Mass surveillance, the metaverse, making America ‘great again’: the novelists who predicted our present

This piece explores the prescience of literature, highlighting instances where novelists predicted future events. It begins by noting significant anniversaries, including the upcoming 85th anniversary of Jorge Luis Borges's short story, "The Garden of Forking Paths". The story delves into themes of chance, labyrinths, and an infinite novel where every possible path is taken. This concept of branching realities creates a "growing, dizzying web" of time. The story's central idea is that the garden of forking paths is infinite. It's often linked to the multiverse hypothesis in quantum physics, a concept later developed by physicists. Alberto Rojo investigated the connection, questioning whether physicists were inspired by Borges. While Borges's story seems to anticipate quantum physics, the creator of the many worlds interpretation didn't know about Borges. Borges himself claimed ignorance of physics, acknowledging the imagination of physicists. The article considers the connection between literature and scientific thought. It suggests that even without direct influence, literature can anticipate and explore scientific concepts.