Posts: 54
Threads: 9
Joined: July 26, 2013
Reputation:
0
Is reality like a computer?
September 21, 2013 at 2:55 pm
I was in a computer repair class today, and my teacher was talking to me about how binary code works. And that got me thinking, what if the true nature of reality, is numbers? A complex system of ons and offs, of 1s and 0s. Maybe even we are really just a complex system of yes and no.
Like in biology, we have a good example of a system that operates exactly like this within our own body, neurons. It says yes or no as to whether or not a single is transferred, and that is how we move our arms. I am interested in hearing what you all say, discuss.
Posts: 30726
Threads: 2123
Joined: May 24, 2012
Reputation:
71
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 21, 2013 at 2:59 pm
To answer the OP thread title, NO!
Posts: 1108
Threads: 33
Joined: June 4, 2013
Reputation:
18
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 21, 2013 at 3:23 pm
I was in networking the other day, and they told me your ALU was broken.
To answer your question, yes, at the very basic level of physics and matter, your fundamental forces make numerous small calculations. Not sure what You were getting at though.
Posts: 4067
Threads: 162
Joined: September 14, 2010
Reputation:
95
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 21, 2013 at 3:37 pm
Quote:What is the difference between a computer and a black hole? This question sounds like the start of a Microsoft joke, but it is one of the most profound problems in physics today. Most people think of computers as specialized gizmos: streamlined boxes sitting on a desk or fingernail-size chips embedded in high-tech coffeepots. But to a physicist, all physical systems are computers. Rocks, atom bombs and galaxies may not run Linux, but they, too, register and process information. Every electron, photon and other elementary particle stores bits of data, and every time two such particles interact, those bits are transformed. Physical existence and information content are inextricably linked. As physicist John Wheeler of Princeton University says, “It from bit."
http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Black...puters.pdf
Posts: 9147
Threads: 83
Joined: May 22, 2013
Reputation:
46
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 21, 2013 at 7:22 pm
(September 21, 2013 at 2:55 pm)Nightfoot92 Wrote: I was in a computer repair class today, and my teacher was talking to me about how binary code works. And that got me thinking, what if the true nature of reality, is numbers? A complex system of ons and offs, of 1s and 0s. Maybe even we are really just a complex system of yes and no.
Like in biology, we have a good example of a system that operates exactly like this within our own body, neurons. It says yes or no as to whether or not a single is transferred, and that is how we move our arms. I am interested in hearing what you all say, discuss. Are you saying it's ONLY numbers, as in all the data we think we are processing (light, sound, etc.) is not what it seems?
It sounds like a kind of atomic idealism.
Posts: 1108
Threads: 33
Joined: June 4, 2013
Reputation:
18
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 21, 2013 at 9:13 pm
(This post was last modified: September 21, 2013 at 9:14 pm by Walking Void.)
(September 21, 2013 at 7:22 pm)bennyboy Wrote: (September 21, 2013 at 2:55 pm)Nightfoot92 Wrote: I was in a computer repair class today, and my teacher was talking to me about how binary code works. And that got me thinking, what if the true nature of reality, is numbers? A complex system of ons and offs, of 1s and 0s. Maybe even we are really just a complex system of yes and no.
Like in biology, we have a good example of a system that operates exactly like this within our own body, neurons. It says yes or no as to whether or not a single is transferred, and that is how we move our arms. I am interested in hearing what you all say, discuss. Are you saying it's ONLY numbers, as in all the data we think we are processing (light, sound, etc.) is not what it seems?
It sounds like a kind of atomic idealism.
Somewhat. All it is, is life without senses. Emulate that in your head if You can. All You keep is the arithmetic. Just like how data is either a magnetic pole or an electron charge.
Posts: 123
Threads: 6
Joined: August 26, 2012
Reputation:
3
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 22, 2013 at 2:20 am
According to quantum physics you're probably not that far off. Quantum particles are here, and then they're not. Then they're here, and then they're not. Sounds something like 1's and 0's to me.
(September 21, 2013 at 2:55 pm)Nightfoot92 Wrote: I was in a computer repair class today, and my teacher was talking to me about how binary code works. And that got me thinking, what if the true nature of reality, is numbers? A complex system of ons and offs, of 1s and 0s. Maybe even we are really just a complex system of yes and no.
Like in biology, we have a good example of a system that operates exactly like this within our own body, neurons. It says yes or no as to whether or not a single is transferred, and that is how we move our arms. I am interested in hearing what you all say, discuss.
There is an ALLLL-knowing, ALLLL-powerful, inVISible being who is everywhere, who created the WHOLE universe, who lives in another dimension called heaven, who is perfect in every way, who was never born and will never die, and who watches you every minute of every day (even when you're squeezing one out on the toilet). There are also unicorns, leprechauns, Santa Claus, an Easter Bunny, and a giant purple people eater.
JUST BELIEVE IT!
Posts: 2177
Threads: 45
Joined: June 5, 2013
Reputation:
39
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 22, 2013 at 2:29 am
(This post was last modified: September 22, 2013 at 2:31 am by max-greece.)
There is no reason why the universe could not be a program running on a computer. The implications if it is, however, are vast. We have covered this in a previous thread not all that long ago. Sadly I can't remember anything else about that thread so I can't find it.
Found it:
http://atheistforums.org/thread-20705.html
Posts: 60
Threads: 3
Joined: September 21, 2013
Reputation:
1
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 22, 2013 at 3:06 am
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.
Posts: 123
Threads: 6
Joined: August 26, 2012
Reputation:
3
RE: Is reality like a computer?
September 22, 2013 at 3:18 am
(September 22, 2013 at 3:06 am)gilbertc06 Wrote: 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.
Yeah, but this is one of those ideas where we don't really need proof. Even if true, no one will try to get you into a religion of computer simulation, and no one's going to kill in the name of...?..User1?
There is an ALLLL-knowing, ALLLL-powerful, inVISible being who is everywhere, who created the WHOLE universe, who lives in another dimension called heaven, who is perfect in every way, who was never born and will never die, and who watches you every minute of every day (even when you're squeezing one out on the toilet). There are also unicorns, leprechauns, Santa Claus, an Easter Bunny, and a giant purple people eater.
JUST BELIEVE IT!
|
