Quantum theory seems to suggest that reality only comes about when a measurement is taken.
Before that all we can say is that there are certain probabilities that a particle will be in such and such a position. There are many, many options.
The many worlds theory in contrast says that wherever there is a choice, a new world is physically created.
So in other words every second there are countless new universes being created, and so every option is played out. Every possible reality, therefore, exists somewhere as a real universe.
This seems to be a bizarre conclusion and it would appear the most decadent flouting of Ockham's Razor that one could conjure... yet despite this many people take it seriously and some believe it to be true.
Given it seems to conjure up at a whim countless physical realities, what is the huge explanatory power this theory must surely offer to be taken seriously? Well, not a lot really, except that it avoids the very sticky measurement problem that comes with the other interpretation of the quantum world, that is, the Copenhagen interpretation.
It also may seem attractive for helping to avoid some other problems such as the fine tuning of the universe and how the world seems to be 'just right' for life to be capable of evolving... if every reality is played out then some worlds are going to be just right, and of course as we are conscious beings we must be in one of those worlds that is capable of supporting us.
What are your thoughts on this theory? It must be said that whilst many are proponents of this theory many are sceptical about it and most theorists probably are not fully convinced by either interpretation of the quantum world. For most it is actually enough that the theory seems to work, rather than to question what it actually means!
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