Dr. Mir Faizal is an Adjunct Professor in UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. Together with an international network of researchers, he has challenged the widely-accepted notion that the universe is operating as a computer simulation. The results were first published in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics and later circulated on arXiv. They provide a deep mathematical underpinning that shows the universe cannot be reduced to simple computational formulas.
This groundbreaking research is an extension on Einstein’s original work with his theory of relativity. It supplanted Newtonian mechanics and radically changed the way we view the physical universe. The primary researchers contend that knowledge lives in a “Platonic realm.” In this metaphysical domain, mathematical truths possess an objectivity that transcends even the physical realm. With his expertise, Dr. Faizal has been leading the study. Colorful personalities such as Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss, Arshid Shabir, and Francesco Marino add their flavor and critiques.
The researchers draw on major mathematical theorems, including Gödel’s incompleteness theorem. To accurately and reliably represent the world, they claim, we require a “non-algorithmic understanding.” This conclusion stands in stark contrast to the idea that all aspects of existence can be simulated through computational means.
Dr. Faizal emphasized the significance of their findings, stating, “Drawing on mathematical theorems related to incompleteness and indefinability, we demonstrate that a fully consistent and complete description of reality cannot be achieved through computation alone.” He helped demystify what their work meant. Further discussing the nature of reality, he suggested that fundamental laws of physics do not function within the dimensions of space and time but instead produce those dimensions.
“The fundamental laws of physics cannot be contained within space and time, because they generate them,” said Dr. Krauss. As we’ve shown, it doesn’t have to be this way. A complete and consistent description of reality requires something much, much deeper—a holistic understanding, what we might call non-algorithmic understanding.
While their analysis was detailed and thorough, we were surprised by their bold conclusion. In fact, they’re convinced that our universe is very probably not the first. Rather, we may be a simulation inside of another simulation. Dr. Faizal elaborated on this recursive possibility: “It has been suggested that the universe could be simulated. If such a simulation were possible, the simulated universe could itself give rise to life, which in turn might create its own simulation.”
Dr. Krauss emphasized the huge impact this research will have, well beyond the realm of theoretical physics. It has deeper implications for our understanding of existence itself. The research continues to turn paradigms upside down and begs more questions about the very nature of reality.