Late last night, I found myself in another of my "deep thinking" moments. At issue were the "heavy" subjects of time, space, and quantum physics. I won't elaborate on how I came to ponder these things; it is irrelevant to the matter at hand. Rather, I will digress, and discuss my idea of alternate timelines.
Consider, if you will, Newton's Third Law; "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"(1). This is the basis of theories regarding "space-time", and what we see as our reality. In mathematical terms, it is the idea that an action taken (we'll call it "Action A") leads/has led to a certain result (let's call it "Outcome 1"). Let's examine this for a moment.
In most to all cases, we are presented with multiple choices. For example, when driving down the street, one can choose to go straight, turn left, or turn right. What we know as our historical timeline is what we have chosen to do; in this case, let's say we take a left. Now, two other choices exist; choices that we did not make. As such, there are other possible outcomes that did not, and cannot, come to pass (that is, if "Action B" was taken, it likely would've led to a whole different result; "Outcome 2").
If we accept the above explanation as true, then it stands to reason that other timelines seemingly exist. As Commander Data (Brent Spiner) explained in "Star Trek: The Next Generation", there are seemingly infinite other actions that can be taken(2); the fact that they were not taken doesn't preclude their existence. This being the case, it's my hypothesis that infinite alternate timelines exist, where totally different events from what has taken place in our timeline have happened (or will happen).
Now, there's one little problem with my theory; there is, seemingly, no clear way of testing the hypothesis. As such, we may never know for certain whether it is true or not. It is this idea that is, at least partially, behind the concept of time travel. So, as is usually the case, I could be wrong in my scientific analysis; time will indeed tell (no pun intended).
(Definition of "preclude": to rule out in advance, or make impossible)
(Definition of "hypothesis": an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument)
2. "All Good Things..." Star Trek: The Next Generation. Writ. Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga. 23 May 1994. Television.
English Title: "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", first published 1687
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