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The Emergent Multiverse: Quantum Theory according to the Everett Interpretation Reprint Edition

by David Wallace (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 61 ratings
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The Emergent Multiverse presents a striking new account of the "many worlds" approach to quantum theory. The point of science, it is generally accepted, is to tell us how the world works and what it is like. But quantum theory seems to fail to do this: taken literally as a theory of the world, it seems to make crazy claims: particles are in two places at once; cats are alive and dead at the same time. So physicists and philosophers have often been led either to give up on the idea that quantum theory describes reality, or to modify or augment the theory.

The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics takes the apparent craziness seriously, and asks, "what would it be like if particles really were in two places at once, if cats really were alive and dead at the same time?" The answer, it turns out, is that if the world were like that--if it were as quantum theory claims--it would be a world that, at the macroscopic level, was constantly branching into copies--hence the more sensationalist name for the Everett interpretation, the "many worlds theory." But really, the interpretation is not sensationalist at all: it simply takes quantum theory seriously, literally, as a description of the world. Once dismissed as absurd, it is now accepted by many physicists as the best way to make coherent sense of quantum theory.

David Wallace offers a clear and up-to-date survey of work on the Everett interpretation in physics and in philosophy of science, and at the same time provides a self-contained and thoroughly modern account of it--an account which is accessible to readers who have previously studied quantum theory at undergraduate level, and which will shape the future direction of research by leading experts in the field.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0198707541
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0198707547
  3. Edition
    Reprint
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    July 29, 2014
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    1.2 x 5.5 x 8.4 inches
  8. Print length
    548 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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"The Emergent Multiverse is the most extensive, careful, and wide-ranging discussion of Hugh Everett's so-called Many Worlds interpretation of quantum theory in existence (at least on our branch of the multiverse), and is certain to become the locus classicus for all future discussions of the theory.... You won't find a better discussion of both foundational issues and far-flung consequences of the theory anywhere."--Tim Maudlin, Nous

"As those who have read Wallace's articles will expect, [this] is an excellent book, and should be required reading for anyone interested in the foundations of quantum mechanics."--Peter J. Lewis, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"This book is an outstanding achievement. It presents the current state of the art in the Everett interpretation to a depth and level of sophistication that will be appreciated by the leading experts in the foundations of quantum theory (of whom Wallace is one) -- and will educate them, and should chasten most of them."--David Deutsch, Centre for Quantum Computation, The Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford

Book Description

A powerful philosophical treatment of the biggest problem in modern physics

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (July 29, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 548 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0198707541
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0198707547
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.33 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.2 x 5.5 x 8.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 61 ratings

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David Wallace

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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
61 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Alan Filipski
5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive book on MWI.
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2017
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I have been looking for a book that explains Everett's Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics in a way that is authoritative, thorough, rigorous, and understandable to a person like myself who is a scientist in a different field. This is it. Wallace uses a combination of mathematics, and verbal explanation of both physics and philosophy to make all the issues accessible. He writes very clearly and precisely, summarizes as he goes along and does not avoid (in fact, faces squarely) the common criticisms of MWI. This is by no means light reading, but rewards the careful reader with a much improved understanding of what MWI is and is not.
14 people found this helpful
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Sean Carroll
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on the Everett (Many-Worlds) approach to quantum mechanics
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2015
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This is the definitive book for anyone interested in the Everett, or Many-Worlds, formulation of quantum theory. David Wallace is a leading philosopher of physics, with an incredibly deep understanding of the underlying physics.

It isn't a popular-level book; this is a scholarly work, aimed at professional philosophers, physicists, and students. Wallace gives a thorough discussion of the main issues confronting the contemporary Everettian: decoherence, the emergence of classical worlds, pointer states, the origin of the Born Rule for probability, and time-asymmetry. The style is uniformly clear and engaging. Readers will certainly come to the work with a wide variety of opinions on the plausibility of Many-Worlds, but everyone should get a lot out of reading this book.
105 people found this helpful
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Peter D. McLoughlin
4.0 out of 5 stars Some very technical parts but doesn't get in the way of the argument which is fairly easy to follow.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2013
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I liked this book a lot. It had parts which were very technical (it is quantum physics after all) but the main thread of the argument is easy to follow and convincing. The idea argued for is the Everettian or Many worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. To bolster his argument he applies the equations of the theory which can be quite technical but then he usually goes on to explain philosophically the justification of the interpretation. I suggest people who are not familiar with the mathematics of QM treat the equations like sentences from another language inserted into the text to make the author look smart and focus on the English translation which is the argument. The book is very comprehensible without the equations but it is a rigorous text and I think Wallace felt compelled to include them.
22 people found this helpful
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James G. Chancellor
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book To Ponder Indefinitely
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2022
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Excellent book that promotes deep quantum thinking.
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Daniel Wade Rolston
5.0 out of 5 stars David Deutsch and does an excellent job of showing why the Everett "interpretation" is the ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2017
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This guy gets it. Wallace references Dr. David Deutsch and does an excellent job of showing why the Everett "interpretation" is the only understanding that makes no-B.S. sense - in other words, Everett is reality.
6 people found this helpful
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Godshatter
5.0 out of 5 stars The strongest arguments for the many-worlds interpretation
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2015
David Wallace has produced a classic. This will be *the* standard account of the Everett (or "many-worlds," if you will) interpretation for a long time to come. The breadth and depth of topics covered is staggering: the problem of ontology, the problem of preferred basis, the problem of probability, the problem of inference and confirmation, the problem of person identity, the problem of directionality of time, and many more, are all addressed in detail with clarity and elegance.

