A scientist says, “Stop asking if the universe is a computer simulation,” in Scientific American. But why? If more scientists are taking the “Simulation Hypothesis” seriously, as the author says, then shouldn’t we be exploring that idea more than ever? 

The problem is, as a scientist, it’s a problematic question to ask if the universe is a simulation. Why? Scientific methods can’t prove it, he points out.

“Unfortunately, this is not a scientific question; there is no objective way to test it. We will probably never know if it’s true and by focusing too much on this hypothesis, we are wasting time. We can, instead, use this idea to advance scientific knowledge,” writes Simon Duan.

Modeling the Universe as a Simulation Metaphor

Rather than focusing on this hypothesis, he suggests scientists instead focus on modeling the universe as a computer simulation using a “conceptual metaphor.” 

To start, a rule of the proposed simulation would be the computer must be outside of space, in a black hole or a parallel universe. But if the computer is outside our universe, scientists believe it wouldn’t be able to affect what happens here. So, he suggests modeling the computer as if in a metaphysical “Platonic Realm of Forms” with a “philosophical foundation.”

“According to Plato, the reality we see is just a shadow of this realm, where abstract entities such as numbers, perfect geometric shapes and other abstract concepts exist,” he writes.

Platonic Realm of Forms

According to Plato, what we see is a world of appearances, shadows of a greater reality beyond space and time, the Realm of Forms. Thus, what we perceive isn’t the ultimate truth, which sounds much like the idea of a Matrix. Above the illusory material realm is a realm of higher forms, ideals for things like justice and beauty and truth. (In Egypt, this was called Maat.)

And at the top of the hierarchy is the Form of Good, one Supreme form. Everything flowed down from this purest form which relies on the concept of dualism. We retain memory of this highest realm in our connection with our soul, or mind, which comes from this space. (see video below).

A famous analogy about the Plato’s Real of Forms goes like this:

“Plato asks us to imagine that we are in a cave. All around us is darkness. The only think we can see is on the wall before us, where a light is shone and shadow figures dance on the wall. These are being manipulated by unseen tormentors.

For Plato, this is what the world of ordinary appearances is like. Plato then asks us to imagine that we break our bonds and escape out into the open air. We see flowers and trees and everything else clearly, as it really is. The light we see by is no longer the obscure light of the cave but the bright, clear light of the sun. For Plato, this is what the World of the Forms is like,” writes Luke Dunne.

Video about Plato and the Real of Forms by Philosophy Vibe:

Plato’s Inspiration from Egypt

The Platonic Realm of Forms sounds like an excellent start, as scientists consider modeling the universe as a simulation. Thinking of Plato brings to mind complex metaphors from ancient Egypt: the city of Heliopolis, a Greek name. Plato and many other Greek philosophers probably knew it very well. Their ideas were no doubt inspired by what they learned from Egyptians.

For example, in his dialogue, Timaeus, Plato directly mentions Egyptian gods like Thoth.

“That Plato displayed an unusual grasp of some ideas associated with Thoth is notable. That he gave them an exposé is quite significant. It harkens back to claims by the Greeks themselves that Plato’s philosophy was fundamentally Egyptian,” write Philosophy Now.

A Model of the Universe from Heliopolis

Plato, like Pythagoras, was a profound Greek thinker with concepts about metaphysics, astronomy, and geometry inspired by Egyptian ideas taught at Heliopolis. It was the City or Eye of the Sun, in today’s Cairo. In its day, it was one of the oldest centers of learning in Egypt and also called the House of Ra. If you watched the video above, in Plato’s Realm of Forms, the Sun is the highest Form of Good.

To the Egyptians, the city name was “iwnw” or “The Pillars,” with many obelisk towers standing. Unfortunately, the obelisks are gone, but one stands in London on the Thames, Cleopatra’s Needle. Other names for the city were transcribed as Annu, or Anu, and this was where theology about the resurrection of Osiris were prominent. Those stories inspired many modern belief systems today. 

Although Heliopolis is gone, the teachings also live on in Plato and in scholars who continue unlocking secrets in the hieroglyphs and temples. The teachings include abstract concepts and metaphors about the nature of the universe. Or, if you like, the computer simulation or the Matrix.

