Researchers from UBC Okanagan have mathematically demonstrated that the universe cannot be simulated. Using Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, they show reality requires non-algorithmic understanding beyond any computation. This finding challenges the long-debated simulation hypothesis.
New research from the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBC Okanagan) asserts that the universe is not a computer simulation. Dr. Mir Faizal, an adjunct professor at UBC Okanagan's Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, led the study with collaborators Drs. Lawrence M. Krauss, Arshid Shabir, and Francesco Marino. Published in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics, the paper titled "Consequences of Undecidability in Physics on the Theory of Everything" applies advanced mathematical principles to disprove the idea.
The simulation hypothesis posits that our universe might be an elaborate program, potentially nested within others. "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," Dr. Faizal explained.
The team's work builds on the evolution of physics, from Isaac Newton's classical mechanics to Albert Einstein's relativity and quantum mechanics. In quantum gravity, space and time emerge from a deeper "Platonic realm" of pure information. However, Gödel's incompleteness theorem reveals limits: some truths, like "Gödelian truths," cannot be proven through algorithms alone.
"We have demonstrated that it is impossible to describe all aspects of physical reality using a computational theory of quantum gravity," Dr. Faizal stated. "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."
Co-author Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss added, "The fundamental laws of physics cannot be contained within space and time, because they generate them. ... A complete and consistent description of reality requires something deeper—a form of understanding known as non-algorithmic understanding."
The researchers conclude that since reality relies on non-algorithmic understanding, it cannot be simulated. "Any simulation is inherently algorithmic—it must follow programmed rules. But since the fundamental level of reality is based on non-algorithmic understanding, the universe cannot be, and could never be, a simulation," Dr. Faizal summarized. This mathematical approach provides a scientific rebuttal to a concept once seen as untestable.