this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2025
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I've heard that 'our reality is made of math' before. Does this mean that we do in fact live in a simulation, even if that simulation wasn't necessarily programmed by 'higher dimensional' beings?
If that is the case, could we conceivably 'hack' the universal code and unlock cheat mode?
We don't need to "live in a simulation" for "our reality to be made of math". Math could very well exist outside of anything, as a formal concept. This is the old debate asking whether math is invented or discovered. If it is discovered, then it can exist without any reality, as a pure abstract concept.
It's confusing. I don't understand what the difference is between something which is made of 'a pure abstract concept', specifically math, and a simulation- which is also made out of math.
I'm not saying it's something ran on a computer somewhere, just that the abstract concepts that make up our universe, if it is "made of math", clearly has rules that it obeys- like the speed of light in a vacuum or the other constants. Which would seem to be analogous to parameters in a more traditional simulation. If 'math' is something that exists independent of sentient beings, couldn't whatever that is be the 'thing' that the 'simulation' is ran on?
I guess where I'm getting hung up is the idea that the universe can be 'made of' something that has no 'reality'. Am I just misunderstanding what it's meant by 'made of math'? Like even if math is 'discovered', how would that be any different than us inventing it, if it exists 'without any reality'?
To be fair, there is lots of stuff I don't understand, but I am trying- go easy on me.
I was being cheeky about the 'cheat mode' thing (unless it's real then I'm in).
I feel like there is a misunderstanding in this thread.
The universe is described by math. Math itself is also very fundamental though.
However even the Singularities are disputed and generally not liked by physicist. We try to find other explanations for how black holes work (lots of papers on this). Moreover, we never really have a singularity, but ringularities, as all black holes rotate changing the singularity to a singularity (they probably also have a charge but that is a different matter).
And on the other hand, if you are a follower of the simulation argument (I know a few physicists that are) there are also counter arguments against this (which I believe are more likely).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis