Is There a Doppelgänger of You Somewhere in the Universe?

  • Context: High School 
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of doppelgängers existing in the universe, exploring the implications of infinite universes and the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics. Participants examine the plausibility of identical copies of individuals existing simultaneously in different parts of the universe.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that if the universe is infinite, the probability of identical copies existing would be 1, implying that there must be someone doing the same thing as you.
  • Others argue that if the Big Bang theory is accurate, the universe is not infinite, which would significantly reduce the likelihood of such duplicates existing.
  • One participant questions the assumption of infinite combinations of "things," proposing that even in an infinite universe, there could be an infinite number of variations that would prevent identical copies from existing.
  • A participant mentions the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) as a possible framework for understanding the existence of doppelgängers, although they express uncertainty about the concept.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of an infinite versus finite universe regarding the existence of doppelgängers. There is no consensus on the plausibility of such duplicates existing, and the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Assumptions about the nature of the universe (infinite vs. finite) and the interpretations of quantum mechanics are not fully explored, leaving the discussion open to various interpretations and uncertainties.

Absolution
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I once heard somewhere that due to some physics theory, there is someone out there in the universe doing exactly the same thing as you and looking exactly the same as you. I can't remember the details though... Anyone heard of this before and can clarify?

I don't think it seems plausible though..
 
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Mathematically, if the universe is infinite, that would have to be the case, because the probability of there being somebody somewhere in the infinite universe doing the same thing would be 1. However, if the big-bang theory is correct, our universe is not infinite, so the probability of that happening would drop dramatically - so close to zero we could say for sure it's not the case.
 
even if the universe is infinite, why can't there be an infinite number of possible combinations for "things"?
 
moe darklight said:
even if the universe is infinite, why can't there be an infinite number of possible combinations for "things"?

Then it should be possible to show the existence (with probability 1) of a person 'arbitrarily similar' to you by any reasonable metric.
 
Absolution said:
I once heard somewhere that due to some physics theory, there is someone out there in the universe doing exactly the same thing as you and looking exactly the same as you. I can't remember the details though... Anyone heard of this before and can clarify?

I don't think it seems plausible though..
You're thinking of MWI (Many-Worlds Interpretation). Here are two links you can read about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm-manyworlds/
 
Thanks Evo!

I don't really seem to understand it though haha... But i guess its something to do with probability too?

Happy New Year anyway!
 

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