Programmed Reality

I am always amazed at how such bright physicists discuss scientific anomalies, like quantum entanglement, pronounce that "that's just the way it is" and never seriously consider an obvious answer and solution to all such anomalies - namely that perhaps our reality is under programmed control. 

For the quantum entanglement anomaly, I think you will see what I mean.  Imagine that our world is like a video game.  As with existing commercial games, which use "physics engines", the players (us) are subject to the rules of physics, as are subatomic particles.  However, suppose there is a rule in the engine that says that when two particles interact, their behavior is synchronized going forward.  Simple to program.  The pseudocode would look something like:

for all particles (i)
     for all particles (j)
          if distance(particle.i, particle.j) < EntanglementThreshold then
               Synchronize(particle.i, particle.j)
          else
          end if
     next j
next i

After that event, at each cycle through the main program loop, whatever one particle does, its synchronized counterparts also do.  Since the program operates outside of the artificial laws of physics, those particles can be placed anywhere in the program's reality space and they will always stay synchronized.  Yet their motion and other interactions may be subject to the usual physics engine.  This is very easy to program, and, coupled with all of the other evidence that our reality is under programmed control (the programmer is the intelligent creator), offers a perfect explanation.  More and more scientists are considering these ideas (e.g. Craig Hogan, Brian Whitworth, Andrei Linde) although the thought center is more in the fields of philosophy, computer science, and artificial intelligence.  I wonder if the reason more physicists haven't caught on is that they fear that such concepts might make them obsolete. 

They needn't worry.  Their jobs are still to probe the workings of the "cosmic program."

 

Tags: entanglement, programmed reality, pseudocode, physics engine, gaming
Categories: Gaming | Particle Physics | Programmed Reality | Quantum Mechanics | Science

This is a nod to the 30th anniversary of the release of the arcade video game Space Invaders, which came out in 1978.

Running on an Intel 8080 microprocessor at 2 MHz, it featured 64-bit characters on a 224 x 240 pixel 2-color screen.  There was, of course, was no mistaking anything in that game for reality.  One would never have nightmares about being abducted by a 64-bit Space Invader alien.  Fast forward 30 years and take a stroll through your local electronic superstore and what do you see on the screen?  Is that a football game or is it Madden NFL ’08?  Is that an Extreme Games telecast or are we looking at a PS3 or Wii version of the latest skateboarding or snowboarding game.  Is that movie featuring real actors or are they CG?  (After watching “Beowulf”, I confess that I had to ask my son, who is much more knowledgeable about such things, which parts were CG.)

Where will gaming be in the next 30 years?  For more on where that is going, feel free to check out my article "Is Our Reality just a Big Video Game". 

   
Tags: video games
Categories: Gaming | General | Programmed Reality