The Importance of Information Exchange in Complex Systems

Physicists and computer scientists alike have long been fascinated by the concept of complex systems, particularly those that arise from simple rules on a grid. These systems, often referred to as "grid-based" systems, can exhibit unexpected behavior and complexity due to the interactions between individual components. The key to understanding these systems lies in the information exchange between their components.

At its core, every system depends solely on the state of its constituent parts. For instance, in a simple weather model, a single unit may be occupied or unoccupied, which can be represented as either a 1 or a 0. This digital representation is akin to the binary code used in computers, where each bit can only have two values: 0 and 1. In a similar vein, particle interactions can be treated as digital physics, where particles are described by their position and momentum, which can be represented as bits of information.

The idea that space-time reality may be quantized, with particles existing in discrete units rather than being continuous, is an intriguing one. This notion suggests that the fundamental building blocks of our universe, such as atoms and galaxies, may be composed of "bits" or "ones" rather than smooth, continuous fields. If this is indeed the case, it would revolutionize our understanding of the physical world and raise profound questions about the nature of reality itself.

The concept of digital physics is not new, but it has gained significant attention in recent years. Proponents argue that space-time may be quantized, with particles existing as discrete units rather than being continuous fields. Opponents, on the other hand, argue that this idea is more the realm of science fiction than scientific fact.

One of the most interesting implications of digital physics is the possibility of creating sentient beings in a supercomputer. This idea, proposed by Nick Bostrom, suggests that if we were to develop advanced technology capable of simulating an entire universe, we would be able to create conscious beings within that simulation. The argument goes that if our consciousness and sentience stem from these digital representations, then it is likely that any being created in such a simulation would also possess consciousness.

The Simulation Argument

Nick Bostrom's simulation hypothesis proposes three possible scenarios for the future of humanity:

1. We go extinct: In this scenario, we simply fail to overcome our own self-destructive tendencies and eventually disappear from existence.

2. We develop technology but lose interest in it: Alternatively, we become incredibly advanced technologically but gradually lose interest in pursuing simulations or other forms of creative endeavor.

3. We develop technology that allows us to simulate an entire universe: This is the most fascinating scenario, as it suggests that we may eventually be able to create conscious beings within a simulation.

Bostrom's argument hinges on the idea that if we were to develop advanced technology capable of simulating an entire universe, it would be exceedingly likely that we are already living in a simulation. The possibility that our reality is not "real" but rather a sophisticated computer program raises profound questions about the nature of existence and our place within it.

The Implications of Simulation

If Bostrom's argument were to prove true, it would have far-reaching implications for our understanding of consciousness, free will, and even the concept of reality itself. For instance, if we are living in a simulation, do we possess control over our actions or are they predetermined by the simulator? If we create conscious beings within the simulation, do they also possess free will?

The possibility that our reality is not "real" but rather a sophisticated computer program raises fundamental questions about the nature of existence and our place within it. As we continue to explore the possibilities of digital physics and simulation, we may find ourselves at the precipice of a profound new understanding of the universe and our place within it.

