Well, thank God we don’t live in a computer simulation after all. At least that’s according to a new paper by University of British Columbia physicist Mir Faizal and his team of international researchers, including cosmologist and science writer Lawrence Krauss.
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Or rather, there is no God to thank because if our universe is not a computer simulation, there is no supreme programmer in the first place.
The team targets an influential simulation argument proposed by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes there is a very good chance we’re all like Neo, the hacker played by Keanu Reeves and trapped inside The Matrix.
But after their paper was published earlier this year, the online world of geeks has been ablaze with defenders and critics slugging it out.
Whereas publications such as Science Alert carried headlines like “Physicists Just Ruled Out The Universe Being a Simulation”, German physicist and popular YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder is dismissive.
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“I give this paper a nine out of 10 on the bulls*** meter because I think it’s just logically wrong,” she said. “It’s not a 10 because maybe their statement is true but unprovably so.”