Is reality like a computer?

[bennyboy]

We already know of naturally occurring patterns such as the fibonacci sequence. It is not unreasonable to say that there are numerical patterns in nature. But you then cannot make the leap to some sort of virtual reality on a computer. You need a sound argument backed up by solid proof for that.

It's not a leap. Everything in the universe that we know about is described by mathematics. That's what physics is. So the question is whether the math represents something objectively real, or whether what we perceive really is nothing more than the math itself. I think if you look at QM, the "reality" of particles as entities seems to break down, but the math holds strong.