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@sonhouse saidOr is it that the universe simply appears to our senses to be more than any algorithm can run?
https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mathematical-proof-debunks-idea-universe.html
Mathematical proof the universe cannot be a simulation because the universe is more than any algorithm can run.
I believe reality is mental-based. That is, raw, undifferentiated consciousness is the base substrate of all existence. So in that light, a "real" universe is just a mental construct, and the only question is how a "real" universe is to be defined as distinct from a "simulated" one. Both would use consciousness as its sole ingredient, and both would (I think) arise from a kind of evolutionary process to produce a "consensus reality" for its inhabitants.
If you feel yourself to be real, then real you are, no matter whether this universe is "real" or "simulated." There is no question of it, since the essence of consciousness is irreducible and cannot be manufactured. All a "simulated" universe is is just another space for a consensus reality to arise, and its base essence is consciousness just like a "real" universe.
However, I would tend to agree that mathematical algorithms are insufficient for creating a viable reality. Algorithms are discretized processes -- ones and zeros (i.e. bits) -- and consciousness, as the base ingredient of existence, has potentiality exceeding what such processes can offer. Even qubits are insufficient, I'd say. The simulated universe hypothesis is founded on the (unjustified) assumption that arrangements of atoms, or bits, or qubits, can give rise to consciousness. We have no proof of that, nor does it seem likely when one thinks seriously and introspectively about the matter.
@Soothfast saidSo the James Webb scope finding new stars some 13 billion years old is all made up just to fool us?
Or is it that the universe simply appears to our senses to be more than any algorithm can run?
I believe reality is mental-based. That is, raw, undifferentiated consciousness is the base substrate of all existence. So in that light, a "real" universe is just a mental construct, and the only question is how a "real" universe is to be defined as distinct from a "simulated" ...[text shortened]... oof of that, nor does it seem likely when one thinks seriously and introspectively about the matter.