Quantum Greyhounds

I was watching the show Nova on PBS recently. It was a show about quantum physics. One of the possibilities presented by the laws of quantum physics is that there are multiple versions of “you” in the quantum space and each version plays out its role in infinite parallel universes.

Admittedly, the whole realm of quantum physics is way more heavy lifting than I intend to do in this blog. (Read between these lines-I don't understand much about quantum physics.)  However, I couldn’t help but running with this one piece of it. Just imagine…at each point in your life where there could be two or more possible outcomes a quantum branch forms for each possible outcome. A version of you follows each branch in its own separate and parallel universe to live the life that is the consequence of each outcome.  That is a lot of yous, a lot of branches and a lot of universes.

It may be that I had a little bit too much time on my hands on the evening of this Nova show. It’s even more possible that there may have been a little wine involved and just maybe an unhealthy level of chocolate fueling my brain. Well after all, Newton had his apple… In any case, if there ARE infinite mes on a quantum level, then there must also be infinite Blues and Bettinas. There are even infinite Girly Girls out there. Somewhere there is a Girly Girl who never got cancer and who is still living with a much happier version of me. There’s also a Girly Girl who was diagnosed with a curable bone infection instead of osteosarcoma.

There is a quantum Girly Girl out there that never even broke her leg in a race but finished her career and retired to a nice life with another version of me. There is a quantum Bettina in another universe who actually raced out a full career as well instead of being retired before her first race. One of those Bettina’s raced at the Rhode Island track which never shut down. Another Bettina raced at tracks in other states where she was shipped after the Rhode Island track shut down in that universe.  There is a small chance that there are some Bettinas out there who are agreeable, pliable and submissive.  Yeah right.  Even quantum physics has its limits.

There are also infinite quantum Blues out there. One Blue lives in a universe where he doesn’t have a preoccupation with urine. That Blue doesn’t pee on his own feet, on his siblings, on my rug, on my kitchen floor or in his travel crate in a hotel in Plattsburgh. A different quantum Blue is smiling his fool head off with a nice set of pearly white teeth and breath like daisies (also with a much happier me!). Yet another Blue has lovely digestion with no ‘wind’ issues (need I say that this version of me is also VERY happy). That particular Blue doesn’t clear rooms or bring tears to people’s eyes.

All of these Blues, Bettinas and Girly Girls exist right now, going their merry way in their respective parallel universes with the many quantum mes sharing the journeys. Of course quantum physics cuts both ways. In many universes none of us exist anymore. In some universes we never meet each other at all. There is a universe in which I never learned about greyhounds and I’m living a sad life with no hounds in it. Still, the beauty of quantum physics is that in some number of universes I’m sharing my life right now with Blue, Bettina AND Girly Girl. I’m certainly glad that the version of me writing this doesn’t have to pay the food and vet bills for all those quantum hounds!