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Tom Campbell, Houman Owhadi, Joe Sauvageau | arXiv (Cornell University) | (2017)
Primary Link DOI Openalex Full text (OA)

Abstract

Can the theory that reality is a simulation be tested? We investigate this question based on the assumption that if the system performing the simulation is finite (i.e. has limited resources), then to achieve low computational complexity, such a system would, as in a video game, render content (reality) only at the moment that information becomes available for observation by a player and not at the moment of detection by a machine (that would be part of the simulation and whose detection would also be part of the internal computation performed by the Virtual Reality server before rendering content to the player). Guided by this principle we describe conceptual wave/particle duality experiments aimed at testing the simulation theory.

Tags

Sample Definition And Size

The paper is theoretical and conceptual in nature; it does not involve empirical data collection or a sample size. Instead, it proposes conceptual wave/particle duality experiments to test the simulation theory.

Study Type

Conceptual/theoretical study proposing experimental designs (thought experiments) rather than empirical or observational research.

Conflicts Of Interest

No conflicts of interest are declared in the arXiv metadata or abstract. The paper acknowledges support from the Simons Foundation but does not indicate any competing interests or biases. ([arxiv.org](https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00058))

Results Summary

As a conceptual paper, it does not report empirical results. It outlines the principle that a finite simulation system would render reality only when information becomes available to an observer, and describes conceptual experiments based on wave/particle duality aimed at testing this principle. No statistical findings, p-values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals are provided. ([arxiv.org](https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00058))

Referenced In

Lee Johnson
2 months ago
Space

How Our Universe Being a Simulation Could Explain Quantum Mechanics

The most recent post over on the StarTalk board delves into the simulation hypothesis, what it means and how philosophers and physicists have tried to untangle the puzzle.

But one thought stuck with me: doesn’t the simulation hypothesis kind of explain the weird stuff about quantum mechanics?

This wasn’t an original idea – in fact, there’s a great paper that covers these issues and even proposes some tests.

The Problems with Simulating a Universe

Bostrom's original paper introduces the concepts of the simulation hypothesis, but brushes over a key issue. He speaks of “posthuman” societies with planet-sized computers, but later authors generally pay more attention to the limitations. No matter how big the computer, the processing power is still finite.

Campbell et. al. [2] compare this to rendering a computer game. Most designers don’t render the whole map all the time – you really only need it to render what the player can see. Taking this shortcut maximizes the usable output from your limited computing capability. It’s efficient.

And if you were simulating a universe – especially ones that could contain simulations themselves – efficiency would be crucial. You’re unlikely to have a definitive plan for every electron, through the whole history of the universe.

What This Could Explain About Quantum Mechanics

  • The program “plays dice”: Why is quantum mechanics probabilistic? Because like No Man’s Sky or the Binding of Isaac, the generation of the universe is procedural. Simply calculating as needed based on some probabilities would save computing power.

  • Wavefunction collapse: When we make an observation of the quantum world, we’re taught that the many possibilities of the initial wavefunction “collapse” to a single result, but nobody knows why. The simulation hypothesis explains this easily: the precise value would only be “rendered” when we look at it. The strange behaviour is because the simulation finally settles on one possibility when we look.

  • Quantum entanglement: How do we get “spooky action at a distance” aka quantum entanglement? It’s weird that information can apparently travel faster than light, unless it’s a simulation. Then the information may not travel that far at all – it’s all in the same computer, after all.

But, as Terence Tao pointed out on the podcast, if reality is a simulation, it’s incredibly – suspiciously – consistent. 

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