Dr. Melvin Vopson suggests a controversial theory that we may be living 52 million lives in a simulation, as one real-world lifetime could feel like 4.2 billion years in simulated time.
Dr. Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of Portsmouth, suggests that we might be living in a computer simulation, much like in The Matrix. He believes that certain signs in our daily lives hint that reality might not be what it seems. He explores the question: if we are in a simulated world, what is its purpose?
Dr Vopson makes scientific observations and measurements to support his theory. His theory is considered controversial which suggests that time can slow down in a simulation. Just like dreams feel long but last only a short time in real life, a whole lifetime in a simulated world could happen in just one real-world minute. This means a person could live many lifetimes by repeating these short simulations, potentially experiencing 52 million lifetimes in one human lifespan.
Dr. Melvin Vopson has previously published research suggesting that information has mass and that all elementary particles – the smallest known building blocks of the universe – store information about themselves, similar to the way humans have DNA.
In 2022, he discovered a new law of physics that could predict genetic mutations in organisms, including viruses, and help judge their potential consequences. It is based on the second law of thermodynamics, which establishes that entropy – a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can only increase or stay the same.
Dr. Vopson had expected that the entropy in information systems would also increase over time, but on examining the evolution of these systems he realized it remains constant or decreases. That’s when he established the second law of information dynamics, or infodynamics, which could significantly impact genetics research and evolution theory.
Dr. Vopson presents three possible explanations. One idea is that we willingly entered this simulation before birth, choosing to live in an exciting, artificial world rather than a dull real one. In this view, life is like a highly advanced virtual reality game meant for entertainment.
Another possibility is that we are part of an experiment designed to solve real-world problems. This theory suggests that humans in the future create simulations like ours to test solutions for global crises such as climate change or war. If one of these simulations finds a solution, it could be applied in the real world.
The third idea is that time in the simulation moves much slower than in reality. A few minutes in the real world could last for centuries here, allowing us to live multiple lifetimes. Thus, by choosing to exist in the simulation, we might experience a form of immortality.
According to this idea, in the same way, that our dreams can feel days long but last only minutes in real life, an entire lifetime in a simulated universe could take just one minute in the real world. That means a person could become virtually immortal by stacking up these one-minute simulated lives across their entire human lifetime, leaving 52 million chained lifetimes behind. (Source)
Although Dr. Vopson admits these are just theories and not proven by science, some of his research suggests that the universe could be a giant computer. He is not alone in this belief—figures like Elon Musk have also speculated that reality might be a simulation.
In 2022, Dr. Vopson discovered a new law of physics that could predict genetic mutations in organisms, including viruses, and help judge their potential consequences.
It is based on the second law of thermodynamics, which establishes that entropy – a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can only increase or stay the same.
Dr. Vopson had expected that the entropy in information systems would also increase over time, but on examining the evolution of these systems he realized it remains constant or decreases. That’s when he established the second law of information dynamics, or infodynamics, which could significantly impact genetics research and evolution theory.
Dr Vopson said: “I knew then that this revelation had far-reaching implications across various scientific disciplines.
“What I wanted to do next is put the law to the test and see if it could further support the simulation hypothesis by moving it on from the philosophical realm to mainstream science.”
Information theory is the study of how information is measured, stored, and shared. It was first developed by a mathematician named Claude Shannon and is now used in many areas of science, including physics.
In 2022, Dr. Vopson and another physicist, Serban Lepadatu, introduced a new idea called the “second law of infodynamics.”
This idea is similar to a well-known rule in physics called the “second law of thermodynamics,” which says that disorder (called entropy) in the universe always increases or stays the same over time. In simple terms, things naturally become more chaotic.
However, Dr. Vopson found that in information systems—such as digital data or genetic code—the opposite happens. Instead of becoming more disordered, these systems become more organized over time.
He tested this idea on different systems and found that it supports the theory that our universe might be a simulation. This is because, unlike in nature where things become more chaotic, information systems tend to become more efficient and structured. The patterns we see in nature might be a way of organizing information, which fits with the idea of a simulated world.
Information theory is the study of how information is measured, stored, and shared. It was first developed by a mathematician named Claude Shannon and is now used in many areas of science, including physics.
In 2022, Dr. Vopson and another physicist, Serban Lepadatu, introduced… pic.twitter.com/vEQifDtdHH
— Vicky Verma (@Unexplained2020) February 8, 2025
Key findings include:
Biological Systems: The second law of infodynamics challenges the conventional understanding of genetic mutations, suggesting that they follow a pattern governed by information entropy. This discovery has profound implications for fields such as genetic research, evolutionary biology, genetic therapies, pharmacology, virology, and pandemic monitoring.
Atomic Physics: The paper explains the behavior of electrons in multi-electron atoms, providing insights into phenomena like Hund’s rule; which states that the term with maximum multiplicity lies lowest in energy. Electrons arrange themselves in a way that minimizes their information entropy, shedding light on atomic physics and the stability of chemicals.
Cosmology: The second law of infodynamics is shown to be a cosmological necessity, with thermodynamic considerations applied to an adiabatically expanding universe supporting its validity.
“The paper also provides an explanation for the prevalence of symmetry in the universe”, explained Dr. Vopson.
Dr. Vopson argues that this law plays a role in atomic physics (electron arrangement), cosmology, and biological systems. This last one is where Dr. Vopson makes a big claim: contrary to Charles Darwin’s idea that mutations occur randomly, mutations actually occur so that information entropy is minimized.
He analyzed the constantly mutating SARS-CoV-2 (a.k.a. COVID-19) virus, and his paper on that investigation—shows a “unique correlation between the information and the dynamics of the genetic mutations.”
“A super complex universe like ours, if it were a simulation, would require a built-in data optimization and compression in order to reduce the computational power and the data storage requirements to run the simulation,” Dr. Vopson wrote. (Source)
Dr. Vopson tested his new idea, called the “second law of infodynamics,” by studying digital information.
He wrote the word “INFORMATION” in binary (a computer code using 1s and 0s) onto a tiny magnetic surface. Over time, as the system went through many cycles at room temperature, the information started to fade. After 1,990 cycles, it disappeared completely. This matched his theory, which says that information naturally gets lost over time, becoming simpler.
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Dr. Vopson was surprised and excited that his idea applied to many different systems. He believes the law could be universal. However, he made it clear that, while his study supports the idea that the universe might be a simulation, it doesn’t prove it for sure. He hopes his work will encourage more research and that other scientists will find new ways to test this idea.
He also suggested another experiment to check his theory. If scientists smash matter and antimatter (opposites of each other) together, they might see low-energy light particles appear. This would show that information is being erased, proving his law of infodynamics in action.
Information physics suggests that everything we see as physical might actually be made of bits of information.
This means our universe could be a simulation. The idea isn’t new—John Archibald Wheeler suggested in 1989 that the universe might emerge from information.
In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom argued that it’s likely we are living in such a simulation, as advanced civilizations might create simulations that are impossible to tell apart from reality.
Physicist Seth Lloyd from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US took the simulation hypothesis to the next level by suggesting that the entire universe could be a giant quantum computer. (Source)
Dr. Vopson noted that the simulation hypothesis has attracted the interest of many public figures, such as Elon Musk and Neil deGrasse Tyson, along with other people from all walks of life, showing that it has a broad appeal.
