 |
Life is Just a Dream - or is It?
Author: Martha Jette  | Posted: 17-12-2007 | Comments: 0 | Views: 8 | Rating: (53)  (?) 
 Imagine for a minute that everything you see around you is not actually there. It is just for lack of a better phrase, a figment of your imagination. Could it be?
The world's top scientists now think that it could. In the Sunday Times from Britain, Prof. Sir Martin Rees suggested that life in the universe and everything in it may be nothing more than a giant computer simulation. The Royal Society professor at Cambridge University says humans may simply be bits of software. In other words, we program our world the way we want it. We create our own world, just like computers create a virtual world.
Prof. Rees says that over the past few decades, computers have created a virtual world with extensive detail.
"If that trend were to continue, then we can imagine computers, which will be able to simulate worlds perhaps even as complicated as the one we think we're living in."
He adds that this fact raised the question: "could we ourselves be in such a simulation and could what we think is the universe be some sort of vault of heaven rather than the real thing. In a sense, we could be ourselves, the creations within this simulation."
Though this idea has already been snatched up by Hollywood in such films as The Matrix, Vanilla Sky and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, back in ancient Greece the philosophers of the day did not find the notion so far fetched. Even as far back as 2,000 years, the Chinese philosopher, Chuang Tzu wondered if his whole life had been nothing more than a dream. And in the 1600s, Rene Descartes wondered the same thing as noted by his famous words, "I think, therefore I am." Then in the last century, Bertrand Russell propounded that humans might be just "brains in a jar" that were being activated by chemicals or electrical currents.
Next month, Prof. Rees will present his ideas in a television documentary called "What We Still Don't Know." He is expected to emphasize that today's top physicists and cosmologists are seriously considering this theory. One of them, mathematical science Prof. John Barrow also of Cambridge University, will discuss the fine-tuned nature of our world and how event the slightest alteration in such things as gravity would have devastating affects. This, he believes, proves that intelligent design is at work.
There are, however, those who do not believe in intelligent design and say the universe is far too complex to be a simulation. Quantum mechanical engineering Prof. Seth Lloyd of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says he could begin to imagine a computer large enough to simulate a whole universe.
What are your thoughts on Prof. Rees' theory?
************************************************
STORIES NEEDED:
If you have had a paranormal experience or know someone who has please contact me, as I would love to hear about it and perhaps feature the story in an upcoming issue of my monthly newsletter entitled Glimpses of the Paranormal. Please write to: marthajette@gmail.com. Aside from ghosts and hauntings, I also accept stories on related subjects such as witches, UFOs and crypto zoology, ESP, angels, past lives and reincarnation. Please put “Story for Newsletter” in the subject line.
**************************************************
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/new-age-articles/life-is-just-a-dream-or-is-it-284357.html
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Related Articles
The Whole is the Illusion
By: Roy E. Klienwachter | 29/10/2006 | Motivational
What you see about you is not real. You are an illusion, imagined by all those who are creating you in their experience. Nothing is the only things that really exists.
Treatments Online
By: Bob Taylor | 14/10/2007 | Wellness
Many times sites that claim to have answers to your medical issues are in reality only advertisements for products that have not been tested by the government. Finding answers to your health questions online will require you to research the internet for helpful web sites before you begin your actual research.
Tips for Happier Dreams and Preventing Nightmares
By: Toronto Arkland | 23/10/2007 | Self Help
These are tips that help me sleep better, awake to have more joyful days, and prevent nightmares for years. Courtesy of the AIR Equation: The 3 Part Formula For Happiness.
Publish or Perish
By: NARA | 28/09/2007 | Science
Scientists generally publish their research results and get their publicity. Some of them are shy publishers and what will be their fate?
How to Overcome Procrastination - Using the Law of Attraction!
By: Anisa Aven | 15/01/2007 | Goal Setting
You CAN learn to overcome your procrastination using the power of the Law of Attraction.
The Importance of Salat (prayer) in the Life of a Muslim
By: Harun Yahya | 16/01/2008 | Religion
The scrupulousness which a believer displays towards his religious observance makes his faith apparent. He enthusiastically establishes salat, fasts and performs ritual washing made compulsory by Allah throughout the course of his life. Allah has described sincere Muslims' enthusiasm for religious observances in many verses.
Conscience: God's Inspiration to Every Man
By: Harun Yahya | 16/01/2008 | Religion
Conscience is a spiritual quality that bids man good attitude and thought, and helps him think straight and tell right from wrong.
One of the important aspects of conscience is that it is common to all people. In other words, what feels right to the conscience of a man also feels right to the conscience of all others provided that the same conditions prevail.
Some Miracle of the Quran - 3
By: Harun Yahya | 30/03/2008 | Religion
The word "khunnas" in Surat at-Takwir 15 bears such meanings as shrinking and cowering, retracting and turning back. The Arabic expression translated as "hide themselves" in the 16th verse is "kunnas," the plural form of "kaanis," which refers to a specific path: entering a nest, the home of a body in motion, or things entering their homes and hiding there.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Q&A Powered by: 
More from Martha Jette
How to Write a Cookbook
By: Martha Jette | 10/06/2008 | Non-Fiction
Why not take all those great recipes handed down by your mother and/or grandmother and create your own cookbook? This article will set you on the right course to doing just that.
How to Write a Novel – Fiction or Non-fiction
By: Martha Jette | 10/06/2008 | Publishing
Learn the difference between writing a fiction and non-fiction book, as well as the various elements involved with each that a writer should know.
Boomers Can Turn Back the Clock on Aging
By: Martha Jette | 30/05/2008 | Wellness
There are things boomers can do to turn back the clock on aging. Aging With Creativity helps boomers and those over 50 with articles, tips, tricks and more on maintaining good health creatively into their golden years.
Author Shares Amazing Nde
By: Martha Jette | 02/03/2008 | New Age
If there is one thing you can say about author David Oakford, it is that he is brutally honest. Yes, he did take drugs – specifically PCP.
Back in 1979, he was a depressed and reckless young man, who thought nothing of partying as hard as possible with his friends. What he didn’t realize however is that he’d soon be learning of perhaps the most important message he’d ever receive.
Australian Shares Home With Two Ghosts
By: Martha Jette | 02/03/2008 | New Age
This story comes from 27-year-old Tim McMahon. Tim, who is a writer, artist and part-time student has lived in a haunted house in Geelong, Australia for 19 years.
Book Review: the Return by Margaret Guthrie
By: Martha Jette | 02/03/2008 | Literature
When a loved one passes over, the grief is always difficult to deal with and even more so, if the people you love die a violent and unexpected death. Such was the case for Lydia and her sister Margie, whose parents were brutally murdered in the school gymnasium next to their New Hope home.
Book Review: My Dearest Friend by Hazel Statham
By: Martha Jette | 02/03/2008 | Literature
Robert Blake thought his world of all-consuming guilt and anger over the untimely death of his younger brother, Stefan would never end. To ease his overwhelming grief, the Duke of Lear frequented London's smoke-filled gaming rooms - "home to the cream of society."
Book Review: Lady of the Roses by Sandra Worth
By: Martha Jette | 02/03/2008 | Literature
Lady of the Roses is a heart-wrenching tale of love and war set in England in mid-1400. It recounts the ongoing battle for supremacy between the houses of York and Lancaster, the white rose and red rose respectively. At the same time, two powerful families – the Nevilles, who favored York and sought peace, and the Percies, who followed no one but themselves – struggled for control of the land.
|
|
Spirituality 
