TV Program Description
Original PBS Broadcast Date: October 21, 2008
For most of Mark Oliver Everett's life, things didn't add up.
"Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives" follows Mark, better known
as E, the lead singer of the rock band EELS, across the
country as he attempts to understand the fantastic possibility
of parallel universes and unravel the story of his troubled
family and the father he never really knew—iconoclastic
quantum physicist Hugh Everett III.
Scientific American described Hugh Everett as "one of
the most important scientists of the 20th century." In 1957,
he proposed the controversial Many Worlds Theory, a startling
interpretation of quantum mechanics. The theory makes the
astounding prediction that parallel universes are constantly
splitting off from our everyday reality. For many years, Hugh
Everett's mind-boggling theory was overlooked. Today, the
concept of parallel universes is not only explored by many top
physicists, but it also inspired many films, television
series, and books, including The Golden Compass,
Star Trek, and The Subtle Knife. (See
Science Fiction and Fact
for more on this parallel evolution of ideas.)
In this intelligent and imaginative film, the wry and
charismatic Mark takes an emotional journey into his father's
life, meeting Hugh's old college friends, colleagues, and
admirers, including MIT physicist Max Tegmark, a vocal
proponent of Hugh's ideas. It is only by entering the esoteric
world of quantum physics that Mark can hope to gain an
understanding of, and more importantly, a connection to the
father who was a stranger to him.
Hugh Everett published his theory of parallel universes over
50 years ago as a Ph.D. student at Princeton University. (See
an expanded version of Hugh's
dissertation
as well as two related
original documents
he wrote.) But it remained largely ignored by the scientific
community for 20 years. Hugh's hypothesis countered the
Copenhagen Interpretation, the most widely accepted view of
the many puzzles of quantum physics, developed by Nobel
laureate Niels Bohr. At that time, many considered the
ambitious 24-year-old extremely naive and arrogant to
challenge Bohr, who rivaled Albert Einstein as one of the
giants of the physics world. (Learn more about the theory in
an
interview with
Hugh's biographer, Peter Byrne.)
Through interviews and archival materials, the film conveys
how Bohr's disregard of Everett's work devastated the young
scientist. Dejected and depressed, he left quantum physics
behind and became a defense analyst, conducting classified
research for the Pentagon. Later he joined the corporate
world, applying mathematical modelling in industry. The
chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hugh Everett died of a heart
attack in his Virginia home, long before Mark could appreciate
his father's professional triumphs and frustrations.
"My father never, ever said anything to me about his
theories," Mark says. "I was in the same house with him for at
least 18 years, but he was a total stranger to me. He was in
his own parallel universe. He was a physical presence, like
the furniture, sitting there jotting down crazy notations at
the dining room table night after night. I think he was deeply
disappointed that he knew he was a genius but the rest of the
world didn't know it."
Mark Everett jokingly admits that he can barely tabulate a
restaurant tip, let alone understand his father's complex
ideas. While Hugh focused on science, Mark focused on music.
He mastered the piano, drums, and guitar, and became an
accomplished songwriter. In addition to writing material for
their award-winning albums, EELS contributed songs to movie
soundtracks, including
How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the three animated
Shrek films.
Now in his forties, Mark is the sole surviving member of his
family, which he has described as strange and lonely. With an
intimate, often quirky style, "Parallel Worlds, Parallel
Lives" delves deep into the Everett's family history,
including the bouts of mental illness. Mark's father and
paternal grandmother both suffered from severe depression, as
did his deeply troubled sister. The making of this documentary
reintroduced Mark Everett to his father and helped him
understand his dreams and disappointments. (Read
Finding My Father, an excerpt from Mark's newly published autobiography.)
"I feel like I know my father a lot better," Mark says. "I
feel I understand more of the whole time line of events. Just
talking to all these people who knew him, it feels like he's
around now more than ever before."
Program Transcript
Program Credits
