When the universe branches, we branch with it.

Those branches don’t remain forever apart. They come back together.

So we, as conscious observers, are rescued from splitting into an immense number ever-so-slightly different versions of ourselves.

When the branches of the universe – and the versions of ourselves – come back together, we don’t worry that the many paths we took to get there are ever-so-slightly different.

We equivalence all those different paths. We treat all those ever-so-slightly different branches of history as if they were more-or-less the same.

I asked Stephen Wolfram about this strangest of consequences of a branching universe.

Through all this splitting and coming-back-together, how can I remain a single, coherent, persistent consciousness?

Stephen’s answer takes us through branchial space to quantum computing, the maximum entanglement speed and the elementary length.

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Stephen Wolfram

• Stephen Wolfram
• The Wolfram Physics Project
• Wolfram Institute
• Wolfram Institute Community Discord

Concepts mentioned by Stephen

• Equivalencing or coarse-graining
• Branchial space
• Coherence time
• Infrageometry

• General relativity
• Quantum mechanics
• Statistical mechanics

• Quantum computing
• Decoherence time

• Euclidean geometry
• Riemannian geometry
• Category theory

• Maximum entanglement speed
• Elementary time and length

People mentioned by Stephen

• Euclid
• Albert Einstein

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The Last Theory is hosted by Mark Jeffery, founder of Open Web Mind