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I might come under critism for an incomplete understanding of quantum mechanics but as far as my knowledge of quantum mechanics the interpretation of observable behaviour in the world, as to an indeterminable nature of say the precise temporal emmision of a particle in radioactive decay and the nature of the observation of the double slit experimen, led to a conclusion that there must be a duality of waves and particle, and quantum mechanics became the explanation of these behaviours.

The many worlds interpretation as I understand it is not a stochastic explanation of these behaviours but accounts for them in a deterministic sense.

I'm asking this question in an attempt to have further understanding of quantum mechanics and this interpretation.

To me the nature of physical particles or waves they do nay have a choice of what behaviour they will exhibit however humans do or at least we think we do, however we are made up of particles or waves.

As far as i know the many worlds interpretation is an attempt to reconcile the nature of every human choice, and each world is the result of their possible choices and their outcomes, and that on the whole the universe and its many worlds accounts for every possible outcome and so on the whole these universe determines these outcomes.

The big bang theory is a theory that the universe had a beginning but is not a theory that the human race began at the beginning. It was billions of years later. So is the many worlds interpretation a temporal interpretaion that these many worlds did not come in to being until there was a choice or a consciousness able to make that choice.

So is the physical universe consistent among all these many worlds, and only differs with the possible choice of human and animal activity in each world?

These many worlds must not have happened until there was consciousness within the universe to create them if the Big Bang theory is correct?

Is my understanding of the many worlds interpretation correct?

Do these many worlds begin at the beginning because of the nature of particles/waves of the early universe?

Or until there was a perception of choice?

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    "As far as i know the many worlds interpretation is an attempt to reconcile the nature of every human choice" - it's not specifically about human choice at all, no. Rather, the way to understand many worlds is probably best as a way of assuming that the mathematical artefacts of quantum mechanics are real - the wave function, which represents the superposition of possible properties, in particular. If the wave function is real, and superposition is real, and everything physical is made of quantum objects which are also in superposition, then many worlds kind of naturally pops out
    – TKoL
    Commented Jun 6 at 12:14
  • "Do these many worlds begin at the beginning because of the nature of particles/waves of the early universe?" - yeah that's probably a better way to understand it.
    – TKoL
    Commented Jun 6 at 12:18
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    "Many worlds must not have happened until there was consciousness" is incorrect. There is a Many Minds variant of MWI, but the standard MWI requires no "consciousness" or observers. Also, quantum mechanics is not relevant to the Big Bang, one needs quantum field theory combined with general relativity (called quantum gravity), which currently does not exist. Even MWI for quantum field theory is already convoluted because there is no absolute time there, and what it will look like for quantum gravity is anybody's guess.
    – Conifold
    Commented Jun 6 at 12:34
  • You believe that unlimited realities exists and split every moment and you are worried about consistency with the beginning of this mess? Commented Jun 6 at 21:24
  • @IoannisPaizis Look, I worry about stuff, OK 👍
    – 8Mad0Manc8
    Commented Jun 7 at 16:59

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In answering this post one has first to clarify which results are confirmed by physics and which are speculations.

  1. Statements about Big Bang are speculations. We do not even know whether there was a Big Bang at all. Big Bang is a limit point of present cosmology, there is no accepted theory of Big Bang. Going backwards in time we can approach but not reach Big Bang.
  2. Many-worlds interpretation is one of several proposals to avoid the collapse of the wavefunction in quantum mechanics. The interpretation relies instead on a splitting of the world lines: The interaction with a quantum systems in a state of superposition splits all world lines and realizes all possibilities. The splitting is independent whether there is a human observer or not, notably it is independent from the consciousness of any observer. The pros and cons of Everett's many-worlds interpretation are controversely discussed.

Each of the two concepts, Big Bang and many-worlds interpretation, is highly speculative, already when taken individually. Hence the OP’s question seems to enter an even more speculative domain. Present science cannot answer this question.

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  • I suggest replacing "big bang" in 1 with "primordial singularity" or similar. There is an accepted theory of rapid expansion from a state of high density and temperature.
    – g s
    Commented Jun 6 at 17:01

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