My Goatee Might Kill you.

Why so many quantum multiverse movies? Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tenet, The Adam Project, Coherence, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home... It's a long list of which this is a small fraction. Why is everyone all of a sudden so interested in the multiverse? Let's put aside for a moment the lingering controversy in physics about whether it even exists, and if it does, what we mean by multiverse (there are many definitions, see below), let's chat about why such an odd, difficult to process concept is so popular in world culture right now.

Well, I mean, it's just interesting. The idea that there are an infinite number of parallel universes abutting our own wherein you are definitely a movie star ninja princess/superhero, is compelling. Add to that the fact so many writers are highly educated and scientifically literate, and it feels inevitable. However, multiverse theory is very complex and the majority of multiverse researchers don't think parallel dimensions are really what we're talking about, so are these movies even really about the multiverse, or is it just a lazy plot device?

Multiverse theories propose that our universe is just one of many, each with its own distinct characteristics. Here are the main types. Broadly, this is how the schools of multiverse theory break down:

Credit: E. Siegel. Public Domain.

1. Many-Worlds Interpretation (Quantum Mechanics):This theory suggests that every time a quantum event occurs, the universe "splits," creating a new, parallel universe for each possible outcome. Essentially, all possibilities are realized in separate, non-interacting worlds.

2. Cosmological Multiverse (Inflation Theory):Based on cosmic inflation, this theory posits that our universe is one bubble in a vast sea of "bubbles," each representing a separate universe with potentially different physical laws. These universes could have started with different initial conditions and evolved differently.

3. String Theory Landscape:In string theory, there are many possible ways the extra dimensions can compactify, leading to a vast number of possible "vacuum states," each corresponding to a different universe with unique physical laws. This creates a "landscape" of potential universes.

4. Parallel Universes (Alternate Realities):This more speculative version suggests that multiple, coexisting versions of our universe exist, possibly with slight or significant differences. Some models propose that these parallel worlds may be accessible under certain conditions.

5. Mathematical Universes:Proposed by cosmologist Max Tegmark, this theory suggests that every mathematical structure corresponds to a physical universe. If a mathematical structure is consistent, it could describe a real universe, and thus, all conceivable universes exist.

You'll note only one proposes anything close to what movies such as Everything Everywhere All at Once propose, and that's probably the most disfavored interpretation. So I declare the movies to be inaccurate. Call the cops.

Beware the goatee. It came from the multiverse.

I think it's great the movies try to stimulate interest in science, even if it's very edge-case, speculative, glamorized science. But why so much of it and why all branded as multiverse? We had plenty of parallel dimension entertainment before the popularization of Multiverse Theory... Remember Spock evil goatee world, Mirror, Mirror from season 2 episode of the original series? Easily the best of breed, and from 1967.

There seems to be something deep in the human soul that hints of parallel universes. Anaximander in the sixth century BCE made reference to the possibility. Many Greek philosophers from the fifth and fourth century BCE directly referenced the possibility. The modern understanding of multiverse in the context of Quantum Physics began just before the turn of the 20th century and has stewed in the broth of superposition ever since.

So why now? Why has the quantum flavor of the multiverse become such a plot goldmine? My guess is it layers some legitimacy and the horrific chill of realism over what in Spock's heyday was an almost silly plot device (would have been absolutely silly if not for the sheer seriousness and brilliance of the evil goatee). Being able to say "this could all be real" to the absurdity of Everything Everywhere All at Once, gives it audience on the basis of "conceivably possible" icing.

The real challenge now is to write something compelling on the basis of more possible, established Multiverse Theory... I so endeavor despite not being a physicist. We'll see how badly I crash that bus. Stay tuned for Beautiful Multitudes, coming out next month (or the month after in the evil dimension where I have a goatee).