The holographic universe principle suggests that we're living in a simulated reality. Essentially, it claims our physical world is nothing more than a detailed illusion, and while this is unlikely, the idea does have some interesting science supporting it.
Given all of the coverage on the radical idea that the universe is one massive hologram, we thought we would take a few minutes to delve into what that really means for us. The holographic universe principle suggests that we’re living in a simulated reality (this is different from the hypothesis that states we live in a computer simulation). Essentially, it claims our physical world is nothing more than a detailed illusion. This illusion is actually projected by our brains, as energy fields are being decoded into the seemingly three-dimensional universe we see around us. In a more speculative sense, the theory suggests that the entire universe can be seen as a two-dimensional information structure that is “painted” on the cosmological horizon, such that the three dimensions (four, if you include time) we observe are only an effective description at macroscopic scales and at low energies. “Our brain mathematically constructs objective reality by interpreting frequencies that are ultimately from another dimension, a deeper order of existence that is beyond both space and time” says David Bohm. Bohm is the primary voice behind the holographic universe principle (though he’s certainly not the only scientist to consider it a viable hypothesis; [amazon asin=039333810X&text=Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe], is another). Bohm was dissatisfied with standard cosmological theories that couldn’t explain diverse phenomena predicted by quantum mechanics, and he was also very interested in understanding how they relate to the neuropathology of the brain. He came to the conclusion that objective reality does not exist based on a 1982 experiment conducted by a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Optics in Paris. [amazon template=further reading (single)&asin=039333810X] Through this experiment, the researchers discovered that, under certain conditions, subatomic particles (such as electrons) are able to instantaneously communicate with one another regardless of the distance separating them. Whether they were separated by just a few feet or billions of miles, the particles always seemed to know what the other was doing. We now call this “quantum entanglement,” and it’s one of the more baffling aspects of particle physics, mostly because the underlying theme appears to contradict Einstein’s theory of special relativity, which says that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, including information. Overall, the experiment demonstrated that the web of subatomic particles that compose our physical universe — the so-called “fabric of reality itself” — possesses what appears to be an undeniable “holographic” property. If true, the holographic principle would comprehensively include reality as we know it, but also previously unexplained phenomena, such as the paranormal, along with “out-of-body experiences,” telepathy, lucid dreaming, and near-death experiences, among other things.
The Supporting Arguments
via Futurism