7+ mon, 13+ hour ago   (1081+ words) The simulation hypothesis proposes that reality as we experience it is an artificial simulation, similar in principle to a highly advanced virtual reality. According to this idea, an advanced civilization — possibly in another universe — could possess computational power vast enough…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago   (1145+ words) From the archives: November 1998 The impressive performance of evolution as a design mechanism needs no belaboring. Physics, though, constitutes a larger reality that evolution can no more transcend than a cow can jump upward at escape velocity. Enzymes cannot act…...

7+ mon, 4+ week ago   (92+ words) Published 14 January 2026 From Dave Holtum, Bath, UK Tim Rafferty’s claim that simulators would only have to “simulate our ability to observe the universe” is often called lazy evaluation, but it faces a number of hurdles (Letters, 3 January). Objects cannot simply…...

8+ mon, 19+ hour ago   (370+ words) This is Part 4 in a series on the mathematical universe hypothesis. Check out Parts 1, 2, and 3. I dunno, that seems to me like baggage of a different kind. I sure hope not. There are plenty of other objections to the mathematical…...

8+ mon, 1+ day ago   (647+ words) This is Part 3 in a series on the mathematical universe hypothesis. Check out Parts 1 and 2. So which is responsible for which? Do our minds create math? Does matter create mind? How does it all work? The mathematical universe concept breaks…...

8+ mon, 2+ day ago   (429+ words) This is Part 2 in a series on the mathematical universe hypothesis. Check out Part 1. We did natural philosophy for thousands of years. And we made progress, for sure. But once we started using math, it seems like there are new…...

8+ mon, 3+ day ago   (589+ words) This is Part 1 in a series on the mathematical universe hypothesis. Imagine you walk into a parking lot full of cars. You have in your pocket one single key. It’s the key to your car. The same key you’ve always…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago   (896+ words) A new mathematical framework formally defines what it would mean for one universe to simulate another, moving beyond intuitive arguments about the simulation hypothesis. This rigorous approach challenges longstanding claims and suggests a stranger, more complex landscape than previously considered,…...

9+ mon, 17+ hour ago   (1001+ words) For more than 2000 years, geometers and mathematicians tried in vain to prove the parallel postulate from the other axioms of Euclidean geometry. These other axioms said[1]: These axioms are beautiful in their simplicity. They clarify precisely what we feel like…...