- Ever since ancient times
people have asked the question,
"Is the world a dream?"
Is everything around us an illusion
created by some God to test us?
Well, the modern version of that is,
is the Universe a computer game?
Are we just dancing puppets,
obeying the laws of some computer out there in the Universe?
Is everything basically a fake?
Well, that theory got a tremendous boost
with the "Matrix" series
'cause in the "Matrix" what we thought was real
was actually a computer simulation
put into our brain by aliens-
and so reality as we knew it was all wrong.
Is that possible?
Well, the answer is probably no.
But for a very sophisticated reason.
Life is not based on zeros and ones, zeros and ones.
Photosynthesis for example,
it is a quantum mechanical process.
It is the basis of all life on the Earth-
and we still don't know quite how it works.
A flower can do calculations
that our most advanced quantum computer cannot.
Amazing, truly amazing.
So Mother Nature is still smarter than us
when it comes to the quantum theory.
If you wanna simulate the weather for example,
you have to simulate the motion
of trillions upon trillions of atoms.
No computer is that powerful,
that it can simulate the motion
of trillions and trillions of atoms
that just make up the atoms in this room.
You can't do it.
You're talking about 10 to the, let's say 25.
One with 25 zeros after it
just to model the atoms inside a goldfish bowl.
So we're talking about a fabulous amount of information
necessary to create a model of a dream.
And the most intricate quantum device-is you.
You are the byproduct of quantum mechanics.
If you turned off quantum mechanics
what would happen to your body?
It would dissolve.
It would dissolve into a bunch of random subatomic particles
and atoms obey the quantum principle,
it holds your body together.
It allows your atoms to interact with other atoms
to create catalysts,
to create DNA, and proteins.
So you don't really know where they are at any given point.
So there's an infinite number of universes that are possible
right in your room.
And so in other words,
it is mathematically not possible
to create a fictional universe
out of atoms in a fictional way.
Sorry about that.
The Universe is not an illusion.
Now, some people ask another question,
"What if the universe is an almost simulation?"
That's possible.
Maybe you cannot stimulate trillions and trillions of atoms
because of something called
Now, what's the "butterfly effect?"
The butterfly effect is when a butterfly flaps its wings,
there's a certain small probability
that the waves created by the butterfly
will be magnified as it progresses.
It may be enough to reach the tipping point.
The tipping point that sets off a storm, okay?
The point I'm raising is,
no computer is powerful enough to do that computation
of a butterfly's wings that could set off a storm.
Is it possible? Yes.
Is it computable? Probably not.
So, in other words chances are
we do not live in a computer simulation.
Sorry about that.