When writing another article, I decided to highlight one short but important thought in a separate article. I will refer to this post frequently.
According to my current views. The universe is a unique calculator. A calculator with strict, unchanging laws. These laws can be called a computation program, but everything is much more complicated.
I note right away that I am not a supporter of the idea that our universe is an emulation. In my opinion, these ideas arise due to misinterpretation of the laws of the universe.
To clarify my idea, let’s try to figure out how we would simulate on a computer the chemical process of the interaction of oxygen and hydrogen with the formation of water.
2 H2 + O2 → 2 H2O
The problem can be solved simply. Simulate the location and thermal movement of individual molecules in a confined space. And, if there is enough thermal energy, to trigger the reaction (note how much attention should be paid to modeling of the thermal motion). When molecules approach each other, simulate the process of water formation. In each reaction, we must take into account the release of energy. It’s complicated? For example, let’s estimate how many molecules we have to process to get one gram of water. One gram of water contains 3.34e22 water molecules. In total, you need to start with 3.34e22 hydrogen molecules and 1.67e22 oxygen molecules.
And for this we just need colossal computing power. As a result, we cannot directly model this process. We will have to abstract ourselves. And we will use statistical laws for modeling. Now it seems to have become easier, even a weak computer can cope with such a task. But there is a problem here too. When a large number of oxygen molecules interact with hydrogen molecules, a lot of energy is released. So many that an explosion will occur. It is very difficult to simulate an explosion. Again, we will have to make a lot of simplifications.
I think it has already become clear how difficult this task is. And this is a very simple chemical process.
Now let’s look at how this process takes place in reality. If you mix hydrogen and oxygen molecules anywhere in the universe and heat them, a chemical reaction of water formation will occur. If there is a lot of substance, a powerful explosion will occur. It does not matter where and in what quantities these molecules will be located — the reaction will still occur. Of course, if the conditions are right. The process of water formation will take place both on earth and in space. In reality, a huge number of events are processed in real time. Chemical reactions, nuclear fission and fusion reactions. Also, in reality, there are processes of interruption and transformation of energy. In reality the most complex quantum processes are taking place, to the understanding of which modern science is just coming. Moreover, all of these processes can take place at the same time.
It is impossible even to imagine how big our universe is. And at each point of it, many events can occur at once. And they do happen. These events are happening now, have happened every moment for billions of years and will occur in the future.
The question remains who performs these calculations. I have no answer to this question. If we turn to chemical reactions again. Then the chemical properties are determined by the structure of the outer electron shells of the atom. This brings you closer to understanding chemistry, but does not give an answer to the main question. It rather adds a lot of new questions. It is unlikely that the molecules themselves can “know” how they should interact. In my opinion, the physical vacuum plays a decisive role here. And here again many questions arise:
What is physical vacuum?
Our universe arose in a physical vacuum, or is a physical vacuum a manifestation of the properties of our universe?
Is there an accident? Where does the randomness come from?
Be that as it may, the universe always computes at any point. Computations are of such colossal complexity that we cannot simulate. Our models are very approximate. Our models are for limited use only. The universe knows everything.