For some reason, the multiple universe theory has become something of a pop culture phenomenon. It has appeared in everything from Michael Crichton novels to Family Guy episodes, and in the process has convinced the public that the theory holds water. It has distracted everyone from what is supposed to be at the core of this theory. It is commonly used in association with free will, saying how with every decision we make, a new universe is formed. In fact, it is difficult to make an argument for free will without this theory because if everything only happens once in this one universe, there is no way to create an opportunity for someone to put in the exact same situation twice and make two different decisions. However, I believe both that every human possesses what can only be described as free will and that the multiple universe theory, at least in the form where every decision creates a new universe, is complete bunk. Allow me to explain.

The multiple universe theory was meant to explain the uncertainty caused by breakthroughs in quantum physics and, much like the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, it was a “ridiculous” example meant to demonstrate how quantum physics doesn’t comply with perception on a macro scale. Before quarks and antiquarks and the like were discovered, we lived in a universe that was totally free from the controlling grasp of genuine chance. Everything in our world is compliant with causality. Even things like radioactive decay are not genuinely random. This is one of the many reasons why quantum physics was such a huge breakthrough. Particles that can exist in multiple places at once clearly aren’t governed by the same rules as our boring and flabby bodies. The point of all this being that in the multiple universe theory, the universe divides at the quantum level. It doesn’t divide with every choice we make. This misconception likely arose from the multiple reality interpretation of the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, in which two universes are created, one where the cat is living, one where the cat is dead. It is true that observation can impact the behavior of subatomic particles, but that isn’t to say that that act of observation creates an entirely new universe. It’s even more preposterous to assume that just making a decision creates a new universe. Remember, Schrödinger called the thought experiment “ridiculous,” killing a cat doesn’t fracture reality. This is because the universe doesn’t need to adapt to an array of possibilities because there is only one. The reality in which we exist is the only possibility.

Everything happens for a reason. It’s become “cool” to think of this statement as a lie propagated by entertainment. The good guy doesn’t always get the girl, the bad guy doesn’t always get caught, time is a flat circle, man. However, in the most root interpretation, it’s utterly true. At the inception of the universe, the Big Bang, everything exploded out of nothingness and into existence. Everything went flying out into seemingly random directions, but they weren’t actually random. All the matter that was dispersed traveled in the direction it did at the speed it did because of the forces that were applied to it. Therefore, if the explosion were to happen again, it would happen the exact way it did the first time, why wouldn’t it? What would have changed? It’s Newton’s second law of motion, an object in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force, and since the Big Bang set everything in a motion, a series of events have occurred. Each of these events having reasons for occurring the manner in which they did, and this event created a chain which extends all the way back to the birth of the universe. If nothing ever changes, if nothing is ever acted upon by an outside force, nothing else will ever change. It’s impossible to predict which lottery numbers will be picked, but that doesn’t mean the same ones wouldn’t have fallen out of the ball. Nothing is truly random; even the most mundane and meaningless of things occur because of the series of events that occurred leading up to them.

So, events can’t change without outside influence, but aren’t we, the rational thinking beings with free will, that agent of change? That would seem to be the case, only we are not exempt from the effects of the surrounding world. We are a part of this vast system because we are a product of our genetics and our surroundings, neither of which can be changed and both of which are set in stone by this unmoving chain of events. We make decisions because of our mindset, how we feel in the situation, and how we react when we feel that way. Even if we realize that we should’ve done so immediately after, that doesn’t mean we would’ve done anything differently if we were in the same situation, our perspective changes and we gain the benefits provided by hindsight after the fact.

This way of describing life seems utterly nihilistic, but I don’t like to think of it in that way. A nihilistic viewpoint begs the conclusion that life is meaningless, and if pre-determinism is true and nothing we ever do changes anything, than how could we create meaning? I don’t believe in pre-determinism though, at least from an emotional standpoint. I don’t believe that there is some figure outside of time whose will we all comply to without knowing. That’s not to say that there isn’t a god, but just that we aren’t their playthings. From our perspective, time is always moving forwards; we don’t know where we’ll end up -- no one will. Things outside our control happen all of the time, but we can still choose how we let them affect us. Will we always have made that same choice? Yes, of course, same as all other choices we make. But the thing is, we only make each choice once.

Our minds are a mess of emotions, memories and predispositions too complex to unravel ourselves, and every time we are presented with a choice, the universe waits with bated breath, ready to react to your influence. We’re all cogs, but we’re cogs with rational thought and that’s something the universe doesn’t have. It doesn’t care what we do, nor does it know what we are going to do before we do it. Instead of being one of billions of clocks, all of which read different times, we’re the only clock there is. Doesn’t the time we read into that situation mean more than it would if it was just one of the billion different times? It sure as hell makes more sense. That’s why I think my way of rationalizing existence is more poetic than the multiple universe theory, however grand it may be, because every decision we make stands alone as the only decision that will ever have been made in that situation. We’re more tinkerers than gears in a clock, and we can affect our surroundings and break the clock if we so choose. Or keep it running forever. Even if no one’s there to marvel at us, we’re the only clock around and every moment is eternal in its uniqueness.