Philosophical Cud: Quantum immortality

Quantum mechanics was probably one of the better things to happen to science fiction writers. Spewing technical- sounding jargon related to quantum mechanics can give a semi-plausible explanation for nearly any phenomenon a science fiction author may write about. Of course, the scientific study of quantum mechanics has more realistic and relevant application, like how data on your flash drive can be permanently erased. But where’s the fun in that? What if, with a thorough understanding of quantum mechanics, humans could discover their own immortality? According to one interpretation of quantum mechanical theory, this discovery may be theoretically possible.

In the subatomic world, the state of a particle can’t be definitively predicted before it’s measured, so the state of the particle is described as a set of probabilities. Physicists use the wave function to represent this set of probabilities. This wave function representation is fine and good, until a person actually wants to know what a particle is doing. For a definitive answer, it must be measured, but it is this very act of measurement that causes problems.

Physicists are divided into two camps when explaining what actually happens when the measurement of a particle occurs. One side asserts that the particle is forced to assume a particular state, effectively ‘collapsing’ the wave function — the Copenhagen interpretation. The other camp posits that the particle still exists in all possible states, and that there is a separate universe for each of these — the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. The same particle can be measured one way in our universe, and another in a different universe. This interpretation may sound fishy but is supported by scientists like Stephen Hawking and David Deutsch. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume they’re correct. What does the many-worlds interpretation have to do with people living forever?

The truth of the matter is that there are lots of subatomic particles. Lots. More than you or I could fathom. When all of these add together, we get the world we are used to, the world with roads, Christmas cards and, indeed, sentient people. There are even more universes than particles, because there are lots and lots of states in which particles exist. If we assume that by the virtue of sitting and reading this article, the multitude of quantum states has lined up in such a way that renders us living, we can see that the interaction of many subatomic particles is what keeps us in business. Suppose, however, that the states of many particles line up to form a car accident and this accident kills you. In another universe, the states would have been different, and the phenomenon of the car accident would not have happened – you would still be breathing.

It’s not difficult to see that the events which are caused by an inexplicably large number of particle states in one universe will not happen in every universe, so what happens when a person ages? Aging is only the condition wherein lots and lots of subatomic particles, namely, the ones that comprise a body, have the particular state that renders a person old. In a different universe, these particles would have different states, and it’s not only plausible, but also necessary that in one instance the person in question need not have aged at all. Of course the probability of this is slim, but it exists. When aging and accidents are overcome, it is not hard to understand that as long as the possibility of survival exists, no matter how infinitesimally slim it may be, a person will remain alive in some universe.

So it appears we’ve attained immortality, at least in the cosmic sense. This means you’ve also died an astronomical number of times, and have not even existed in many universes, but who’s counting? I’ll leave that train of thought to the glass-half-empty people, because the thing is, you’ll never stop living, too. So for now, relax, take a breather, and think about what you’re going to do with the rest of eternity. I’ll let you chew it over. Until next week, keep your hands clean.