In 2006, professor Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford, proposed the theory that we all might live in a simulation. Arguments for this theory proposed that, just like in a computer simulation, there would be a finite number of particles, as well as a finite size to them, beyond which we could not go. This had already been validated by particle accelerators and discoveries of smaller particles, that are subatomic but beyond which we cannot see.
Then in 2008 Jean Pierre Luminet proposed that our Universe wrapped around, meaning that if you looked far enough to one end, you’d see the other end, kind of like a 3D rendition of Asteroids. This last example was used in one of the latest Through the Wormhole episode, in order to visually depict the phenomenon.
The way I see it is like in a game of Portal 2 where you can sometimes see your own ass wobbling through the portal until you jump through, then you see yourself in the other portal. The trouble is that astronomers cannot recognize anything as being repetitive, although it’s possible that the shape of the Universe, and its complexity makes it incredibly difficult to recognize anything from this angle.
Then there’s the Greek philosophers who theorized that the Universe would be infinite because, assuming you’d be standing at the edge of the Universe, and reached out with your arm, then the Universe would expand to encompass your arm, and so on. And they were right you know? Think about it.
Personally I’d love to know for sure that we’re in a computer simulation. That would give me an opportunity to find a loophole, and cheat myself out of my daily commute to and from work and through traffic.
