum-suicide.htm

No, the theory is wrong. The universe isn't split into two. Fate is split into two.

What I mean is, what doesn't happen, doesn't exist.

Beautiful Freak is a fantastic album / track. I'm sad I missed this programme, I heard about it of McConie and Lard's Radio 2 show long enough ago to have forgotten, until now .

And the many worlds theory is way off being disproven...