Study: The universe could be a hologram

A study published in the journal Physical Review Letters suggests that researchers have found "the first observational evidence that the universe could be a hologram."

The international team claims to have found irregularities in the universe.

According to a press release, discrepancies between Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum mechanics could easily be explained if the whole universe was a hologram.

Kostas Skenderis, one of the researchers, explained that the idea is simple. Ordinary holograms are three-dimensional images encoded in a two-dimensional surface, such as the hologram on a typical credit card.

"This time, the entire universe is encoded," he said.

The theory that the universe is a holographic entity was first introduced in the 1990s.

This differs from the theory that the earth is a simulation, however.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch reportedly sent clients a report claiming we live in a world that is just an illusion.

"Many scientists, philosophers, and business leaders believe that there is a 20-50% probability that humans are already living in a computer-simulated virtual world," the report states.

The report alleges that it is conceivable that future civilizations created the world we know as a simulation of their ancestors.

The theory that the universe is a hologram is more mathematically based. It states that a concept called quantum gravity must exist to help to bridge the gap between the theory of gravity and quantum mechanics.

If existence as we know it is simply a hologram, it would not mean it is a projected reality -- just that the reality of the universe we live in is far more complex than we could imagine, and seeing a three-dimensional world is simply an illusion.

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