For years, there’s been speculation that we live in a simulated reality — a concept popularized by 1999 film The Matrix.
Now, researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Canada have determined this is not mathematically possible.
“Based on mathematical theorems related to incompleteness and undecidability, we show that a fully consistent and complete description of reality cannot be achieved through calculations alone,” researcher Mir Faizal wrote in the Journal of Holography Applications in Physics. “It requires non-algorithmic understanding, which by definition lies beyond algorithmic computation and therefore cannot be simulated. Consequently, this universe cannot be a simulation.”
Despite the researchers’ conclusions, the idea that we live in a simulated world is unlikely to disappear entirely.