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also @ TechSpot: Google, NASA join forces to build quantum computing laboratory
Have you ever considered the possibility that we may all live in a holographic universe constructed by vastly superior beings? I know -- it sounds like the basis for good science fiction (The Matrix, anyone?), but Nick Bostrom famously hypothesized (pdf) that our very existence may be nothing more than the algorithmic results of a computer simulation. This may sound totally absurd to most, but that modern existential notion is really no less credible than the equally mind-bending (and sometimes physics-bending) theories proposed by both science and religion.
The news here though, is that researchers now believe they have a way to test this thought experiment. A team of scientists from Germany -- University of Bonn, to be exact -- suggest that even the most powerful Universe simulation would be subject to certain limitations of its host Universe. The team believes those limitations would be observable by its inhabitants too, appearing in the form of physical constraints which may not jibe with otherwise universal laws.
What makes their discovery particularly exciting is scientists believe we actually have sufficient technology to test whether or not we are all just electric sheep. How, you ask? Simple -- by creating our own simulation of the Universe, of course.
The problem with all simulations is that the laws of physics, which appear continuous, have to be superimposed onto a discrete three dimensional lattice which advances in steps of time.
The question that Beane and co ask is whether the lattice spacing [example: our three dimensions + time] imposes any kind of limitation on the physical processes we see in the Universe. They examine, in particular, high energy processes, which probe smaller regions of space as they get more energetic.
What they find is interesting. They say that the lattice spacing imposes a fundamental limit on the energy that particles can have. That's because nothing can exist that is smaller than the lattice itself.
So if our cosmos is merely a simulation, there ought to be a cut off in the spectrum of high energy particles.
Source: technologyreview.com
Bonn scientists believe limits inherited by a simulation would affect high-energy particles like cosmic rays. Most interestingly, one such example could be the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin limit, a phenomenon produced by the interaction of cosmic rays and cosmic microwave background radiation, creating an unexpected limit on their energy -- a fact which doesn't fit neatly into physics.
In a totally meta way, this may essentially be us observing the orientation of the dimensional lattice from the reality in which our creators exist. Whoa...
This may be surprising, but we've gotten quite good at representing the tiniest nooks of the quantum universe digitally. Granted, we're only recreating areas spanning femtometers -- that's far less than a nanometer -- but hey, that's a start. Simulations of these incomprehensibly miniscule portions of our reality yield particles, energies and interactions which are indistinguishable from the real thing. Well, except for having the results displayed on a computer screen, anyway.
User Comments: 119
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1 person liked this |It isn't clear why complexity eliminates the possibility of being a simulation(?)It isn't clear, because it's a complex simulation!
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It isn't clear, because it's a complex simulation!
More or less what I was driving at, but you put it better!
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TechMancer said:
It isn't clear why complexity eliminates the possibility of being a simulation(?)The reason I said what I did is because we as humans have become more advanced than we ever thought we would be, and there is no way a higher power could have "programmed" us to do all of it. There are tens of thousands of decisions made every day, and, if there was a simulation, the creators would have no idea what they would all be. I know this sounds complex, but it's the truth, and its needs to be excepted as such. ARGUMENT CLOSED.
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2 people like this |The reason I said what I did is because we as humans have become more advanced than we ever thought we would be, and there is no way a higher power could have "programmed" us to do all of it. There are tens of thousands of decisions made every day, and, if there was a simulation, the creators would have no idea what they would all be. I know this sounds complex, but it's the truth, and its needs to be excepted as such. ARGUMENT CLOSED.
Not at all, you are simply stating YOUR (and my!) limitations, that if a system is too complex for you to thoroughly understand then no-one and nothing else can understand too, this is simply illogical.
As for the "argument" high complexity can't be programmed, look at neural networks - these are in their infancy yet display evolutionary capability I.e. the whole is more complex than the components.
This is not "The Truth" and the argument is never closed, unless your mind is.
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Not at all, you are simply stating YOUR (and my!) limitations, that if a system is too complex for you to thoroughly understand then no-one and nothing else can understand too, this is simply illogical.
