If you are part of the Marvel fandom, and follows Spiderman like I do, then you will immediately get the context – the theory of the multiverse really intrigues me. The universe itself is so vast that we cannot observe beyond a certain limit. How do we know there aren’t other universes beyond our own? As physicist Tom Siegfried puts it, “we cannot explain all the features of our universe if there is only one of them”.
Cosmic background radiation is the faint electromagnetic afterglow of the Big Bang, offering a snapshot of the universe when it was only around 380,000 years old. Differences in temperature across this radiation reveal clues about the universe’s early conditions, expansion and composition. However, some anomalies in this radiation have led scientists to consider more unusual explanations. One example is the Cold Spot, a region of the sky that is approximately 70 microkelvin colder than average. The Cold Spot may have other explanations, and it is not evidence of a multiverse on its own, but one theory suggests that this could be marking past interactions with other universes.
Scientists believe that the rapid expansion of the early universe, known as cosmic inflation, could have continued in some regions, potentially creating an enormous number of separate universes. These hypothetical universes could have different properties and exist beyond the limits of what we can observe.
In 1957, Hugh Everett proposed the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics. This suggests that different possible outcomes of quantum events can exist in separate branches of reality. Let’s define one branch as a choice of a career in rocket science rather than medicine which eventually leads to sending rockets towards another solar system. In the Many-Worlds Interpretation, these branches are not simply different universes that we can travel between; they are separate branches of the quantum state that do not ordinarily interact.
In the early 1900s, Einstein’s theory of relativity helped transform our understanding of space and time. Together, the three dimensions of space and the dimension of time, form what we call spacetime. One interpretation of this is the block universe, in which past, present and future events can be viewed as part of a four-dimensional structure. If this interpretation is correct, could our future already be part of that structure?
However, quantum mechanics complicates this picture. At the quantum level, systems can exist in a superposition of different possible states, meaning that more than one outcome can contribute to their overall quantum state.
Imagine the future as a massive tree, with branches splitting into smaller branches, and each twig dividing into even more possibilities. Each leaf represents a possible outcome. In the Many-Worlds Interpretation, these branches represent different outcomes of quantum events, rather than simply different decisions we make in everyday life. The interpretation suggests that different outcomes can persist in separate branches of the quantum state. What we experience, however, is one particular sequence of events. The question of how these possibilities relate to the future we experience remains one of the most intriguing aspects of quantum mechanics.
By this logic, if you believe there is only one positive outcome – getting the perfect grades, securing a place at your dream university, then landing the perfect job; what happens if one of these events doesn’t go to plan? Other possibilities still exist. The more open you are to different outcomes, the more opportunities you may recognise, rather than restricting yourself to a single dream (something I am very much guilty of).
So, whether you land that big client or get rejected from a competition, remember that one setback does not define your future. Walt Disney is often said to have faced repeated rejection before achieving success, and some claim he was rejected nearly 300 times for ‘lacking imagination’. His story is a reminder that rejection does not have to be the end of the road. Don’t let one negative outcome deter you from pursuing a goal, and don’t let one goal blind you to other paths to success. Fixation can all too easily become obsession.
