It's a plot device beloved by science fiction: our entire universe might be a simulation running on some advanced civilization's supercomputer. But new research from UBC Okanagan has mathematically proven this isn't just unlikely—it's impossible.

Their findings, published in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics, go beyond simply suggesting that we’re not living in a simulated world like The Matrix. They prove something far more profound: the universe is built on a type of understanding that exists beyond the reach of any algorithm.

  • ChicoSuave@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago

    Depends on what is being observed or tested. For example, if end-stage heat death is the experiment, a complete indexing of all possible heat sources would require more or less a complete simulation.

    • davidgro@lemmy.worldEnglish
      19·
      3 days ago

      Sure, but that’s not what ‘complete’ means in the context of gödel’s incompleteness theorems. It means ‘being able to prove all true statements’.

      And I really don’t see why that matters - for example an NES emulator doesn’t know what a Mario is, or what a jump is, but it’s still true that when certain games are running, most of the time pressing one of the buttons on the controller makes Mario jump.