What if everything around is not real? Imagine for a second that the planet we live on, the solar system, our galaxy, and ultimately the entire universe that we believe to be infinite, is really nothing more than a simulation. I understand it sounds pretty crazy, but some scientists do not rule out that the universe can really be modeled, and we are all nothing more than avatars. Moreover, reports of phenomena such as ghosts, strange coincidences, and déjà vu can be this “glitch in the matrix” - the ultimate proof that humanity is actually a kind of scientific experiment in which everything is modeled. Like The Sims PC game, only on a much larger scale.
Even the most incredible scenarios cannot be ruled out.
Computer universe
For the first time, the idea that our entire universe is nothing more than a simulation was put forward in a scientific article by Nick Bostrom, a Swedish professor of philosophy at Oxford University and director of the Institute for the Future of Humanity. According to a paper published in 2003 in the journal Philosophical Quaterly, there is a very high probability that we are living in a computer simulation.
In the annotation to his work, Bostrom states that at least one of three statements is true:
- Humanity is likely to die out before we become posthumans (hypothetical human image in the future).
- It is highly unlikely that any posthuman civilization will simulate its evolutionary history (or its variations).
- We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.
From this, the philosopher argues, it follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become the posthumans who govern the modeling of ancestors is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. Bostrom's idea - although the latter claims, that I have not watched the film "The Matrix" - fell on fertile ground. So, according to the head of SpaceX Elon Musk, the likelihood that we do not live in a computer simulation is a billion to one. With Musk and Bostrom, according to TechWire, in solidarity with Kerry Guinn, a computer scientist. He suggests that in the future, humanity may develop simulations of its own universe.
As Guinn explains, humanity will inevitably create realities that are indistinguishable from ours. Look at what success video game developers have achieved - what seemed impossible just some 10-15 years ago is now perceived by us as the norm. In addition, in games such as Death Stranding and Red Dead Redemption 2, a completely open world - this means that the player can move as he wants to absolutely any location. Bostrom also believes that in the near future, computer games will be extremely difficult to distinguish from reality. According to the philosopher, characters inside games may not be aware that they are part of a simulation. So we will come to the stage where we can create computer simulations of reality, indistinguishable from the real one.
Promotional video:
Failure in the Matrix looks like this.
So let's say the hypothesis is correct and our life is actually a simulation. But is there any way to know if we are part of a massive, life-like game? Guinn believes that the first thing to look out for is a system crash. Yes, yes, just like in the movie "The Matrix", when Neo sees the same cat walking down the corridor. All sorts of oddities, psychics, ghosts and everything that from a scientific point of view does not exist - may be errors in the code, thereby “a failure in the matrix”. Thus, if we are on the way to creating a matrix, then a more developed society has already created it. For example, ourselves.
And again, quantum physics
As you probably know, at one time Albert Einstein opposed quantum entanglement - the ability of atoms and electrons to influence each other's properties even at a distance. Today we know that Einstein was wrong and entanglement is real. Moreover, according to quantum theory, an elementary particle acquires a certain state only at the moment of observation. Not to mention the fact that scientists have been able to experimentally prove, using a single photon, that it exists in three places at the same time. Read more about why quantum physics is so strange and why charlatans love it so much in this article. But what if quantum entanglement exists on a human scale, thus creating a connection between the beings in the simulations and … us?
From the point of view of science, ghosts do not exist.
This is definitely a dizzying hypothesis. Like many others, for example, the existence of parallel worlds. However, ghosts and all sorts of paranormal phenomena are most likely not a malfunction in the matrix at all, but an illusion skillfully created by our brain. In addition, there is no evidence for the existence of psychic abilities, ghosts, demons and magicians. Do you think our universe is a computer simulation?
Well, in general, on the topic of whether our Universe is a computer simulation, I want to say the following - this is an incredibly interesting, but still, dubious hypothesis. You can find out what different scientists think about this by watching a fascinating debate, in which astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson acted as the moderator - I recommend watching.
Lyubov Sokovikova