As for the "argument" high complexity can't be programmed, look at neural networks - these are in their infancy yet display evolutionary capability I.e. the whole is more complex than the components.
This is not "The Truth" and the argument is never closed, unless your mind is.
Correct! also:-
There are tens of thousands of decisions made every day, and, if there was a simulation, the creators would have no idea what they would all be.Actually, I think ten of thousands is a collossal underestimate, but... How many calculations per second does your processor make (either your PC or your brain) thousands? millions? billions?
And is there more than one such processor? Billions, perhaps?
And would a "hyperspace computer scientist" for want of a better term have a better, or worse technology than us?
Complexity? No problem!
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Doctor John said:
Well played, PanWah & Zoltan - TechMancer seems a bit quiet?
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TechMancer said:Correct! also:-
Actually, I think ten of thousands is a collossal underestimate, but... How many calculations per second does your processor make (either your PC or your brain) thousands? millions? billions?
And is there more than one such processor? Billions, perhaps?
And would a "hyperspace computer scientist" for want of a better term have a better, or worse technology than us?
Complexity? No problem!
You are missing my point, sir.
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You are missing my point, sir.
Please could you state your point more lucidly, maybe I'll catch on?
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1 person liked this |You are missing my point, sir.There is no point you could possibly make to backup your claim. You simply suggest their can not be a higher power because your mind can't conceive of such a thought.
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TechMancer said:
The only higher power is God.
Genesis 1:1- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:26- Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our own image, in our likeness..."
Genesis 1:27- So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them."
I am a hardcore man of Jewish faith, and I believe that God created the earth as a natural wonder, not as a computer simulation. He is caring and sovereign, He would never abuse us like that.
TOPIC CLOSED
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TechMancer said:There is no point you could possibly make to backup your claim. You simply suggest their can not be a higher power because your mind can't conceive of such a thought.
And to you, if you are suggesting I am dumb, then you are sorely mistaking. The reason I say there is no other higher power is because God is the only higher power, and HE CREATED US.
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And to you, if you are suggesting I am dumb, then you are sorely mistaking. The reason I say there is no other higher power is because God is the only higher power, and HE CREATED US.
I'm afraid it sounds dumb in the extreme, when you make an assertion based on "It's like this because it just is, there's no reason, no information no logic but you must believe me because I have spoken!" oh, and we mustn't answer back. It's toddler logic.
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And to you, if you are suggesting I am dumb, then you are sorely mistaking.I never said that, I was summarizing your comments as I was reading them. Then you come in and make a statement of contrast suggesting there is a higher power. And you also made a statement about an element of abuse, that I have no idea where came from.
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1 person liked this |The only higher power is God.
Genesis 1:1- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:26- Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our own image, in our likeness..."
Genesis 1:27- So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them."
I am a hardcore man of Jewish faith, and I believe that God created the earth as a natural wonder, not as a computer simulation. He is caring and sovereign, He would never abuse us like that.
TOPIC CLOSED
Respect to your faith - any chance of respect to everyone else?
Yes, I've read some books too, but I don't wish to quote from them just now.
I understand now, it's not a discussion, you just want to state your point of view as fact, and that overrules any amount of reasoning or evidence from any number of intelligent and educated people?
I don't think so.
TOPIC OPEN if anyone else feels like it, you don't control me!
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Respect's due, Pan Wah! (y)
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TechMancer said:
I'm sorry if I seemed too aggressive about this whole thing. I have said before, I act on frustration. Apologies to you.
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I'm sorry if I seemed too aggressive about this whole thing. I have said before, I act on frustration. Apologies to you.
Sure, me too - only a difference of opinion!(y)
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TechMancer said:
Yeah, and I've recently had events happen that have made me decide to be agnostic
, so I am opening up to this whole theory. Now that I look at it, it makes more sense than it did before. -
Michael Talbot, David Icke and Dolores Cannon have been writing books about this for decades, now science is catching up and confirming. Soon people will wake up and see the world for what it really is about. Metaphysics and quantum physics coming together.
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