An abstract illustration showing a man and the universe. Shutterstock.

Scientists Say Ghosts Could Be Signs of a Simulated Universe

"...there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor‐simulations is false unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed..."

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What if everything around you isn’t real? Imagine for a second that the planet we live on, the solar system, our galaxy, and eventually the entire universe we see as infinite is no more than a simulation. What then?


According to a new theory by computer scientists, our universe may be simulated. So what we perceive as “ghosts” could be small pieces of evidence that suggest the universe we live in is simulated.

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It’s called the simulation theory, and it proposes that we are no more than “avatars” in a universe that is entirely simulated.

According to computer scientist Curry Guinn from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, our world may not be real. Although Guinn’s idea is speculative, he argues that reports of phenomena such as ghosts, Déjà vu, and strange coincidences could actually be glitches in the “matrix.”

These glitches could prove to be the ultimate piece of evidence that humankind isn’t part of the universe that’s real, but actually, a kind of science experiment where everything is simulated. In other words, imagine humankind as being part of a game like The Sims, only on a much larger scale.

Guinn isn’t the only one who argues there’s a possibility we live in a simulated universe. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shares that belief. As noted by TechWire, Guinn pointed out Elon Musk’s belief in simulation theory to lend more authority to the idea and suggested humankind could build our simulations in the future.

In the past, Elon Musk has said that “there is a billion to one chance we are not living in a computer simulation.”

In 2018, Musk revealed in an interview with space.com that “If you assume any improvement rate, then games will be indistinguishable from reality, or civilization will end. One of those two things will occur.”

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“Therefore, we are most likely in a simulation because we exist.”

The idea Musk acknowledges as a possibility is derived from a scientific paper penned by Nick Bostrom, a professional philosopher in the United Kingdom. Bostrom’s theory suggests there is a very high possibility we live in a computer simulation.

The idea set forth by Bostrom is, in fact, one of three possibilities. The third one, that we are part of a simulation, follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is
false unless we are currently living in a simulation. Many other
consequences of this result are also discussed.

Guinn already knows who will take the first steps. According to computer scientists, Video Game developers will catapult us into a new direction where we will challenge the limits of what we have considered impossible before.

“We will inevitably create realities indistinguishable from this reality,” Guinn explained during a speech at a film festival.

How do we find out whether or not we are part of a massive, simulated game?

According to Guinn, we need to pay attention and look for bugs in development.

“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 explained.

“Ghosts, ESP, coincidences may be others. The laws of physics in our universe seem peculiarly designed with constants that make carbon-based life possible. Where are the edges?”

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Bostrom has also set forth that computer games will become so well-developed that it will become tough to tell the difference between reality and simulation in the near future.

Characters inside these games may not even realize they are part of the simulation.

In other words, we will come to the stage where we will produce realities that will become indistinguishable from this reality.


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Written by Ivan Petricevic

I've been writing passionately about ancient civilizations, history, alien life, and various other subjects for more than eight years. You may have seen me appear on Discovery Channel's What On Earth series, History Channel's Ancient Aliens, and Gaia's Ancient Civilizations among others.

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