♟️ The Metagame #022: The Multiverse

Welcome to the first 2025 edition of The Metagame 🎉

Here’s to a year of getting smarter, thinking deeper, and mastering win-win strategies in this complex, beautiful game we call life.

Here’s what’s in store for today:

• Quantum computing & The Multiverse

• The Butterfly Effect

• Chess & Poker

Read time: 4 minutes

Last month, Google quietly dropped a bombshell in the tech world: their new state-of-the-art quantum chip, Willow.

To sum it up in layman’s terms, this chip performed a benchmark computation in 5 minutes—a benchmark that our fastest supercomputers would take 10 septillion (10^25) years to complete.

Willow also reduces errors exponentially with more qubits.

(A qubit is a basic unit of information in quantum computing, just like a regular bit is typically a 1 or a 0 in our traditional computing.)

This is a step in the right direction for quantum error correction, something that has been a challenge for the last 30 years.

Now, this is all super riveting stuff, right?

But I actually wanted to talk about something that Google casually snuck into this article:

The Multiverse.

If you’re a Marvel fan like me, you already know about the multiverse: the idea that infinite parallel universes coexist alongside our own.

Each universe is a different outcome of every possible choice—an endless array of “what-ifs.”

And tucked away in this post by Google is the notion that it exists:

Yes, Google believes the multiverse is real.

How’s that for an existential crisis?

The Butterfly Effect

I’m a staunch believer in the idea that small actions can lead to massive, often unpredictable, outcomes. This concept, known as The Butterfly Effect, suggests that a tiny change (like a butterfly flapping its wings) can set off a chain reaction that leads to something far bigger (a tornado forming halfway across the world).

Psychology TikTok recently gave this a modern twist with the “Burnt Toast Theory.” The idea is simple: if you burn your toast in the morning and need five extra minutes to make a new piece, those minutes could change the course of your day—or even your life.

• Maybe those five minutes saved you from a car accident.

• Maybe they led you to meet your future partner while waiting in line for coffee.

• Or maybe they altered your timeline in ways you’ll never fully understand.

Every choice we make, no matter how trivial it seems, can change the trajectory of our lives.

And this brings us back to the multiverse. I often wonder:

• What if I picked up a saxophone instead of a trumpet on that day back in middle school?

• What if I turned left instead of right when walking to my office?

• What if I chose to go to a different college?

Each of these decisions could’ve splintered into a different reality, leading to a completely different version of my life.

But here’s the thing: while it’s fun to play the “what-if” game, it’s even more important to focus on the choices still ahead.

Our futures are full of infinite possibilities—an endless array of decisions waiting to be made. Instead of dwelling on the past, I like to remind myself to look forward.

Every small action you take today could ripple out into something extraordinary tomorrow.

Life Lessons from Poker and Chess

Two of my favorite games—poker and chess—are more than just entertainment for me. They’re metaphors for life.

In chess, the game starts with a clean board state. Both players have “perfect information”—you can see every piece, and every move is visible. Because of this, chess is largely about strategy and anticipating your opponent’s decisions.

Poker, on the other hand, is a game of “imperfect information.” You can’t see your opponent’s cards, and every decision you make involves some level of uncertainty. You have to read people, calculate odds, and make the best choice with incomplete data.

When relating them to life, this is how I see the two games:

• Chess teaches us to plan. It’s about long-term thinking, setting up sequences of moves, and anticipating how today’s choices will impact tomorrow’s outcomes.

• Poker teaches us to adapt. In life, as in poker, you never have all the information. Situations change, new “cards” are revealed, and the ability to stay flexible often determines success.

In both games, every action creates a new “state” that alters the trajectory of the game. For example:

• In chess, if I open with the Ponziani opening, but my opponent starts to counter with the Sicilian Defense, it’s a completely different game.

• In poker, if I raise and my opponent calls instead of folding, the dynamic of the hand changes.

This concept of shifting states applies to life, too. Every decision you make—a job offer you accept, a relationship you pursue, even something as small as taking a different route home—creates a new “line.”

And just like a chess “line” (a sequence of moves) or a poker “line” (a sequence of cards & betting actions), every decision you make creates a new life “line.”

The beauty of life is that, just like poker and chess, it’s full of choices and surprises. We can plan as much as we want, but at the end of the day, we have to take action—and be ready to pivot when the unexpected happens.

Whether it’s quantum computing, the butterfly effect, or lessons from poker or chess, one thing is clear: the decisions we make matter.

Sometimes, it’s the smallest, most mundane choices that ripple out into life-changing outcomes.

So here’s to a new year filled with thoughtful decisions, bold strategies, and infinite possibilities. After all, we may not have access to parallel universes (yet)—but we can make the most of this one.

Quote of the week

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, hit me up on LinkedIn or on 𝕏 at @sam_starkman, or feel free to reply to this email!

— Sam