Is it real? Physicists propose method to determine if universe is a simulation

[rexcoin]

Yeaaaa,
Next week scientist will make a theory and spend billions of dollars on proving we are all in the matrix. So god must be neo?

[rexcoin]

Big Bang => simulation rebooted ?

* rewatch "The Thirteenth Floor" *

lol futurama had a epoisode about exactly that.

[dank]

uhhhhhhh...you guys know what happens to civilizations that ask this question right?

They win the game, then get to play a whole new one.

Bingo.

[kokojie]

If the universe is simulated, we will never know, period. It's simply impossible for us to find out.

[grondilu]

If the universe is simulated, we will never know, period. It's simply impossible for us to find out.

Then please explain to us what is wrong in the following reasonning:

« With computerized simulations, it's necessary to create a lattice to account for the distances between virtual objects and to simulate the progression of time. The German team suggests such a lattice could be created based on quantum chromodynamics—theories that describe the nuclear forces that bind subatomic particles.

To find evidence that we exist in a simulated world would mean discovering the existence of an underlying lattice construct by finding its end points or edges. In a simulated universe a lattice would, by its nature, impose a limit on the amount of energy that could be represented by energy particles. This means that if our universe is indeed simulated, there ought to be a means of finding that limit. In the observable universe there is a way to measure the energy of quantum particles and to calculate their cutoff point as energy is dispersed due to interactions with microwaves and it could be calculated using current technology. Calculating the cutoff, the researchers suggest, could give credence to the idea that the universe is actually a simulation. »

[grondilu]

Could you elaborate a little on that "we are just 3D projections of the 2D surface reality" part?

Google "holographic principle".

[myrkul]

Could you elaborate a little on that "we are just 3D projections of the 2D surface reality" part?

Google "holographic principle".

Basically, imagine a sphere. On that sphere, draw a complex pattern. Shine a light through that pattern. Now, imagine standing at the center of that sphere. If the pattern is complex enough, and drawn in the right manner, the interplay of light and shadow causes you to see an image projected around you. It's grossly oversimplified, but that's the idea.

[Luno]

You'll have to google the holographic universe, there are Youtube videos also. But basically they say that our world exists on the outside flat surface of our universe, but to us appears to be 3D, like a hologram.

They use Einstein to explain how our world is perceived as 3D and Quantum mechanics to explain why information is conserved in the event horizon.

Hawkings and Penrose also applied Quantum Mechanics to describe the event horizon of black holes, but they don't claim to be sure of what is happening on the inside, except that it is the same space as outside. If the Holographic universe is a fact, it sounds like there could be an entire universe within every black hole, but that runs into other problems with General relativity and inflation.

There is a cosmology forum; http://www.physicsforums.com. Often a famous physicist drops by and nails a thread. It's also where bored LHC employees go in their spare time to discuss experiments. Quite a fascinating forum and no questions are to plain to get an answer! I'm a hobby cosmologist and have learned a lot by just reading old posts there.

[dank]

Our reality was created from a single point of consciousness.

[luffy]

i think it is not possible for a lab rat to find out that it is a lab rat (or what that means)
But who knows? MATRIX FTW!

[myrkul]

i think it is not possible for a lab rat to find out that it is a lab rat (or what that means)
But who knows? MATRIX FTW!

The real question is, if we're in a simulation, are we simulated, too, or are we "jacked in" somehow? And if we're all simulated "NPCs", Who's the PC?

[muyuu]

Fascinating subject. I've heard about the simulation theory before, explained by Neil deGrasse Tyson who spoke about the probability of it.

Related to it, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle which covers this theory and others.

[grondilu]

For those interested in the holographic principle, there is this presentation from Leonard Susskind (pretty much the guy who developped the concept):

The world as an hologram

[dank]

i think it is not possible for a lab rat to find out that it is a lab rat (or what that means)
But who knows? MATRIX FTW!

The real question is, if we're in a simulation, are we simulated, too, or are we "jacked in" somehow? And if we're all simulated "NPCs", Who's the PC?

Consciousness.

[grondilu]

i think it is not possible for a lab rat to find out that it is a lab rat (or what that means)
But who knows? MATRIX FTW!

The real question is, if we're in a simulation, are we simulated, too, or are we "jacked in" somehow? And if we're all simulated "NPCs", Who's the PC?

Consciousness.

Lol.  Exactly.

[herzmeister]

Lots of NPCs around too though. 

[Energizer]

If you've ever experienced a lucid dream, you would more likely believe that reality is a governed projection of conciseness. It feels real when your connected/tuned to the same level of conciseness. Who knows, we may be traveling between multiple levels of conciseness all the time without even realizing it.

[grondilu]

If you've ever experienced a lucid dream, you would more likely believe that reality is a governed projection of conciseness. It feels real when your connected/tuned to the same level of conciseness. Who knows, we may be traveling between multiple levels of conciseness all the time without even realizing it.

You wrote "conciseness" three times.  If you're a computing simulation, there's a bug.

[thebaron]

If you've ever experienced a lucid dream, you would more likely believe that reality is a governed projection of conciseness. It feels real when your connected/tuned to the same level of conciseness. Who knows, we may be traveling between multiple levels of conciseness all the time without even realizing it.

You wrote "conciseness" three times.  If you're a computing simulation, there's a bug.

If it's a bug, then you're just part of the self-healing ring topology.

[dank]

I guess spirituality isn't so far fetched after all!