The Solar Bark of Ra as the Computer

As you may know, the Egyptian creator god Ra or Re traveled in a solar bark, or boat. Ra sits at the top of the Egyptian metaphorical hierarchy too, the “the principle behind all cosmic laws,” and the “male aspect of creation.” The Eye of Ra, Hathor, is the female aspect, sometimes depicted with four faces representing the four cardinal directions. She is everywhere. However, all arises out of one Supreme and transcendental consciousness beyond definitions or duality. It’s similar to Plato’s hierarchy, everything flows from this highest pure transcendental space beyond duality.

Considering all this, a proposed model might incorporate something about the foundations of duality, male and female, Yin and Yang. Further, one might construct a universal wireframe using something akin to the geometry of the Flower of Life, seen in the 6,000-year-old Temple of Osiris. 

In this model, Ra’s solar bark is perhaps an always moving computer processor in metaphorical terms, never confined to one location, such as in a black hole. Possibly, Ra’s bark could travel through the multiverse, another popular topic for scientists today. As Ra travels, he lights and radiates the world while battling the destructive forces of a snake, Apophis, or entropy in scientific terms. So, there, you have the force at work that actively counters the second law of thermodynamics, the natural tendency to disorder.

The Sun Boat via See U in History/Mythology;

Consciousness Behind the Simulation

Going back to Heliopolis, we can find more golden nuggets of cosmological wisdom.

“According to the Pyramid Texts, it was at Heliopolis that the god-creator Atum emerged from the chaos as a hill or mound and started on his work of creation,” writes author Miroslav Verner.

Heliopolis was also the center of worship to Atum, also called Amen, or Amun-Ra, Amun-Re. Rather than a literal blue god, some scholars say Amun is another prime cosmic principle, the hidden, witnessing consciousness at work throughout an ancient model of the universe. Unfortunately, consciousness is another area where scientists may never find material evidence. But what if it’s the primary way we experience the computer simulation? And, perhaps everything that happens, however small, is stored in a vast memory bank of consciousness.

The ancient center of learning at Heliopolis was also the metaphorical home to the Bennu bird, the Greek Phoenix, and the Egyptian Tree of Life. From here, many other profound abstract concepts spread or grew around the world, such as those about the four elements. Those ideas may have similarly inspired the Platonic Solids.

Cosmological Concepts Developed Over Millennia

If scientists were free to explore ancient spiritual, philosophical, and cosmological belief systems, they could find ample metaphors to incorporate into a simulation model. But that would require looking outside the scientific “black box” and possibly giving a nod and credit to ancient beliefs that Plato and Pythagoras, Solon, Homer, Herodotus, Orpheus, and others studied.

Evolving Ideas of the Simulation

Going out on a universal limb, if scientists believe the universe is a simulation, and more and more do, where does it lead? We then have to consider the mechanisms of how the simulated world operates. But is it new territory, or is it a repeat of what ancient thinkers were already contemplating?

One thing that comes to mind is that evolution may not function merely through survival of the fittest. In this hypothetical context, evolution may work in much more nuanced ways. Again, it’s an area where scientific evidence may be impossible, but should that mean closing the door to evolving ideas?

If a simulation is real, then that means the computer has creators who might be shaping the universe. (In Egyptian thought, they were considered cosmic principles of Neter or nature.) If we take this into consideration, it stand to reason they are influencing things like the development of lifeforms. Maybe they do it through something scientifically proven like quantum entangled light, perhaps as from the Sun. And if they created one simulation, why stop there? Wouldn’t they have made multiple simulations, like the scientific hypothesis of bubble universes?

Moreover, could consciousness and collective or individual memories stored in our biological makeup influence how we evolve? Might the engineers and architects of this computer have a directive plan? Yes, it opens the doors to all those kinds of spiritual, philosophical, and metaphysical ideas. When that happens, scientists tend to draw a sharp line in the sand and make a hasty retreat.

An Out-of-the-Box Universe

Where material science is restricted, philosophers, artists, writers, and creative thinkers of all kinds are free to explore all they want. Therefore, scientists could consider a collaboration with out-of-the-box thinkers who aren’t afraid to go where their instincts and imaginations take them.

The best models may take an integrated approach between science and concepts that venture into the spiritual world. For inspiration, the abstract models of the universe that ancient people devised over thousands of years could be the ideal place to start.

“…After all, the sages of Egypt had affirmed the four elements, the underlying unity of the One and the Many, as well as the role of divine intelligence in the cosmos, long before the birth of the first Greek philosopher,” writes Flegel.

Featured image: Solar barque of Djedhor by José Luiz via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0