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Since ancient times, philosophers from around the world have been wondering if the universe that we see and experience is an illusion, with modern science fiction crystallizing the idea as the universe being a simulation running on a supercomputer by an advanced civilisation. An international team of researchers have conclusively demonstrated that the Simulation Hypothesis is impossible. Beyond merely disproving the simulation hypothesis, the researchers have also demonstrated that the meatspace reality works in a way that is beyond the reach of computer algorithms. A paper describing the findings has been published (PDF) in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics.
Einstein's Theory of Relativity replaced Newtonian mechanics, providing a deeper understanding of time and space as making up the same continuum. Quantum mechanics has provided the most complete picture of the universe with the smallest particles and forces making up the Standard Model. Scientists are attempting to reconcile gravity with quantum mechanics, with the cutting-edge theory of quantum gravity suggesting that time and space are not fundamental, but emerge from pure information that exists in what physicists called the Platonic realm, a mathematical foundation more real than the physical universe that we experience.
The researchers demonstrated that it is impossible to describe reality based on computation alone, even with a foundation for reality that is based on pure information. Powerful mathematical theorems including Godel's incompleteness theorem was used to prove that a complete and consistent description of everything in the universe requires a non-algorithmic understanding. There are 'Godelian Truths' that do not follow any sequence of logical steps and are impossible through computation. The simulation hypothesis was long considered untestable, that is it is impossible for inhabitants of the universe to truly determine if they are living in a simulation or not. The new research uses mathematics and physics to provide a definitive answer, that the universe cannot be a simulation, because not everything in the universe is algorithmic.
