Imagine that the universe is a simulation. What kind of computer would it take to run that simulation?

Just to be clear, imagine that every human intelligence on the planet is actually a piece of software running in a cosmic supercomputer, and that nothing else really exists. Everything you see, every sensory impression of any kind, is the result of executing an algorithm and evaluating some formulae. The sky, oceans, plants, even other living animals are all created to the extent that anyone is paying attention to them, and otherwise are simply not there. Ditto for physics, astronomy and the heavenly bodies: created and modelled for those who look at them.

[Yes, we could economise by only simulating a few people and creating all the others as needed, but that’s not the point.]

So how much computer power would it take? Hard to say, but perhaps not as much as you might think.

Mind you, whoever created the simulation and is now watching its progress might themselves be a simulation in some higher computer. Think about that for a while!