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Letter: It takes two

Published 17 July 2013

From Trevor Magnusson

We don’t need the many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory (newscientist.com/article/dn9930). Its prediction that a single universe splits into two when a quantum measurement is made is indistinguishable from a pair of universes that evolve identically up to that point, and then diverge. If the cosmos is truly infinite, that second explanation seems more natural.

Therefore, the result of a quantum measurement does not tell you which universe you have “split off into”, but rather which one you have been in all along.

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Issue no. 2926 published 20 July 2013

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