If you feel like you’re living in a computer simulation like The Matrix, you might actually be onto something.
That’s according to Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth.
Our lives contains several clues that suggest we’re merely characters in an advanced virtual world, he claims – and he’s planning an experiment to prove it.
For example, the fact there’s limits to how fast light and sound can travel suggest they may be governed by the speed of a computer processor, according to the expert.
The laws of physics that govern the universe are also akin to computer code, he says, while elementary particles that make up matter are like pixels.
Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, has outlined the clues that suggest we live in a simulated reality
One of the most convincing clues, however, is the symmetry that we observe in the everyday world, from butterflies to flowers, snowflakes and starfish.
Symmetry is everywhere because it’s how the machines ‘render the digitally constructed world’, Professor Vopson told MailOnline.
‘This abundance of symmetry (rather than asymmetry) in the universe is something that has never been explained,’ he said.
‘When we build or design things we have to use the most symmetric shapes to simplify the process.
‘Just imagine building a house from bricks that are not the standard shape of a brick.
‘If the bricks were in a totally irregular shape, the construction would be almost impossible or much more complicated.
‘The same is when we design computer programs or virtual realities – and this maximizes efficiency and minimizes energy consumption or computational power.’
Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, thinks the prevalence of symmetry in the universe (pictured) suggests we are in a simulated reality
In the blockbuster movie The Matrix, protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovers we’re 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 (pictured)
The academic also thinks the bizarre and little-understood world of quantum mechanics suggests life is not what it seems.
Namely, he points to quantum entanglement – a weird physical phenomenon that legendary physicist Albert Einstein described as ‘spooky action at a distance’.
Quantum entanglement describes two particles and their properties becoming linked without physical contact with one another.
This means two different particles placed in separate locations, potentially thousands of miles apart, can simultaneously mimic each other.
This is remarkably similar to how two people can interact through virtual reality (VR).
The professor explains: ‘Quantum entanglement allows two particles to be spookily connected so that if you manipulate one, you automatically and immediately also manipulate the other, no matter how far apart they are – with the effect being seemingly faster than the speed of light, which should be impossible.
‘This could, however, be explained by the fact that within a virtual reality code, all “locations” (points) should be roughly equally far from a central processor.
The simulated universe hypothesis proposes that what humans 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 Keanu Reeves (pictured)
‘So while we may think two particles are millions of light years apart, they wouldn’t be if they were created in a simulation.’
The simulated universe hypothesis postulates that our reality is a simulated construct
Professor Vopson has already argued that information is the fifth state of matter, behind solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
This could be key to an experiment he hopes could prove that we are living in a computer simulation.
He wants to smash together elementary particles and ‘antiparticles’ in a device that he hopes to build.
‘All particles have “anti” versions of themselves which are identical but have opposite charge,’ he says in an article for The Conversation.
If the particles emit a certain frequency of light when they collide and annihilate, this will indicate that the particles contain information that is trying to escape.
And if particles contain information, this shows that our reality is very likely a computer programme – and that we’re living in a simulation.
Professor Vopson has outlined his hypothesis in a new book, published in September, called ‘Reality Reloaded: The Scientific Case for a Simulated Universe’.
In it, he outlines his take on the simulation theory, which is ‘inherently speculative’, as it tries to answer philosophical questions as much as it employs particle physics.
The 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.
At a 2016 conference, Musk said the odds that we’re living in a ‘base reality’ – the real universe as opposed to a simulated one – are ‘one in billions’.
Physicist proposes new law of physics to explain how information behaves
In 2022, Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, established a new law of physics, called the ‘second law of information dynamics’ to explain how information behaves.
His law establishes that the ‘entropy’, or disorder, in a system of information decreases rather than increases.
This new law came as somewhat of a surprise, because it’s the opposite of the second law of thermodynamics established in the 1850s, which explains why we cannot unscramble an egg or why a glass cannot unbreak itself.
As it turns out, the second law of infodynamics explains the behaviour of information in a way that the old law cannot.
‘The second law of infodynamics requires the minimisation of the information content associated with any event or process in the universe,’ he told MailOnline.
This image visualises the second law of thermodynamics from the 1850s. This old law establishes that entropy – a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can only increase or stay the same. In contrast, the second law of infodynamics establishes that entropy decreases
‘To put it simply, everything appears to evolve to an equilibrium state where the information content is minimal.
‘Such behaviour is fully reminiscent of the rules deployed in programming languages and computer coding.
‘Simulating a super complex universe like ours would require a built-in data optimisation and compression mechanism in order to reduce the computational power and the data storage requirements to run the simulation.
‘This is exactly what we are observing via empirical evidence all around us, including in digital data, biological systems, atomistic systems, mathematical symmetries, and the entire universe.
‘This is what the second law of infodynamics reveals, so one logical conclusion is that, while not giving a definite proof, it surely underpins the simulated universe theory.’
The simulation theory comes within a branch of science known as information physics, which suggests physical reality is fundamentally made up of bits of information.
Bits are the basic unit of information that power computing and digital communications, including streaming services such as Netflix.
Professor Vopson has already gained attention for his stunning proclamations in the field of physics.
He’s already said that information should be considered the fifth state of matter, following solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
Vopson wants to experimentally verify that information bits have mass, which he extrapolated to forecast in 225 years will be half of Earth’s mass
This principle has ‘attracted a fair share of skepticism’, the academic admits, as most scientists consider the fifth state of matter instead to be Bose–Einstein condensate.
He even claims that information has mass and so 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 overtake the number of atoms on Earth within 150 years, leading to ‘information catastrophe’.
This will mark the point at which the maximum possible digital information has been created, as well as the maximum power at which to sustain it.