In conclusion, the concept of complex systems that arise from simple rules on a grid holds great interest for physicists and computer scientists alike. The information exchange between components of these systems can lead to unexpected behavior and complexity, making them fascinating objects of study. Furthermore, Bostrom's simulation hypothesis raises profound questions about the nature of existence and our place within it, suggesting that we may be living in a sophisticated computer program rather than an "real" universe.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enSo today we're going to talk about, what if the universe is just a computer simulationHow would we know? What sort of things wont we expect to see? Could we ever tell; Could we ever be able to work out that we're you know, living part of a simulation. Of we're just bits of informationcourses The Hitchhiker's Guide to thegalaxy where for example the earth wasjust massive computer program and allthe people on it form part of how didthey put it the organic matrix does thematrix of course itself which is areally really intriguing idea reallyintelligent concept let down by some theearth or acting it's a fascinatingconcept for anybody are we living in asimulation and it stretches all the wayback it's a philosophical a thornyphilosophical issue so there's a wholesort of subfield of physics now calleddigital physics where physicists andcomputer scientists are getting togetherand the idea is that the fundamentalbasis of reality the fundamental basisof physics is not energy it's not matterits information and there's a guy calledJohn Wheeler back in the 70s that iswonderful phrase called it from bit themost fundamental aspect of our realityis information this is physics worldback in just last year modeling ouruniverse is a giant computer and theidea here is that instead of havingwhat's called continuous functionsinstead of being able to basically pickany particular point in space no matterhow small the smallest infinitesimalthere's a quantization space is dividedup into chunks or space is divided intoa grid and that's really reminiscent ofthings that were happening again back inthe 70s but have been you know obviouslydevelopments in the decades since thenwhere the something called Conway's Gameof Life which is a really really neatexample of how simple rules very simplerules can give rise to complexity andwhat you do is you set up a grid itcould be in three dimensions butgenerally in Conway's Game of Life weconsider two dimensions and what you dois something really really simple reallysimple rules right what we're going todo is we're going to populate this gridso we have squares which are like littleanimals and one and those really simplerules what you basically see so youstart off your system and what you'regoing to do is each time round we get acomputerbut there's no reason if you weresuitably inclined and had nothing betterto do with your life that you couldn'tdo with just pen and paper you look atthis one you look at each animal or eachcell let's call them cells in the gridand you say look at the many neighborsit's got and then you have very simplerules if it's got zero or one neighborsit dies out of loneliness if it's gotmore than four neighbors it dies out ofoverpopulation overcrowding and if it'sgot two or three then it's happy sothat's those those one set of rules ifit's occupied if it's not occupied if itdoesn't have a cell in it then whathappens is that if it's got threeneighbors so here for example then whatwill happen is this one will become liveif you do this I'll show you the screenthis ISM obviously it's going to take along time if we were to do that with penand paperGiancarlo's game of life by a guy calledwhere is it Martin Edwin Martin so whatyou do is let's take a really simple onelike that and what we're going to do iswe're going to play those rules andwatch what happens you might think ohthis is going to be fairly boring bookso you get something which is called aglider just due to the way those thoserules work okay so in this case once itreaches the edge of the grip the edge ofthe grid things effectively stop solet's do this one and let's see whathappens now Wow remember how basic yoursrules are my daughterís of seven andnine my sons actually fought I couldexplain those rules to him and see whatyou got there this case it reaches asteady stay at a boring steady state butbefore let's run that again it's allthat complexity just from very basicrules stop it again and then or we cando something completely random let'sclear it Edwin's provided the facilityto do need things like this that's avery wonky face and then we run thissame rules and what you see is thepopulation so this is I hope you can seehow its way it's called game of life nowand in the 70s you know this wasparadise for geeks you know this wassteer to the art computer graphics inthe 70s in fact I my computing startedin the eighties with something calledthe zx81 this isn't colorthis is far beyond what I was capable ofback in 1981 so on this would have beenheaven for me but notice so in this casethis once keeps flicking around and itwill do that for infinity but what'sremarkable here is unbelievably simplerules on a grid on this type of gridgive rise to this type of complexity andwhat's the important thing here wellit's the information it's the the factthat this this animal or this whateveryou want to call it sell at thisposition is affected by its influence byits neighbors and it's the it's thoseinteractions and how that information isexchanged that gives rise to this levelof complexity and physicists in allseriousness not all of not allphysicists are allowed to certainlyadmit that there's a large number whowould seriously doubt this and wouldargue that actually at the mostfundamental level space-time realityamongst us around us is not a grid likethis it is not quantized but computerscientists physicists a large number ofthose are arguing well actually no itmay well be like this and then itbecomes very very interesting indeed asto how these basically these rules playout so what this has got to do with youand me and atoms and galaxies is thatthe important thing here is if thesystem depends just solely on wellweather is this unit is this gridoccupied or not is that a 1 or a 0 isthat a bit or is it not a bit then do wetreat particle interactions like thatdigital physics is reasonably welldeveloped there are it has itsproponents it has its opponents but theidea that spaced I might be quantizedwhat are the zeros and ones what's theequivalent like are you talking aboutlike atoms of the bits or is it morefundament it's not as the fundamentalparticles it's the idea that right atthe very limit of a very smallest thingyou can imagine like the Planck lengthat that level we're talking we're seeingthat that space is quantized you knowthese are ones and zeroes if it'soccupied it's a 1 if it's not occupiedit's a zero and what's the equivalent ofoccupied and unoccupied at the quantumin the presence for example the presenceof a particle the absence of a particlewhat slightly more left to field andslightly more off-the-wall butnonetheless interesting is could we beactually the result of a computersimulation by some super hyperdimensional or whatever set of aliens orindeed future generations could we beliving in future and there's a guycalled Nick Bostrom at Oxford at thefuture of humanity Institute in Oxfordwho's proposed something called asimulation argument who argues thisyou've got three options first of allone is that we'd go extinct we don'treach we saw at some point we blowourselves of global warming comes alongand we wipe ourselves out relativelyboring steady-state second one is thatwhat okay we get lots and lots oftechnology but we just sort of loseinterest in for example trying to runsimulations at larger and larger andlarger simulations but the third one andthe third one is the most interestingone is well we develop better and bettertechnology and what that technologyallows us to do is you run better andbetter simulations up to the point wherewe can simulate an entire universe ifyou can simulate an entire universe andif really what matters right at thebottom end of this is whether you fill agrid with ones and zeros that'scomputing then and if our consciousnessand our sentience stems from that thenwhat you'll do is you create sentientbeings in a supercomputer or so and theargument is that if you do have thattype of technological capability ofBostrom's argument is that it'sexceedingly likely if we do progress tothat point that we are in a simulationthis is not reality this is a simulatedreal life and you can think of layersupon layers upon layers of simulationsand how would we ever know we'd like tothank audible.com for its support ofthis computer file video audible has amassive range of audio books and ifyou're someone like me who has to go ona lot of long drives or walk the dogevery day it's great being able to catchup with books on a portable device likeyour iPhone - recommendations after avideo like this Hitchhiker's Guide tothe galaxy and also fineman'sphysics lectures and the good thingabout these two is you can actuallylisten to the guys who wrote the booksFineman himself and douglas adams whichis always a nice trait hearing theirvoices you can download a free audiobook at audible comm slash computer fileso go and check it out and thanks toaudible for supporting channels likethis it's great for us to be able toteam up with a company that's sellingbooks and information and also a companythat kind of uses technology and thingslike that things we love here atcomputerphileso while you go and get free audiobookI'm going to get this thing rolling wellthat's a nice one\n"