Researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan have mathematically proven that the universe cannot be a computer simulation, definitively answering one of science’s most provocative questions using logic and physics.
The research team demonstrated that the fundamental nature of reality operates in a way that no computer could ever simulate, going beyond simply suggesting humans aren’t living in a simulated world to prove something far more profound: the universe is built on a type of understanding that exists beyond the reach of any algorithm.
Dr. Mir Faizal, Adjunct Professor with UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, and his international colleagues, Drs. Lawrence M. Krauss, Arshid Shabir and Francesco Marino, published their findings in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics.
“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. This recursive possibility makes it seem highly unlikely that our universe is the original one, rather than a simulation nested within another simulation,” says Dr. Faizal. “This idea was once thought to lie beyond the reach of scientific inquiry. However, our recent research has demonstrated that it can, in fact, be scientifically addressed.”
The simulation hypothesis, beloved by science fiction as a plot device, proposes that the entire universe might be running on some advanced civilisation’s supercomputer. The recursive logic suggested that if simulations were possible, nested simulations within simulations would make it statistically improbable that humans inhabit the original reality.
Space and time
The research hinges on a fascinating property of reality itself. Contemporary physics has evolved considerably from Newton’s concrete particles moving through space. Einstein’s theory of relativity supplanted Newtonian mechanics, whilst quantum mechanics transformed understanding again. Today’s cutting-edge theory, quantum gravity, suggests that even space and time aren’t fundamental but emerge from something deeper: pure information.
Physicists refer to where this information exists as a Platonic realm, a mathematical foundation more fundamental than the physical universe we experience. Space and time themselves emerge from this realm.
The team demonstrated that even this information-based foundation cannot fully describe reality using computation alone. They employed powerful mathematical theorems, including Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, to indicate that a comprehensive and consistent description of everything necessitates what they refer to as “non-algorithmic understanding.”
Computers operate by executing instructions sequentially, regardless of the complexity of those instructions. However, some truths can only be grasped through non-algorithmic understanding, which doesn’t follow from any sequence of logical steps. These “Gödelian truths” are real, yet impossible to prove through computation.
To illustrate this, the researchers offered an example using the statement, “This true statement is not provable.” Proving it would make it false, creating a logical inconsistency. Not being able to prove it means it’s true, but renders any system attempting to prove it incomplete. Pure computation cannot resolve this paradox.
“We have demonstrated that it is impossible to describe all aspects of physical reality using a computational theory of quantum gravity,” says Dr. Faizal. “Therefore, no physically complete and consistent theory of everything can be derived from computation alone. Rather, it requires a non-algorithmic understanding, which is more fundamental than the computational laws of quantum gravity and therefore more fundamental than spacetime itself.”
“Non-algorithmic understanding”
Since the computational rules in the Platonic realm could, in principle, resemble those of a computer simulation, couldn’t that realm itself be simulated? The researchers’ work reveals more.
“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,” Dr. Faizal explains. “It requires non-algorithmic understanding, which by definition is beyond algorithmic computation and therefore cannot be simulated. Hence, this universe cannot be a simulation.”
Co-author Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss says this research has profound implications.
“The fundamental laws of physics cannot be contained within space and time, because they generate them. It has long been hoped, however, that a truly fundamental theory of everything could eventually describe all physical phenomena through computations grounded in these laws. Yet we have demonstrated that this is not possible. A complete and consistent description of reality requires something deeper — a form of understanding known as non-algorithmic understanding.”
The team’s conclusion marks a significant scientific achievement, says Dr. Faizal.
“Any simulation is inherently algorithmic — it must follow programmed rules,” he says. “But since the fundamental level of reality is based on non-algorithmic understanding, the universe cannot be, and could never be, a simulation.”
The simulation hypothesis was long considered untestable, relegated to philosophy and even science fiction, rather than science. This research firmly places it within the domains of mathematics and physics, providing a definitive answer.
