Is our universe the ultimate computer? Scientist uncovers a major clue that we're all living in a simulation

Daily Mail​

28-04-2025

For more than a quarter of a century since its release, 'The Matrix' has fueled modern fears that life is not all it seems.
But according to a scientist, the classic movie's premise may not be completely science fiction.
Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, thinks gravity may be a sign that we're all living in a virtual simulation.
Our universe is the 'ultimate computer', Professor Vopson theorizes in a new paper.
Gravity's pull – both on our planet and in outer space – is the universe trying to keep its vast amount of data organised.
Forcing objects with mass into one direction – i.e. downwards on Earth – is similar to how computers compress code, Professor Vopson claims.
'The universe evolves in a way that the information content in it is compressed, optimized and organized – just as computers and computer code do,' he told MailOnline.
'Hence, gravity appears to be another process of data compression in a possibly simulated universe.'
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.
But in recent years Professor Vopson has been investigating the various cues that suggest we live in a simulated reality.
His new study, published in AIP Advances, reports that gravity may be one of these everyday clues and 'evidence of a computational universe'.
Gravitational attraction helps to reduce 'information entropy' – which is essentially how much information there is in an object in a given space.
The study introduces a new way to think about gravity – not just as a pull, but as something that happens when the universe is trying to stay organised.
'My findings in this study fit with the thought that the universe might work like a giant computer, or our reality is a simulated construct,' he said.
Professor Vopson stresses he's not only talking about the gravitational pull we see on Earth and the 'apple falling on Isaac Newton's head' moment four centuries ago.
Speaking much more widely, gravity is a fundamental force throughout our vast universe, which is commonly said to be 93 billion light-years across.
The professor is not just talking about gravity on Earth but in the wider universe, where it builds entire galaxies, pulls planets into orbit around their stars, and influences the motion of nearby objects
What is the simulation theory?
The simulation theory suggests that what humans perceive as reality is actually a computer-generated simulation.
Human beings are unknowingly being fed this simulated consciousness either for their own good or for nefarious means.
In 2003, University of Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrum first proposed the argument that 'we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation'.
Simulation theory is explored in sci-fi films including 'The Matrix' (1999) and its sequels, as well as 'The Thirteenth Floor' (1999) and 'Dark City' (1998).
In space, gravity has many roles including building entire galaxies, pulling planets into orbit around their stars, and influencing the motion of nearby objects.
So, in space, matter and objects may be being pulled together because the universe is trying to keep information tidy and compressed, the theory goes.
'To put it simply, it is easier to compute all the properties and characteristics of a single object in space, rather than multiple objects,' he told MailOnline.
'That is why objects in space are pulled together.'
Dr Vopson is known for formulating the principle that information is not just an abstract mathematical entity, but a 'physical, dominant, fifth state of matter'.
He argues that information has mass and that all elementary particles – the smallest known building blocks of the universe – store information about themselves, similar to the way cells have DNA.
He thinks bits – the unit of digital information – have their own mass and energy, which has wide-ranging implications for computing technologies, physics and cosmology.
In a previous paper, the academic established a new law of physics, called the 'second law of information dynamics' to explain how information behaves.
This image visualises the second law of thermodynamics from the 1850s. This old law establishes that entropy - a measure of disorder in an isolated system - can only increase or stay the same. In contrast, Professor Vopson's second law of infodynamics establishes that entropy decreases - but it explains the behaviour of information in a way that the old law cannot
His law establishes that the 'entropy', or disorder, in a system of information decreases rather than increases.
This new law came as somewhat of a surprise, because it's the opposite of the second law of thermodynamics established in the 1850s, which explains why we cannot unscramble an egg or why a glass cannot unbreak itself.
As it turns out, the second law of infodynamics explains the behaviour of information in a way that the old law cannot.
'The second law of infodynamics requires the minimisation of the information content associated with any event or process in the universe,' he told MailOnline.
'To put it simply, everything appears to evolve to an equilibrium state where the information content is minimal.
'Such behaviour is fully reminiscent of the rules deployed in programming languages and computer coding.
The second law of thermodynamics
One of the most powerful laws is the second law of thermodynamics, which establishes that entropy (a measure of disorder in an isolated system) can only increase or stay the same, but it will never decrease.
This is an undisputed law linked to the arrow of time, which shows that time only goes one way.
It flows in a single direction and can't go backwards.
The law explains why we cannot unscramble an egg or why a glass cannot unbreak itself.
Professor Vopson had expected that the entropy in information systems, such as bits of data, would also increase over time.
But on examining the evolution of these systems he realised it remains constant or decreases.
That's when he established the second law of information dynamics, or infodynamics in 2022.
In a nutshell, the second law of information dynamics (2022) states that entropy (disorder) deceases over time.