> the history of the Universe occurred instantly when the first observation of it was made Perhaps that history could still collapse into existence in stages,

> the history of the Universe occurred instantly when the first observation of it was made Perhaps that history could still collapse into existence in stages, as subsequent observations of it became more detailed. The first observer would see far-off galaxies as small white dots in the sky, but not the composition and interaction of each, so perhaps those aspects don't decohere until later observers see more using telescopes. And not only history but also laws of physics could come into existence in this way. If earthlings are the only observers in the Universe, perhaps dark matter holding galaxies in a circular shape is a law of physics which only came into existence when observers on Earth could start seeing inside other galaxies.