The idea sounds like science fiction altogether. Nonetheless, the possibility that our universe is a gigantic simulation has been proposed throughout the years. However, recently, the idea has taken off, with several scientists delving into the possibility that the universe, as we experience it, is no more than a massive simulation.
The idea of a simulated universe is intriguing. But even if it were true, how do we prove we are part of a simulation and that the universe we hold so real is far from being a tangible reality?
Computer scientists have proposed in the past that although it is difficult to prove, there could be tell-tale signs around us that hint at a simulated universe, and one such sign could be the existence of “ghosts.” This idea is best defined in the so-called simulation theory, in which we, as humans, are no more than avatars in a simulated cosmos.
Curry Guinn, a computer scientist from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, has hinted at the possibility that everything around us might be simulated. Although this is speculation, computer scientists believe that inevitable glitches in the “matrix” like the existence of ghosts, the Deja Vu phenomenon, and other similarities could be parts of errors in a simulation; glitches in a game.
What if the Universe Isn’t Real?
Have you played a game called the Sims? Well, think of our universe as a possible simulated world in someone else’s computer. I know it sounds like science fiction, but there are a bunch of experts who don’t see the stimulation theory as a far-fetched idea. Elon Musk is one such expert who shares the belief of a possible simulated universe.
In the past, Musk has said revealed: “there is a billion to one chance we are not living in a computer simulation.”
But Guinn’s and Musk’s ideas are shared by other experts. Their concept originates from a paper written by Nick Bostrom, a professional philosopher in the United Kingdom. Bostrom’s theory implies a very high possibility that Earth is, in fact, part of a simulated environment.
The paper penned down by Bostrom argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer
simulation.
But, once again, how do we spot a sign we live inside a simulation? According to Guinn, take a look at games developers make across the world.
As revealed by Guinn, we need to look for bugs and glitches in the program.
“Glitches in the system. Déjà vu, such as in the Matrix movie when a character sees a cat crossing a doorway repeatedly, may be one glitch,” Guinn revealed.
“Ghosts, ESP, coincidences may be others. The laws of physics in our universe seem peculiarly designed with a set of constants that make carbon-based life possible. Where are the edges?”
In addition to the above, which has already been discussed previously in this article, I find the following article of great interest.
Published by SyFy, an article titled “This Black Hole Glitched Like a Cosmic Computer…Then Restarted Itself Out of Nowhere” can be used as an additional example of a simulated universe.
The article refers to a cosmic phenomenon that astronomers posted, and that left them awestruck. Can a black hole really turn on and off by itself? We don’t know much, but one black hole just did that, and scientists observed it at the right time to observe it happening in real-time.
But the interesting thing about this is that a black hole turning on and off by itself isn’t something you see every day. In fact, as revealed by scientists, “phenomena like this just don’t happen.”
What scientists essentially observed was a flash of brightness from a supermassive black hole that then dimmed unexpectedly, almost as if someone turned it off on purpose. This was surprising, but what filled next was even more: all of a sudden, and completely out of nowhere, the black hole turned itself back on, leaving experts stumped.
What scientists observed, however, was more than just a black hole going on and off. What they witnessed was the black hole’s corona—a bring trying of material and high-energy charged particles on the event of its event horizon. The corona went dark all of a sudden and then lit up again. We can’t really observe black holes directly, although we did snap a historical image of a black hole last year.
Although the above phenomenon could be—perhaps—partly explainable by astrophysics, certain—similar—phenomena could be viewed by experts as glitches in the universe, helping us revealed a simulated cosmos
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