EVENT POSTPONED The Universe: Reality or Simulation?

General event

EVENT POSTPONED The Universe: Reality or Simulation?

  • Event time: 6:00pm until 7:00pm
  • Event date: 4th May 2022
  • Speaker: (School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
  • Speaker: (School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
  • Location: Swann Lecture Theatre, Swann Building, King's Buildings

Event details

***This event will no longer take place on 4 May 2022 - a new date will be announced in the near future.***

Join Professors Catherine Heymans and Richard Kenway as they discuss our understanding of the universe at this KB101 College Centenary Public Lecture.

The Universe: Reality or Simulation?

As we learn about the Universe, we discover more of it that can be simulated by a computer. If we program the known laws of physics into a computer and the result is indistinguishable from our observations, then we understand how that part of the Universe works. When a simulation differs from observation it gives a clue to new physics and a deeper understanding of reality.

In this way, physicists and astronomers at Edinburgh have been exploring the Universe from the largest scales to the quantum world inside a nucleus. Today, computer models of neural networks are solving tasks we once associated with human intelligence. So is our Universe, including ourselves, anything more than a simulation?

College Centenary Lecture Series

This talk is part of the College Centenary Lecture Series - celebrating a century of science and engineering at the University of Edinburgh King's Buildings campus. 

Information about further College centenary events: KB101

About General events

Our General events include one-off events and lectures that are hosted by, or are of relevance to, the School of Physics and Astronomy..

Find out more about General events.