What if we lived in a simulation created by an advanced alien civilization?
What does "real" mean? Give me a definition of "real." If by real you are referring to what we perceive, what we can smell, touch and see, that "real" are simple electrical signals interpreted by the brain.
The summary's phrase is taken from the film "The Matrix" and is uttered by Morpheus to Neo, when he tries to explain to him the true nature of the Matrix, an elaborate virtual neuro-simulation designed to exploit the bodily energy of unaware human beings. Is it just an imaginative idea for a screenplay? Indeed, the hypothesis that our universe may be a three-dimensional simulation has been put forward by several scientists.
Sure, it's a mind-boggling idea, but ultimately it's just a way to try to describe one of the greatest mysteries that can be summed up in a very simple question: what is reality?
According to some eminent scientists, the reality we experience every day could be the result of an elaborate holographic simulation programmed in a super-computer by a civilization of beings enormously more advanced than ours.
Is there a concrete way to find out if this is true? And who could have created such a disturbing plan and, above all, for what purposes? Finally, would it be possible to escape from this Matrix Universe?
Physicist Alain Aspect has conducted a remarkable experiment to demonstrate that the network of subatomic particles that make up our universe – the so-called fabric of reality – possesses what appear to be undeniable holographic properties.
Furthermore, according to the theory proposed by Robert Lanza (author of the book “Biocentrism” – How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe), death could only be an illusion, the sensitive experience of exiting the holographic Universe.
An ancient philosophical thought
Plato, a very important Greek philosopher of the classical era, developed an intriguing story -The myth of the cave -, through which he attempted to explain his idea on the nature of reality. The Greek philosopher was convinced that our world, the universe and everything, was nothing more than the faded copy of the true reality, called Hyperuranium (beyond the heavens).
Therefore, what we believe to be reality is simply an illusion. Man will be able to know the true nature of the Universe only when his soul returns to the Hyperuranium, a place where it will be possible to know things as they are.
But let's assume for a moment that we live in a simulation and our reality is nothing more than an illusion. From our sensory experience, we might think we are an advanced species. Yet, we possess very limited knowledge of the world around us. Just think that we do not have the ability to perceive either infrared or ultrasound. How many other things escape our senses? How to explain phenomena like dark matter or dark energy or black holes?
Nick Bostrom, professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Oxford and founding director of the Future of Humanity Institute and the Program on the Impacts of Future Technology at the Oxford Martin School, presented what was called the “Simulation Argument” which is still a source of extensive debate among scientists.
Putting a parenthesis to the mathematical part of the theory, Bostrom begins his reflection with the hypothesis that future civilizations will have enough computing power and advanced computing capabilities to be able to create an advanced simulation of human life.
The simulation would be inhabited by beings programmed with such complexity that they would be conscious and have the same kinds of experiences we have. The simulated brains would be an integral part of this matrix universe.
In his hypothesis, Bostrom makes no predictions about how long it will take to develop this ability. Some futurologists believe this could happen within the next 50 to 100 years. “But even if it takes 10 million years, that makes no difference to the argument,” Bostrom himself explains in his article “Are we living in a computer simulation?”
Our universe is believed to be between 14 and 16 billion years old, therefore, it is likely that a civilization prior to ours, much more advanced, was able to create the sophisticated simulation in which we find ourselves.
Bostrom is aware, however, that his idea is unprovable, if only for the fact that we have so little information about reality that it is impossible to establish whether this hypothesis is true or false. If true, the laws discovered by Copernicus, Darwin, Einstein and the other scientists would be the sensible description of the functioning of the simulated reality.
These laws may or may not be identical to those that operate at the most fundamental level of reality, that is, outside the computer that is running our simulation."
But why would an advanced civilization create a virtual world?
According to Bostrom, it could be a scientific experiment, with the aim of studying the most technologically primitive eras. But even worse, it could be a virtual game for our creators, created in the same spirit with which we play “The Sims”! It's really impossible to say.
But is it possible to understand if we are truly living in a Simulation?
If the programmers of the matrix universe don't want us to know that our reality is a simulation, we may never understand it. But if they decide to tell us the truth, sooner or later they will surely reveal themselves. Any day, while you are walking down the street, a pop-up window might open in front of your eyes saying “This is a simulation. Click here for more detailed information!"
In truth the question could be more intriguing. Assuming that we are simulated minds, is the fact that we ask ourselves questions about the nature of reality foreseen by the program, is it an error or an evolution not foreseen by the architects?
Some thinkers of a more spiritual nature have hypothesized that what appears to us to be a simulation could simply be the way of operating of the Architect (the great mind that has developed reality and that some identify with the word God).
In this case, the existential questions that inhabit the human mind – who we are, what is the purpose of our life, what is reality and what happens after death – would be the most important part of our programming, indeed, the main purpose and not an error or a simple unforeseen evolution. If this were the case, perhaps humanity is oriented more towards the "existential" dimension of the experience of life than towards the material one, which, being simulated, is nothing more than an illusion.
