Do We Enter A Parallel Universe During Surgery?

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Do We Enter A Parallel Universe During Surgery?</h4>

Imagine yourself transported away, to a realm where the standard rules of reality no longer apply, and where every sensation and experience is completely alien. You’ve just pictured a standard trip to the surgeon’s room. 

With the power of modern medicine, we’ve for decades been able to put patients into states of deep unconsciousness, temporarily disconnecting them from the world, thanks to anesthesia. One curious, follow-on notion, though, is that this apparent disconnection could be akin to stepping into a wholly new plane of reality. Just as with dreams during our regularly sleeping hours, there’s something that happens here - to our brains, to our person, or to our essence - that changes everything. So much so that even the wildest claims perhaps aren’t quite as far fetched as they seem. 

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; do we enter a parallel universe during surgery? 

As we know, the concept of parallel universes, also known as the multiverse theory, is one of modern science’s most intriguing topics. At a base level, it suggests that our universe is one of many, amidst a vast, potentially infinite sea of other universes, which all exist alongside (or parallel to) us. Each other universe could possess unique laws of physics, different constants, and (in some versions of the theory) perhaps even variations of ourselves. 

One of the most prominent versions is the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics… which claims that every single quantum event creates a split in reality, with each possible outcome happening in its own, branched-off universe. So, after almost every event imaginable, this kind of multiverse will grow, in order to contain every single outcome that has ever been able to happen. 

Another leading explanation as to how parallel worlds could work comes from string theory. String theory is a well-known contender for a unifying theory of everything, aiming (as it does) to consolidate quantum mechanics with general relativity - and thereby to crack quantum gravity. It works by saying that at the bottom most layer, all fundamental particles are actually tiny, vibrating strings. The frequency at which those strings vibrate is then what determines what a particle will be. From the point of view of a multiverse, string theory takes us there via what’s known as the “string theory landscape” - a wide-reaching map of potential vacuum states, which all could serve to, again, create different physical laws and constants. 

Finally, there’s the concept of “branes”, short for membranes, to consider. These are fundamental to certain varieties of string theory, particularly M-theory. In short, and while our everyday lives are limited to three dimensions, branes can be multidimensional. For example, a 1-dimensional brane is a string, and a 3-dimensional brane could be the universe. But, M-theory asks what if we go higher? What if the branes that make us can extend up to 11 dimensions, in total? It would mean that our reality would really only ever be a 3D brane, embedded in a higher dimensional space. With effective parallel universes existing in (or on) the higher levels. 

It’s all pretty mind-bending, so how do we get from here… to the hospital operating room, and surgery? The possible (or probable) bridge comes via another growing (and increasingly exciting) field of research; the true nature of consciousness. In simple terms, consciousness is the state of being aware of, and able to think about, one’s own existence and surroundings. It’s a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human… but, as things stand, we have no real grasp as to how we develop consciousness. It isn’t just there by magic, but it’s also extremely difficult to trace, quantify, measure… to understand. The human brain, in general, contains an average of 86 billion neurons, and is undoubtedly one of science’s biggest mysteries. But, according to most theories, it’s through the brain that we must sift if we ever hope to solve consciousness. If consciousness is a physical product - which many believe it is - then the brain is what holds the key. And increasingly complicated studies are ongoing 

For others, though, there’s reason to think that, actually, consciousness isn’t dependent on our brains. It’s thought, instead, that it exists independently of our bodies, more like a universal energy than an individual product. Others then even wonder whether all matter could have some form of sentience… or the potential for it, at least. And it’s more so along these paths that we might forge a link between undergoing surgery and visiting other realms. Because, if nothing else, we do know that consciousness isn’t a static state. We know that it can be changed via external factors, such as by a person falling asleep, or by them taking certain substances, or during a Near Death Experience. Arguably, though, nothing alters our brains quite so intensely (or reliably) as anesthesia during surgery does.

On a practical level, what’s known as general anesthesia (rather than local or regional) is administered to ensure the total loss of consciousness and sensation during an operation. Its name, from Greek, literally means “without sensation”. Take it away, and surgery would be hellish and impossible. But, thanks to the controlled state of unconsciousness that it delivers, surgeons can freely cut into our bodies to combat what ails us.

Anesthesia works by interfering with our brain’s ability to process sensory input and create memories. Key signals that are usually passed to the brain all the time, are stopped. The neural activity responsible for that - to some degree, the activity that’s responsible for consciousness - becomes suppressed. The patient is entirely disconnected from external stimuli. They are in a completely altered state. Barring any issues, they’re put to sleep… and it’s as though they never existed on the operating table, at all.

These conditions (while common in terms of how often anesthesia is used worldwide) are typically uncommon for the person being anesthetized. For most people, having major surgery isn’t a regular thing. Nevertheless, it’s well known that anesthesia can induce some highly surreal experiences. Patients are often completely unaware of the passage of time; they rarely have any memory of any stage of the procedure they’ve had; they often recall having the strangest dreams. For the brief period that it’s working on your body, it’s as though it transforms your brain into something else altogether. And, ultimately, even now, anesthesia affects our brains in many ways that we just don’t completely understand.

Generally, in mainstream science and philosophy, the idea of being transported to another dimension by altering consciousness is not accepted. But, on the edges of conventional thought, there are rumblings. Such as with Simulation Theory, which suggests that reality is an entirely artificial construct - a simulation - run by higher powers. In some tellings, our brains then double up as a kind of signal tower connecting us to that wider, higher structure. So, for sim theorists, perhaps anesthesia is enough to scramble those signals and offer a glimpse into realms that we can’t usually see. Perhaps it opens up glitches in the simulation. 

On the opposite end of the scale, however, there’s phenomenalism, which claims that physical objects are only ever defined in terms of sensory experiences. If this is the case, then altered states of consciousness - such as going under for surgery - are (more simply) different ways of perceiving a reality that is already there. There are no parallel worlds, exactly… but there is what we can usually experience, and what we can’t. In this sense, perhaps anesthesia is more like a veil-lifter for our senses, with all the strangeness that comes with it actually being a series of revelations as to what has always been there (or possible) in our minds.

All in all, there are a number of ways to look at the title question. First, if the Many Worlds Interpretation is considered true, then we certainly do enter a parallel universe during surgery. Almost by default, in the same way as we enter them when we make most decisions in our lives. But such a phenomenon wouldn’t be exclusive to surgery, and it doesn’t imply anything special for our brains under anesthesia. 

On the other hand, with a multiverse model that’s more in line with String Theory Landscape, parallel worlds via surgery aren’t really possible. This is a framework where universes exist beyond our own, yes… but there are no suggestions that altered consciousness could ever transport us to them. String Theory Landscape (and others like it) is a cosmological approach, and therefore doesn’t relate to individual experiences. Nor does it afford any one person anywhere near as much significance or power to just travel through the multiverse at will. Brane theory is similar. 

Nevertheless, there is still so much about consciousness that we don’t understand. And, if it is (in whatever way) connected up at a higher point, so that individual consciousness gives way to some other, greater state… then, really, anything that rewrites consciousness in the here and now could arguably offer something new. Anesthesia for surgery is an interesting thought. There’s no proof that it does open any kind of existential doorway… but clearly it messes with our minds more than most other things. And in all the unique confusion it can cause, some will always wonder.