If you feel like you’re living in a convincing virtual reality akin to The Matrix, a scientist thinks you may well be right.
Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, claims our entire universe may be an advanced computer simulation.
And the proof that this so-called simulation hypothesis is correct may be hiding in plain sight in the Bible.
Professor Vopson told MailOnline: ‘The bible itself tells us that we are in a simulation and it also tells us who is doing it.
‘It is done by an AI – an artificial intelligence.’
Professor Vopson points to the Gospel of John, one of the first four books of the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible
Professor Vopson points to the Gospel of John, one of the first four books of the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible.
Gospel of John opens with the powerful statement: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’
The professor says this verse has ‘deep theological significance in Christian doctrine’, but it also carries ‘intriguing implications’ when considered in the context of the universe as a simulation.
He argues that ‘the Word’ in this famous sentence refers to the underlying computer code that governs and controls the simulation.
As anyone who has seen The Matrix will know, any computer simulation, big or small, consists of letters and numbers that write the rules for the entire creation.
The academic further argues that ‘the Word was God’ could mean that God is part of the simulation, rather than separate from it.
In other words, the entity that is controlling the whole thing – God – is written into the code too.
Professor Vopson explains: ‘The code running the simulation is not separate from the divine, but rather an integral part of it, perhaps an AI.’
In the blockbuster movie The Matrix, protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovers we’re living in a simulated reality. By the end of the film, Neo is able to see the simulated world for what it is – computer code (pictured)
The simulated universe hypothesis proposes that what humans experience is actually an artificial reality, much like a computer simulation, in which they themselves are constructs. It formed the basis for the 1999 film The Matrix starring Keanu Reeves (pictured as his character wakes up in the real world)
Gospel of John goes on to say: ‘All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made…’
Again, this statement supports the simulated universe theory, the professor suggests.
‘It implies a Creator who brought the simulated universe into existence through the Word (i.e. the code)’ he says.
‘It suggests that the act of creation, as described in the Bible, could be analogous to a divine act of programming and simulation.’
Arguably, the theory offers an answer to a question that many Christians struggle with – how did God create the universe in six days?
If the theory’s to be believed, he did so by creating a simulated reality encapsulated in a computer programme – something we know to be possible.
Professor Vopson has outlined his hypothesis in his new book, ‘Reality Reloaded: The Scientific Case for a Simulated Universe’.
He says it is not even something he necessarily believes in, but a ‘extraordinary observation that deserves attention’.
‘What is truly remarkable is that the interpretation given is fully aligned to the events of our times: the emergence of the AI, and also it is exactly what ‘The Matrix’ was projecting,’ he told MailOnline.
While the professor’s thoughts may seem sacrilegious to some, he says it could have ‘profound implications for Christian theology’.
He believes there’s an overlap where a belief in the simulated universe theory and the religious need for a almighty creator ‘can coexist harmoniously’.
‘This perspective aligns with religious beliefs that hold human life to be meaningful and purposeful, even within the context of a larger design,’ he says.
‘Instead of viewing the simulated universe hypothesis as antagonistic to religious beliefs, one can see it as offering a complementary perspective.’
The professor has already said our lives contains several clues that suggest we’re merely characters in an advanced virtual world.
Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, has outlined the clues that suggest we live in a simulated reality
Professor Vopson thinks the prevalence of symmetry in the universe (pictured) suggests we are in a simulated reality because it’s a way to save computational power
For example, the fact there’s limits to how fast light and sound can travel suggest they may be governed by the speed of a computer processor.
The laws of physics that govern the universe are also akin to computer code, he says, while elementary particles that make up matter are like pixels.
He also thinks the abundance of symmetry in the world – from flowers to butterflies and snowflakes – is a power-saving technique the machines use to render the digitally constructed world.
The simulation theory is not unique to Professor Vopson; in fact, it’s popular among a number of well-known figures including Tesla founder Elon Musk and American astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson.
At a 2016 conference, Musk said the odds that we’re living in a ‘base reality’ – the real universe as opposed to a simulated one – are ‘one in billions’.
The term ‘base reality’ is part of an expansion on the theory that there are layers upon layers of fake realities that we need to somehow wake up from, akin to the film ‘Inception’.
But as French philosopher René Descartes pointed out in 1637, ‘Cogito, ergo sum’, translated from the Latin as ‘I think, therefore I am’.
In other words, the ability to doubt the nature of our reality is essentially proof that we exist, in some shape or form.