Are we living in a simulation? Physicist claims he has new evidence we’re simply characters in an advanced virtual world
In the movie “The Matrix”, the protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovers that we are living in a simulated reality hundreds of years from now.
While many of us take comfort in the fact that this concept has been relegated to science fiction, one researcher claims that it may actually be true.
Melvin Vopson, an associate professor of physics at the University of Portsmouth, claims that we can be characters in an advanced virtual world.
He claims that the physical behavior of information in our universe resembles the process of a computer erasing or compressing code—a clue that machines probably hope we don’t notice.
Professor Vopson has already warned of an impending ‘information catastrophe’ when we run out of energy to store large amounts of digital information.
In the movie “The Matrix”, the protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovers that we are living in a simulated reality hundreds of years from now. By the end of the film, Neo is able to see the simulated world for what it is – computer code (photo)
“My studies point to a strange and interesting possibility that we do not live in an objective reality and that the entire universe may just be a super-advanced virtual reality simulation,” Professor Vopson said.
Last year, the academic – from Romania – established a new law of physics, called the ‘second law of information dynamics’ to explain how information behaves.
His law states that ‘entropy’, or disorder, in an information system decreases rather than increases.
This new law came as somewhat of a surprise because it is the opposite of the second law of thermodynamics, established in the 1850s, which explains why we can’t undo an egg or why a glass can’t break itself.
As it turns out, the second law of infodynamics explains the behavior of information in a way that the old law cannot.
“The second law of infodynamics requires the minimization of the information content associated with any event or process in the universe,” he told MailOnline.
“To put it simply, everything seems to evolve in a state of equilibrium where the information content is minimal.
This image visualizes the second law of thermodynamics from the 1850s. This old law states that entropy – a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can either increase or stay the same. In contrast, the second law of infodynamics states that entropy decreases
The simulated universe hypothesis suggests that what people experience is actually an artificial reality, much like a computer simulation, in which they themselves are constructs. It formed the basis for the 1999 film The Matrix starring Reeves (pictured)
Are we living in a simulated reality? Professor Melvin Vopson at the University of Portsmouth thinks it’s possible (picture photo)
Such behavior is completely reminiscent of the rules established in programming languages and computer coding.
‘Simulating a super complex universe like ours would require an integrated data optimization and compression mechanism in order to reduce the computing power and data storage requirements to run the simulation.
“This is exactly what we are observing through empirical evidence all around us, including digital data, biological systems, atomistic systems, mathematical symmetries, and the entire universe.
“This is what the second law of infodynamics reveals, so a logical conclusion is that, although it does not provide definite proof, it certainly supports the simulated universe theory.”
According to Professor Vopson, the symmetry we observe in the everyday world, such as butterflies, flowers or starfish, supports the simulation theory.
His findings show that high symmetry corresponds to the lowest state of information entropy, potentially explaining nature’s tendency toward it.
“All biological life exhibits some form of symmetry, all solids and crystals have symmetry, the laws of physics, etc,” he told MailOnline.
‘The universe has this built-in mechanism to optimize the calculation of everything.
“Symmetry is the best way to optimize or reflect the digitally constructed world and that’s why we have symmetry everywhere and not asymmetry.”
Simulation theory is not unique to Professor Vopson; in fact, it’s popular among a number of well-known figures, including Tesla founder Elon Musk.
It taps into a branch of science known as information physics, which suggests that physical reality is essentially composed of bits of information.
He thinks that the prevalence of symmetry in the universe (pictured) can be explained by the second law of infodynamics
Vopson wants to experimentally verify that the pieces of information have mass, which he extrapolated to predict in 225 years it will be half the mass of Earth
Bits are the basic unit of information that powers computing and digital communications, including streaming services like Netflix.
Professor Vopson has already attracted attention for his astonishing announcements in the field of physics.
He has already said that information should be considered the fifth state of matter, after solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
This principle has ‘attracted a fair share of skepticism’, admits the academic, as most scientists consider it. the fifth state of matter instead of being Bose-Einstein Condensate.
He even claims that information has mass and thus could be the elusive dark matter that makes up almost a third of the universe.
And he warned that the number of digital bits will surpass the number of atoms on Earth within 150 years, leading to an ‘information disaster’.
This will mark the point at which the maximum possible digital information has been created, as well as the maximum power at which it will hold it.
His study was published in AIP advances.
Dark Matter: The mysterious substance that makes up 85% of the universe that scientists cannot confirm
Dark matter is a hypothetical substance that is said to make up approximately 85 percent of the universe.
The enigmatic material is invisible because it does not reflect light and has never been directly observed by scientists.
Astronomers know it is there because of its gravitational effects on known matter.
The European Space Agency says: ‘Shine a torch in a completely dark room and you will only see what the torch illuminates.
Dark matter is a hypothetical substance said to make up approximately 27 percent of the universe. It is thought to be the gravitational ‘glue’ that holds galaxies together (artist’s impression)
“That doesn’t mean the room around you doesn’t exist.
“Similarly we know dark matter exists but have never observed it directly.”
The material is thought to be the gravitational ‘glue’ that holds galaxies together.
Calculations show that many galaxies would be torn apart instead of spinning if they weren’t held together by a large amount of dark matter.
Only five percent of the observable universe consists of matter known as atoms and subatomic particles.
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