What is this universe?

[nixium]

Religious types and Philosophers love spending time on this question.

Well, now the scientists are on top of it.

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/192...-or-the-computer-simulation-of-future-people/

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/189...ated-reality-physicists-explore-the-evidence/

Interestingly, this would "prove" several eastern religious beliefs that hold that the universe is not real and is all illusion.

 

[sandorski]

cool

 

[bignateyk]

So when I get de-ja-vu it's really just a glitch in the simulation?

 

[Jeff7]

I prefer the idea that we're in the "universe in a bottle" in someone's Zero Point Module.

The expansion of the Universe and increasing entropy we observe everywhere is the effect of that civilization's power consumption. The expansion is increasing as their power requirements increase.

 

[Miramonti]

Perhaps the universe is real but we are the illusion.

 

[Ken g6]

I prefer the idea that the universe is a holographic projection of the event horizon of a black hole that recently formed in another universe. The universe initially expanded very rapidly - faster than light - as the event horizon covered the core of the star. It expanded more slowly covering the rest of the star, then stalled. Now the black hole is picking up matter from somewhere else, perhaps a companion star, and expansion is increasing again. If correct, this means the expansion will slow, eventually.

The other interesting implication of this would be that evolution applies to universes, and that the purpose of a universe is to produce as many black holes (and thus other universes) as possible.

 

[alzan]

I feel pixelated after reading that.

I'd also like to know why the hell my future creators gave me such dark circles under my eyes, dammit!

 

[ElFenix]

Religious types and Philosophers love spending time on this question.

Well, now the scientists are on top of it.

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/192...-or-the-computer-simulation-of-future-people/

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/189...ated-reality-physicists-explore-the-evidence/

Interestingly, this would "prove" several eastern religious beliefs that hold that the universe is not real and is all illusion.

No, this idea is not the product of a freshman astronomy term-paper written high as a kite last-minute at 3 a.m. It was first floated by a certified egghead philosophy professor at the University of Oxford in 2003 and has sparked the interest of the scientific community.

wasn't there an asimov story that basically postulated the same thing? i remember thinking that would be something interesting to test for way back in 7th grade or so.

 

[ViperXX]

Maybe the fact that the photon can be a wave and a single particle is the "glitch in the matrix" discovered in the quantum experiment.

 

[Gibsons]

wasn't there an asimov story that basically postulated the same thing? i remember thinking that would be something interesting to test for way back in 7th grade or so.

The idea that the universe might be a simulation is pretty old, idk who came up with it.

The idea to test it this way is new. I really don't understand how they intend to prove it though, you can always postulate an even more sophisticated simulation.

 

[OverVolt]

I agree with the universe being an illusion. Not so much an illusion as the fact that it shouldn't exist. I'm pretty sure in a perfect universe with equal matter and anti-matter, equally distributed gravity, and particles etc. that there is no universe. We only exist because of imperfection. Made in gods image= imperfect, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dHfY-Y8lb8

And..... here we go

The opening of the video sucks, around 1:30 it gets interesting.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Why, oh why, didn't I take the blue pill?

 

[IGBT]

it's a symphony of collision and chaos..coming to a solar system near you very soon.

 

[OverVolt]

Part of the "imperfection" is that in the very low density areas of space molecules tend to phase in and out of existence, the density is just that low.

 

[Jeff7]

Part of the "imperfection" is that in the very low density areas of space molecules tend to phase in and out of existence, the density is just that low.

The simulation can't divide by zero, so it creates a non-zero value when necessary. Or else it's just a floating point roundoff error.

The idea that the universe might be a simulation is pretty old, idk who came up with it.

The idea to test it this way is new. I really don't understand how they intend to prove it though, you can always postulate an even more sophisticated simulation.

Yeah, especially if those doing the simulation are quite incredibly advanced beyond anything living inside. Just simulate something new to satisfy anyone who's overly curious.
Or have them killed off in "accidents." Earth-based life is getting too close.

Uh oh, a Mars-sized asteroid made of solid molybdenum just appeared, and it's heading toward Earth at 160,000mph. Sure, the inhabitants will see that something's very unusual, but the problem will quickly correct itself.

 

[dr150]

Pass the bud dude, whoa....what if?......

Interesting stuff.

I like sci-fi novels that deal in such themes, such as Simmons Endymion novels that talk about the "Lions, Tigers, and Bears" advanced beings...

 

[ViperXX]

The thing about this theory is it is wide open. The earth doesn't really have to be 4.5 billion years old. But you can write that into the simulation to make it appear it is. You can make anything to appear as we see it.

 

[Baked]

You only have to believe, and it will happen. Physics be damned.

 

[nixium]

See this believers/christians? This is how to "prove god". If these scientists find that the universe is a simulation run by a crazy bearded man, I will accept it.

Just having it written in a book is not enough.

 

[Gibsons]

The thing about this theory is it is wide open. The earth doesn't really have to be 4.5 billion years old. But you can write that into the simulation to make it appear it is. You can make anything to appear as we see it.

This too. Plus, the simulation doesn't have to be running for everyone - just YOU.

(because you're the special one)

 

[ViperXX]

I'm Christian and I believe this could be possible. God still created the universe even if it is a computer simulation. The only thing that bothers me is are we apart of the simulation or are we separate beings plugged into the simulation?

 

[Farmer]

I wish I was smart enough to do this research,

 

[Saint Nick]

Holy shit, I can't think of anything that I could possibly care less about.

 

[Brigandier]

Interestingly, this would "prove" several eastern religious beliefs that hold that the universe is not real and is all illusion.

Not really, it just means this universe is not real, there must still be a universe somewhere in which to perform these simulations.

 

[Kadarin]

Somebody must have seen this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139809/