To me, as a physicist with philosophical leanings, this book is scary and inspiring at the same time. It's scary because one gets the sense of the hardness of these questions, and the amount of knowledge from disparate fields (physics, philosophy, probability theory) and the amount of work necessary to make progress on these problems. It's inspiring because David Wallace has shown that it can be done.

If whatever reason you're interested in the Everett interpretation, you must acquire this book. Even if you are vehemently opposed to the theory, you must take on Wallace's arguments.

Note: Parts of the chapters on probability and inference can get really technical, but you can skip the technical parts and still get an excellent sense of his arguments. Does he solve the problem of probability? My opinion: yes, to a large extent. I feel that it has not been fully solved, but I agree with Wallace that it's unlikely we'll solve the problem until we get a better handle on similar problems in the foundations of probability.
5 people found this helpful
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CFortC
4.0 out of 5 stars Quite mathematically advanced
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2023
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I don't want to be too hard on the book. Although I don't swallow the many-worlds interpretation, I wanted to understand it better. The book's reviews and previews promoted that a reader with decent undergrad physics background could slog it through. I have some of that, and have some other QM and GR readings, but I started blocking on the math in the book pretty early on.

The sections intended to focus on the philosophical aspects are also pretty obscure. The bottom line, I think, is this book is a stretch for non-professional study.
3 people found this helpful
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sudhir kumar
4.0 out of 5 stars Multiverse
Reviewed in India on February 12, 2020
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Excellent. Although the rendering is technical at times the explanations are amply focused and self explanatory. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in this fascinating story.
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Bill Armstrong
5.0 out of 5 stars The universe is much, much bigger than we thought
Reviewed in Canada on December 21, 2016
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This book defends the controversial idea that when certain events happen, like the decay of a radioactive atom, the world divides into branches where in one the atom has decayed and in the other it hasn't. A person observing the decay in a Geiger counter also branches into copies of him or herself, each observing a different decay result.The author justifies this idea, first propounded by Hugh Everett III in his PhD thesis, against a multitude of alternative proposals for explaining what happens without calling upon branching. The author insists that the Everett approach is not just an interpretation of quantum theory, but IS quantum theory without any need for embellishment. It helps reading the book to have some knowledge of quantum theory, decision theory, and the philosophy of science. Nevertheless, I found it possible to skip over most equations and appreciate the scholarship of the author and the profound consequences of Everett's ideas -- figuring out what to do with trillions of lives.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Sans doute la meilleure et la plus systématique défense de l'interprétation d'Everett disponible
Reviewed in France on July 31, 2014
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Depuis la fin des années 1990 et les travaux de Deutsch, Saunders, Wallace et quelques autres, l'interprétation d'Everett est considérée par de nombreux philosophes analytiques comme une des interprétations les plus élaborées et les plus crédibles de la mécanique quantique. Malheureusement, les adversaires de cette interprétation ignorent la plupart du temps ces derniers développements et basent leurs critiques de la théorie à partir d'une vision assez naïve de ce qu'est une théorie physique en générale, et d'une vision caricaturale de ce qu'est la théorie d'Everett en particulier. C'est particulièrement vrai en France, ou même les rares défenseurs de cette interprétation n'ont souvent pas suivi les développements de leurs collègues d'Oxford, et ne prennent pas en compte l'importance de la décohérence et l'intérêt des approches de la théorie de la décision pour résoudre les deux plus gros problèmes qui se posent à la théorie d'Everett, à savoir le problème dit de la base préférée et celui des probabilités.
Le livre de Wallace est le livre qu'il faut avoir lu pour pouvoir juger de la consistance de la théorie d'Everett. On ne peut aujourd'hui tout simplement pas en rester aux travaux originaux d'Everett ou à ceux de Brice DeWitt pour pouvoir l'évaluer.
Pour défendre sa thèse, Wallace propose un cadre interprétatif fonctionnaliste des théories physiques et des rapports entre différents niveaux de descriptions théoriques, basés sur la notion d'instanciation, qui a un grand intérêt en soi (c'est à dire au delà des problèmes d'interprétation de la mécanique quantique) notamment sur les questions d'émergences et du réductionnisme, qui évite à la fois l'écueil des versions trop simplistes du réductionnisme tout en ne tombant pas dans cette forme de mysticisme qui apparait si souvent entourer certains discours obscurs en faveur de l'émergentisme.
Le livre n'est pas très difficile, et est raisonnablement accessible aux personnes qui ont un bagage assez solide en mécanique quantique standard, niveau master 1. Les chapitres les plus difficiles, qui concernent les preuves rigoureuses données à ses résultats sur le problème des probabilités peuvent être sautés sans dommage car l'auteur propose en amont d'autres preuves moins rigoureuses, mais plus intuitives et moins formelles, qui donnent déjà une idée précise de comment l'auteur parvient à résoudre le problème.
Excellent livre.
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Mr. C. D. Finlay
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful but not convinced
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2013
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This is probably the first textbook account of the Many Worlds interpretation that has appeared in the literature. In that sense it performs a useful guide for those who want to know more about this particular interpretation. Wallace along with his colleague Simon Saunders have done much to develop the interpretation over the past 15 years or so. However whilst it is useful I remain totally unconvinced by the intepretation or its motivation.

