Are Many Worlds & Pilot Wave THE SAME Theory?

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It’s hard to interpret the strange results of quantum mechanics, though many have tried. Interpretations range from the outlandish—like the multiple universes of Many Worlds, to the almost mundane, like the very mechanical Pilot Wave Theory. But perhaps we’re converging on an answer, because some are arguing that these two interpretations are really the same thing.

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Hosted by Matt O'Dowd
Written by Taha Dawoodbhoy & Matt O'Dowd
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[n.butyllithium]

i'm happy to be in the universe where i can watch this video.

[victordebone]

Those are some very tricky visualizations, the graphics team deserves all my respect. As much as everyone else involved. I'd love to see a making of video. Thanks for the amazing episode!

[_Mute_]

Im convinced this episode was written just to see how many times Matt could say "corpuscle"

[elshadshirinov]

I really like to think of the "many-worlds" interpretation as the "one huge world" interpretation where you really buy into the concept of superposition. Instead of thinking of superposition on small scales, it acknowledges that everything is one giant messy superposition.

[ericeaton]

The writing of this episode is absolutely *phenomenal*. The way the explanations build up on each other and slide so smoothly into the next segment is a true feat. E.g. "Fortunately I don't have to describe how our double-slit experiment looks in Many Worlds because... I just described it."

Seriously, this is a skill. Most teachers don't come anywhere near this ability of connecting ideas together to create a cohesive picture. Bravo.

P.S. I'm consistently impressed by the team's ability to reference previous videos as introductory to these topics. The catalog of videos spans many years at this point, and it's amazing how y'all are able to keep track of which ones apply to the current topic and direct people to them.

[Jobobn]

Dude, the way the writers teed up the rhetorical dovetail from Pilot Wave to Many Worlds was a thing of beauty!

[astrogames]

Always a good day when PBS Space Time uploads a video!

[TJF]

What gets me about sci-fi that use "multiple worlds" is treating them as separate spaces, but the dogged impression I have is a single space which contains all the "material" for these variations to incarnate simultaneously yet mutually exclusively.

[rodrigomunoz]

Very few people in the world can explain these things as well as Matt.

[SupercriticalSnake]

Great episode! Aside from all the cool science, I also learned that the word "corpuscle" triggers an arcane nexus of negative emotions somewhere deep in my psyche. Neat!

[adamsmith]

As a retired physics professor, I really appreciate what you are doing here. I was never introduced to pilot wave theory in my teaching during the 1980's to 2010's. I was exposed to the many worlds concept, but more as an aside. I'm going to have to stludy these two in more depth to appreciate the connection. This video was an execellent intro that sparked my curiosity.

[kineticstar]

Every time someone simplifies the pilot wave and many world debate, I can't help but get that freaky and scary single election theory out of my head.

Thanks, Matt!!

[hectorh.micheos.]

Came in convinced (as a layperson) that Pilot Wave was the simplest interpretation, came out thinking it is Many Worlds... Now I wonder which ones of my other selves think the same as I do.

[KekusMagnus]

good to hear another episode on Pilot wave theory, this channel is one of the only places I have seen that doesn't dismiss it outright.
Most of my physics professors thought it was wishful thinking nonsence

[gene]

How does Pilot Wave and Transactional Interpretation compare? Is TI just a more modern take on PW, or are there bigger differences?

[realzachfluke]

I've been holding a special appreciation in my heart for Pilot Wave theory (and the people who've continued to work on it since its initial rediscovery, and fleshing out by David Bohm) since the very first time I saw Space Time's original breakdown of it.

Funnily enough though, I've heavily disfavored Many Worlds for at least as long, if not much longer quite frankly, and yet here I am starting to appreciate some of the arguments they use to defend the Many Worlds position!

[PhilipMurphyExtra]

Finally, It's time for great Thursday PBS Space Time

[hotrodandrube]

A friend of mine had to have a corpuscle transfusion after a bad wave riding experiment accidentally went through some slits. Nobody was watching the background radiate.

[bierrollerful]

8:20 If a guiding wave continues on even after it "deposited" its corpuscle, and if guiding waves interact with other guiding waves... doesn't that mean that, over time, space gets super messy from all the waves that are still around?

[such_a_dork]

Random question it's never occurred to me to ask before: in the double slit experiment, what happens to the photons that miss the slits?

Illustrations of the experiment always show all of the photons going through one slit or the other. But since we're not intentionally aiming them at a slit, there have to be photons that miss and get deflected. I wonder if those do anything weird. (If there aren't any misses, that's probably an extra level of mind-bendiness.)