I say this in all seriousness:  I, Thomas J. Happ, have found the cure for cancer.  Or at least an exact copy of me did.

If you are taking the time to read my blog, please hear my plea: I want to live a ridiculously long, happy life. A thousand years seems like a good amount, with the option to extend should I desire more.

The closest answer - provided my hypothesis holds true - is "no".

Of the articles I've written thus far, this is probably the hardest. Though my format necessarily differs from what one typically sees in a scientific journal, I have endeavored to give the previous pieces as much of an aloof, objective treatment as possible. However, in the case of this article it is important that the reader be given some important personal information about the author: namely, I am not religious. Nor am I atheist. In my "natural" state I'm typically inclined to remain non-opinionated as to the likelihood or validity of higher powers, spirituality, souls, or the afterlife. I don't have a particular agenda in mind, and if, indeed, everything I have written in this series is proven to be malarkey, I won't be having a crisis of faith (though I obviously wouldn't be happy about having wasted my time, either). Indeed, I don't particularly want to write about the prospects of an afterlife. It feels presumptuous. And it will make others immediately question whether I'm off my rocker, and whether any of the rest of what I've written is true,

What follows here are my thoughts on the true nature of "reality" - why we're here, how it works, what the implications are, and the like. I feel pretty confident that what's recorded here is true. I've endeavored to express it as clearly as I can, in a way that doesn't require a degree in Physics or Computer Science.

I thought of what I think is a good experiment today that could help prove the Multiple Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics - or at least improve our chances of understanding and utilizing it.

Tom Happ's Hypothesis

Though I will go into details below, the basic idea is this: there are an infinite number of realities, each defined by its own system of rules (in our case, physics) and data (things like individual particle/wave position, energy, etc.). Thus any hypothetical set of rules - and the "stuff" (data) they apply to - comprises a reality. This includes our universe, all digital computer programs, and, more broadly, programs run on the mathematical constructs known as Turing machines. Complete understanding of this concept requires one to divest oneself of the notion that the physicality of a person or object is separate from the mathematical description of their constituent particles; the mere fact that our system of rules (called physics) works is enough to give rise to our particular reality, and the same will apply to an infinite number of other realities.