What if gravity were informed by the way matter was arranged in the universe \u2014 and a sign that we were living in a reality composed by a giant computer?<\/p>\n
In a new paper<\/a> published in the journal AIP Advances, University of Portsmouth physicist Melvin Vopson offered a new interpretation of gravity, arguing that it could be the result of the universe trying to make itself less cluttered, thereby behaving much like a computer algorithm.<\/p>\n “This is another example of data compression and computational optimization in our universe, which supports the possibility of a simulated or computational universe,” he wrote.<\/p>\n Vopson’s article is part of a greater movement of scientists trying to explain the forces of nature by arguing that they’re the result of an all-encompassing simulation. In the early 2000s, philosopher Nick Bostrom proposed that our reality is a computer simulation<\/a> dreamed up by a highly advanced civilization, echoing the plot of the 1999 blockbuster “The Matrix.”<\/p>\n But proving the theory is a thorny issue, especially considering if we really were trapped in a simulation, its creators would likely have taken measures to ensure we’re unable to peek behind the curtain.<\/p>\n Vopson built on his own “second law of information dynamics<\/a>” proposition, which holds that the “entropy of any system remains constant or increases over time,” to argue that gravity is pulling together matter and objects in space to keep entropy at a minimum, much like a computer tidying and compressing data.<\/p>\n “My findings in this study fit with the thought that the universe might work like a giant computer, or our reality is a simulated construct,” said Vopson in a statement<\/a>. “Just like computers try to save space and run more efficiently, the universe might be doing the same.”<\/p>\n “It’s a new way to think about gravity,” he added, “not just as a pull, but as something that happens when the universe is trying to stay organised.”<\/p>\n In his article, Vopson argued that information stored in elementary cells, defined as the smallest possible volume in space in quantum mechanics, informs the coordinates of matter inside the simulation, a kind of pixelation of ones and zeroes.<\/p>\n “The process is identical to how a digital computer game, virtual reality application, or other advanced simulation would be designed,” he said in the statement.<\/p>\n Each cell can fit more than one particle, much like a computational system minimizing information content.<\/p>\n “Put simply, it is far more computationally effective to track and compute the location and momentum of a single object in space, than numerous objects,” Vopson argued. “Therefore, it appears that the gravitational attraction is just another optimising mechanism in a computational process that has the role to compress information.”<\/p>\n Vopson has long been a proponent of the simulation theory, arguing in 2022<\/a> that genomes of the COVID-19 virus exhibited a decreasing entropy over time, supporting evidence of his second law of information dynamics.<\/p>\n In another eyebrow-raising paper, he posited<\/a> that information could be a “fifth form of matter<\/a>,” again allegedly demonstrating that we live in a simulation.<\/p>\n But whether his research will ever gain mainstream acceptance and approval outside of the fringes of the scientific community remains to be seen.<\/p>\n After all, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence \u2014 especially when you’re trying to turn reality itself on its head.<\/p>\n