Multiverse: How Far Away is the Nearest Copy of You?
And making the case for the parallel-parallel universe
Many of our most convincing theories of science — quantum physics, computational physics, string theory, relativity, and more — take us to a very bizarre realization. The theories are founded on the best research and data we have on our universe. They imply that not only do we reside in an infinitely expanding cosmos with parallel universes, but that there are parallel universes within those parallel universes, a recursion of ever stranger and multiplying worlds. Within those multiplying worlds are infinite copies indistinguishable from yourself. Which one, then, is the real you? While that might be a more philosophical question, it turns out that there is a way to calculate just how far away that copy lives.
As for what makes such repetition possible, the answer is time.
From a minimalistic perspective, reality can be defined as the arrangement of particles in a system. Each person and the traits which define them result from the specific arrangement of particles in their bodies. There is, perhaps, something less magical about this than believing in a distinct soul within a person or within the other living things that roam the Earth. But it is the view of many scientists until the day such things as souls can be…
