[RE] Choices

What we make of our time alive is ultimately decided based off of what choices you decided to choose over another. Every single moment your are deciding to do something over another which is shaping the events that happen to you throughout your lifetime. This statement completely amazes me.  -Adam Redfield, quoted from "mbahkung"

In mbahkung, Redfield speaks about the recent death of his grandfather. At first thought, I figured the post to be about life of his grandfather sprinkled with personal stories about their times together. Interestingly enough as I read, I came upon this quote about choices. While the quote is intended to spark conversation about choices and destiny - how decisions we make in the present make our lives in the future - this section brought up thoughts of parallel universes.

The concept of parallel universes is complex and imprecise. With such complexity, there are several different perspectives (or interpretations) of parallel universes. Some of these models are more stories told in science fiction, rather than physics or cosmology. Overall, parallel universes are more theories and speculation - seeing that we cannot prove its existence (or lack thereof). So how can a definition sum up an idea with infinite possibilities? Hypothetically, all of time, space, energy, and matter are compiled by all the parallel universes lined up together.

So depending on whom you're talking to, parallel universes may be called multiverses, alternate universes, or metaverses. What separates these terms? Really, (as far as I understand) it's interpretation.

Alternate universes (which are most common in sci-fi applications) take a person's timeline and change one aspect. It could be anything from a different job, family, hometown, or whatever that changes. Then all the events that surround this one aspect are created around this new change. In this case, the alternate universe is created around an arbitrary point in a person's timeline. Each alternate universe then operates independently from each other "universe."

On the other hand, a multiverse takes a position in a person's current timeline where there is a choice. Depending on which direction (choice) the person chooses, a separate multiverse is branched apart from the other options. Each multiverse, then, operates in unison with the other multiverses in a person's timeline with continuous branches of universes each time a decision has to be made. This can be called a many-worlds perspective because, while each coexists simultaneously, the person can only interact with multiverse (otherwise a collapse or paradox would occur).

Relating back to what Adam said, deciding which choice a person chooses over another shapes his (or her) multiverse. However, I wonder what would happen if he chose the other path. How would it be cool to step into a different multiverse and see how one event could alter a personal timeline...? That would be the cosmic perspective.