Does the Cat Even Render?

I’m not a big fan of the explanation some scientists give for the two-slit experiment (see below) —namely, that we live in a world where every decision or possibility creates a new universe or parallel dimension. There’s a famous thought experiment called Schrödinger’s Cat, where a cat is placed in a sealed box containing a lethal amount of toxic gas. This gas is locked in a smaller device triggered by a quantum event. Since we don’t know the state of the quantum particle until we observe it, we also don’t know whether the cat is alive or dead until we open the box. That’s where someone (especially in Marvel movies) got creative and said the cat is both dead and alive in two separate universes. We supposedly don’t “pick” which universe we end up in until we open the box—so every quantum decision splits our universe into two paths, creating an infinite number of universes.

I find that idea pretty crazy, and I’ve wondered if it’s really what mainstream scientists believe right now. I even tried using a “flat earth” analogy to reduce it to the absurd, but that mostly confused people about my stance. Should our stance on these interpretations be a matter of personal belief, or should we “follow the science”?

A conversation with my son about a video game he was making in Unity sparked an alternative idea. He was optimizing his 3D world by only rendering objects the character could see, which greatly improved the frame rate. (See The Endless Stairs Experimental Video Game) Later, while I was criticizing the notion of parallel universes, I mentioned the Schrödinger’s Cat experiment to a colleague who also knew about the “only render what you see” trick. He said, “The cat hasn’t rendered yet,” as if it were a game asset waiting to be drawn. I had a mind-blowing moment: why is that explanation—like we’re living in a video game—any more or less ridiculous than saying parallel universes exist with different versions of Spider-Man?

I’m not convinced that infinite universes explain our reality. We don’t fully understand how it all works yet. If reality only “happens” when someone is there to observe it, maybe God is conserving his cosmic rendering juice – not that He needs to, of course. No need to generate the next level until we’ve complete this one. Maybe that’s why the Bible doesn’t mention dinosaurs or a round Earth—we hadn’t unlocked those assets or achieved that in-game currency yet, and God was still coming up with awesome ideas. Either way, calling it “rendering” doesn’t seem any crazier than the alternatives. Until we know more, I’ll keep my cat unrendered, thanks.

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The Two-Slit Experiment

As early as 1801, scientists were able to show that light passing through two closely spaced slits produce an interference pattern – alternating light and dark bands.

In the 1920s, scientists showed that electrons passing through two slits also create an interference pattern, confirming that matter can behave like a wave. Subsequent refinements of the two-slit setup demonstrated that even firing particles one at a time still yields interference, implying each particle somehow interferes with itself. Yet, if detectors monitor which slit a particle goes through, the interference pattern disappears. What?

Copenhagen

In the late 1920s, scientist formulated what became known as the “Copenhagen” interpretation of quantum mechanics. In the two-slit experiment, the Copenhagen view explains the disappearance of the interference pattern once the path is measured as “the wavefunction collapsing” whatever that means.

These experiments remain among the most striking demonstrations of wave-particle duality and the role that measurement, or that the observer has in quantum mechanics. They have led scientists to hypothesize some crazy stuff to explain things they do not yet understand.

Schrödinger’s Cat Thought Experiment

In 1935, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger introduced his “cat in a box” thought experiment to demonstrate the oddity of quantum superposition at everyday scales. He wanted to show how strange it is to apply quantum rules—where a particle can be in multiple states at once—to something as ordinary as a cat. In his setup, a quantum event controls whether poison is released, leaving the cat both “alive” and “dead” until an observation is made. Schrödinger used this paradox to challenge the standard “Copenhagen” interpretation, essentially asking: When does a quantum system stop being a mixture of states and become one definite outcome? Much like the two-slit experiment, it underscores how measurement affects a system, illustrating one of quantum mechanics’ biggest mysteries.

The Many-Worlds Theory

The Many-Worlds theory was introduced by the American physicist Hugh Everett in 1957 as an alternative to the traditional Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics. In Everett’s view, there is no “collapse” of the wavefunction; instead, each possible outcome of a quantum event branches off into its own, separate universe. This was meant to resolve the so-called measurement problem by treating the observer and the observed system on the same quantum footing. It gained wider attention in the 1970s when Bryce DeWitt popularized it under the name “Many-Worlds.” Proponents say it is elegant because it does not require wavefunction collapse, but critics argue it multiplies entities (universes) unnecessarily. Nonetheless, it remains one of the major interpretations discussed today in physics.

Movies and Shows With Parallel Universes:

Many movies have used the parallel universe theme. In some cases because it allows the writers to restart the story.

• Fringe (2008–2013) – Centers on fringe science and parallel universes, with much of the series revolving around the complex interplay between “our” universe and a similar but diverging alternate reality.
• Star Trek (2009) – (Listed out of order here) Reboot film that explicitly diverges from the original timeline, creating a new parallel universe.
• Coherence (2013) – A comet’s passing causes multiple parallel realities to intersect at a dinner party.
• The Flash (CW, 2014–2023) – Heavily features the DC Comics “Multiverse,” with alternate Earths (Earth-2, Earth-19, etc.) and multiple versions of characters interacting through dimensional breaches.
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – Multiple versions of Spider-Man from different universes collide.
• Avengers: Endgame (2019) – Time heists create branching timelines, effectively acknowledging a multiverse.
• Loki (2021) – Disney+ Marvel show explicitly focused on alternate timelines and the consequences of branching realities.
• Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) – A comedy-drama where a multiverse of alternate lives collides in one woman’s story.
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) – Explores multiple universe-hopping, continuing Marvel’s multiverse arc.

We Live In a Simulation

In the 1980-90s John Archibald Wheeler used a “it from bit” concept proposing that information—not matter—is the fundamental building block of the universe.

In 2003, Nick Bostrom, a philosopher at the University of Oxford, published “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?” If advanced civilizations eventually develop the ability to run detailed simulations of their ancestors, and if they choose to do so, then it’s statistically likely we’re already living in one of those simulations.

In 2012, physicist Silas Beane and a team from the University of Washington explored whether high-energy cosmic rays could reveal signs of an underlying lattice-like simulation structure, though this idea remains unproven.

Movies About Living In a Simulation:

• The Matrix (1999) – The classic. Humans unknowingly live inside a computer simulation run by machines.
• The Thirteenth Floor (1999) – A virtual reality within a virtual reality; explores simulated consciousness.
• Tron (1982) / Tron: Legacy (2010) – Programmer is pulled into a digital world inside a computer system.
• Ready Player One (2018) – A dystopian world where most people escape into a massive virtual reality universe.
• Free Guy (2021) – A non-playable character in a video game becomes self-aware.