Many Minds Interpretation
- Xavier Perez-Nunez
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 26
Watch as our protagonist experiences first hand that 'we are multitudes'
Many Minds is very similar to the famous Many Worlds interpretation. In Many Worlds, it is the universe itself that branches into different possibilities, whilst in Many Minds, it is an observer's mind that branches.
The key objective of Many Minds is to present a more satisfactory solution to the Measurement Problem, in which the physical interpretation of the collapse of the wavefunction is unclear. How does a quantum system with indeterminate states seemingly collapse into definite observable states, such as spin up or down? Most interpretations (such as the standard Copenhagen) view this collapse as an ontological event, a physical process that occurs when a quantum system is observed.
In Many Minds, however, the collapse of the wave function is not a physical event; it is purely an artifact of how our minds perceive the event. The universe is governed by a universal wavefunction, a combination of all the different quantum systems that exist, and this universal wavefunction always evolves according to the Schrodinger equation.
A person's body (including their brain) is also completely governed by this universal wavefunction and its evolution. Take the example of a particle in a superposition of up and down spin. Before the moment of measurement, the particle is in superposition, governed by the universal wavefunction.
After measurement, nothing physically collapses the wavefunction. During the measurement process, information is sent to the person's brain about the state of the particle, but this information (possibly the location where a photon is emitted on a display) is also in a superposition. The person's brain becomes entangled with the particle. The brain is now also in a superposition of having received both answers (up and down).
However, the person's conscious mind can not experience two different possibilities. The brain (which is now in a superposition of both having seen up and down) now produces two different conscious experiences, each of which only experiences one of the possibilities. From the perspective of one of these minds, it appears that the wavefunction collapsed to produce a definite outcome, whereas in reality, the wavefunction is still intact.
Do you think that a conscious observer plays any role in quantum mechanics?
Of course! What kind of observer isn't conscious?
Be serious, no!
I don't know, go ask a neuroscientist
Comments Section
" This is taking the mick, even a cat being in a superposition is preposterous, let alone the entire universe! "
" I may love thought experiments, but this is too much on the 'thought' side even for me "
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