Is our universe the creation of a dachshund's nap?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the compatibility of a fictional scenario involving a dachshund's nap with many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics. Participants explore the implications of this scenario on existence and the nature of reality, engaging with theoretical concepts and speculative reasoning.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes that if a dachshund's choice to nap or not leads to a universe split, it could align with many-worlds scenarios, suggesting a whimsical interpretation of existence.
  • Another participant emphasizes the need to understand the many-worlds interpretation more deeply, implying that it may clarify the initial questions posed.
  • A different viewpoint discusses the number of possible universe splits based on the states of points in space-time, providing a speculative calculation of splits occurring in an instant.
  • One participant humorously asserts that every choice contributes to the creation of worlds, suggesting a playful take on the implications of many-worlds theory.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of interpretations and speculative ideas regarding the many-worlds interpretation, with no consensus reached on the compatibility of the dachshund scenario with established theories.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes speculative reasoning about the nature of universe splits and the implications of choices, with varying assumptions about the fundamental nature of reality and quantum mechanics.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, speculative fiction, and the many-worlds interpretation may find this discussion engaging.

Petronius
I'm publishing a novel titled SCHRÖDINGER’S DACHSHUND. In it, a physics student goes around the bend from figuring out the existential consequences of many-worlds scenarios. This is eclectic literary fiction, but I'd like to check with card-carrying physicists about something:

1) Is it compatible with at least one many-worlds scenario that when Maestoso the Dachshund chose between taking a nap or not, the universe split in two? In one, he napped. In the other he didn't.

2) If this be true, the residents of one of the worlds were creatio ex Dachshund. They “owe” their existence to the actions of a hound in another dimension.

3) It is possible that this is our world. Our universe was created by Maestoso the Dachshund.

Determining whether 3 is good news or bad news may constitute the greatest intellectual challenge of all time. That's why I use fiction to grapple with Big Questions. The physicist in SCHRÖDINGER’S DACHSHUND develops a religion around this discovery. Who can blame him?

Generally speaking, how compatible are 1, 2, 3 with many-worlds scenarios?
 
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I think the most reasonable number of splits happening in anyone instant depends on the number of possible "states" of each point of space-time and the number of points. There are good reasons (whether they are correct or not is a different question) to believe the fundamental length of a point is about 1E-35 meters, making a point the cube of that, or about 1E-104 m^3. If you assume each point is independent and can be one of the 61 elementary particles (probably not right) then the possible states are 61^(1E+104) per cubic meter. So, limiting us to a volume about 10000m cubed (the Earth) you need to change that to 61^(1E116) per Planck time unit, which is about 1E-44 seconds. Or there are about 61^(1E116) splits in an instant and 1E44 times that in a second. Feel free to reduce the 61 to a lesser number anything between 2 and ∞ is possible, but hey, if you want try 1.00000000001, it won't matter.
 
According to Many-worlds, each world is the product of many billions of choices like that. You are now living in a universe created by my choice to respond to you. Worship will be generously accepted- no human sacrifices please.
 

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