The first chapter tries to motivate it by claiming that there is a problem with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics and an outline of the measurement problem. It is curious that most physicists are not really concerned with the measurement problem and it certainly does not prevent them from using the formalism of quantum mechanics to make ever more predictions about the quantum world. This activity is relatively independent of any interpretation and one would think that is telling us something about quantum mechanics.

The so called foundational issues seems to have been left to philosophers whilst physicists get on with the job of explaining the properties of solids, cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics.

For my part I see nothing wrong with the minimalist view that the so called wave function is a complex probability state vector whos modulus squared gives rise to a probability density function via the Born Rule. Indeed it is quite instructive to recast the language of classical physics in the language of quantum physics. One can write down a wave function for a dice and by application of the Born rule one will get the correct probabilities. Ok in quantum physics one needs to extend classical probability to include complex numbers whose modulus squared gives rise to the probabilities relevant to the situation.

Such a pragmatic viewpoint does not seem to satisfy people like Dave Wallace who wish to give the wavefunction some sort of physical meaning. One way of doing this is via the Everrett interpretation which implies the generation of a whole new universe every time a measurement is made. This view borders on science fiction and seems to stem from a perspective which wishes to associate every mathematical concept with something out there. Yes if you wish to take the wavefunction as corresponding to some element of reality you will probably end up with something like the Everrett interpretation but the price is to high. One can't test the existence of other universes. I dare any one who is tempted by the Everrett interpetation to play quantum suicide because in one of the many branches it is alleged that you will still be alive.

On a more constructive note it is useful to have in one book a fairly definitive account of the interpretation. On the other hand it would seem to paraphrase Bernard Shaw those who can do physics do physics those who cant interpret it.
10 people found this helpful
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アホかいな
5.0 out of 5 stars 量子力学の多世界解釈、オックスフォード版!
Reviewed in Japan on March 8, 2016
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量子力学の多世界解釈、もちろん1957年のエヴェレット論文を出発点とする。しかし、20世紀の終盤からこの解釈が脚光を浴び始めたことの、少なくとも一因は、David Deutschによる量子コンピューターの研究にある。あまり他人との交流に積極的ではない彼の共同研究者となったのが、本書の著者David Wallaceである。主として彼の学会その他での活動により、二人の共同研究は広く知られることになった、とコリン・ブルース「量子力学の解釈問題」（和田純夫訳、講談社BB、2008）は注意を喚起している。

この本、500ページを超える大著だが、全体の筋書きは第3章のなかばまでと、第4章の始めのほうを拾い読みすれば容易にわかる仕掛けになっていてありがたい。いまだに数学や物理学の数式にビビりまくる日本の「科学哲学者」たちと違って、物理学と哲学の二つの学位を持つこの著者は、量子力学の計算を厭わず、数式もふんだんに出てくるが、全体の筋を掴んで難しいところは飛ばし読みしても、十分に楽しめる（？）はずである。日本では和田純夫さんの著書などで知られてきた多世界解釈の要点は、次の二つとなろう。（１）量子力学のシュレーディンガー方程式は決定論的であって、（２）個々の量子系ではなく世界全体に適用されるべし。そうすると、これまでの標準的な解釈で前提されていた（３）波束の収縮は不要となり、また、（４）量子力学内部に「確率」が入る余地もない。さらに、（５）非局所的な作用のない物理学が可能となる。

もちろん、以上のようなメリットが得られることの代償として、（a）多くの枝分かれし、共存する世界が生まれることをどう説明するか、（b）統計的、確率的予測の成功で支えられてきた量子力学を「確率」抜きでどのように弁護しうるのか、あるいは「確率」の使用を、この解釈でどのようにして導入できるのか、という問題を解決しなければならない。これ以上内容を紹介するのは控えるが、どちらの点でも読み応えのある力作であることはマチガイない。日本にも「量子論の哲学」の専門家は何人かいるはずなので、しっかり読んで検討していただきたい。そして、これに負けないだけの大著を早く出してもらいたいものだ（筋が通っておれば、小著でも良しとしよう）。
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