what do physicists mean when they say we potentially live in a simulation?

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I get what a simulation is, at least in the very literal sense. What I’m experiencing feels like reality, it would have to, it’s all any of us have ever known. But what would it mean for us if we truly lived in a simulation? Can it just be turned off and we cease to exist? If we found out we did live in one, how could it change our reality? How do we even hypothesize such a thing? I have zero background in physics just so we’re at an understanding of my physics understanding.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

From what (little) I understand, there are a few factors that lead physicists to suspect we’re in a simulation.

First, they discovered that, on a quantum scale, matter exists in an indeterminate state until it is observed. In other words, *data off-screen isn’t rendered until it is visible on camera.* This is a common high-level programming practice to save on memory usage.

Additionally, our universe is rendered in Planck-length “pixels,” the absolute minimum size for anything in existence, including photons of light.

I believe there are a small handful of other reasons why physicists suspect simulation, but these are the most significant ones that stood out to me.

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