Parallel Worlds: What If There’s Another You?

Writers of fantasy and science fiction love the idea of parallel worlds. From Diana Wynne Jones, who imagined eight doubles for every person, to Terry Pratchett’s “Trousers of Time” idea, the thought of other worlds that are almost like ours but not quite, has inspired endless stories.

But it’s not just for novels. Surprisingly, some serious scientists support the idea of the multiverse, the belief that many universes may exist side by side.

Believe it or not, there’s even a formula in cosmology that tells you where your “other self” might live. According to this theory, your double lives in a galaxy that’s about 10 to the power of 1028 meters away. You could try sending a letter but let’s be honest, that’s not happening anytime soon.

A simpler version of the multiverse idea says this: if the universe is truly infinite, then it must contain an endless number of planets. So, it makes sense that a few of them would look just like ours.

The more complex ideas behind the multiverse can get very technical. If you don’t believe a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time, you might want to stop here.

But if Schrödinger’s Cat sounds familiar, then you’ll recognize that the multiverse idea came from quantum theory.

In 1957, physicist Hugh Everett was the first to seriously suggest the idea of parallel worlds. He used it to solve a big puzzle in physics: why we only see one outcome of a measurement, even though the math suggests many possibilities. His answer? Every possible outcome really does happen in its own universe.

Even those who believe in the multiverse agree we probably won’t ever visit one. Unless a miracle in technology happens, we’re not meeting our doubles anytime soon.

Sometimes the multiverse is used in ways that don’t need a physics degree, just a sense of humor. For example, the London Hammer, found in the 1930s, was dated by scientists as 500 million years old, long before humans were around, according to evolution. Did scientists rethink their dating methods? Not really. Instead, some claimed it must have drifted here from a parallel universe or maybe was left behind by a time traveler!

In the end, it’s good to remember that the multiverse is still just a theory. Many scientists don’t believe in it at all, and there’s no real proof that even one parallel world exists. As believing Jews, we know that truth doesn’t always come from science and we’re not holding our breath for the multiverse to explain everything.