The Red Pill

"Observable consequences of the hypothesis that the observed universe is a numerical simulation performed on a cubic space-time lattice or grid are explored. The simulation scenario is first motivated by extrapolating current trends in computational resource requirements for lattice QCD into the future. Using the historical development of lattice gauge theory technology as a guide, we assume that our universe is an early numerical simulation with unimproved Wilson fermion discretization and investigate potentially-observable consequences." 

In other words, the possibility of the Matrix being real is possible but...on a much vaster scale.

The idea that we might be living in an artificial reality constructed by something higher than ourselves has been a recurring philosophical hypothesis for centuries. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Descartes' evil demon, Putnam's brain in a vat -- these are all variants of justifications for solipsism, a philosophical idea that says it's impossible to know with any certainty whether the world as we experience it is "real" or a simulation projected by some external entity. Keanu Reeves' character Neo in The Matrix opts for a dose of reality when he chooses to take the red pill, but figuring out whether our universe is "real" or not is a touch more complicated than that.

The notion of reality being a simulation is not that startling when John Wheelers's from It to Bit concept is factored into the equation, something BRT has discussed on numerous occasions including Message in a Bottle, a piece incorporating Wheeler's notion that the universe is an information engine along with Seth Lloyd's brilliant take on quantum computing, a device far more powerful then a mere breaker of cryptographic codes residing on the net.

Another aspect of existence most interesting is the fact everything can be digitized and that life, at it's very core, is a 4 part digital environment as DNA consists of 4 nucleotides, (guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine) recorded using the letters G, A, T, and C and are always paired as ATCG without exception.

Any questions?

Click here to download Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation, the amazing research done on cosmic rays. Needless to say, you will not be disappointed. :)