Are We Living in a Hologram?

If the Tupac hologram at Coachella blew your mind, chew on this: Recent research supports the theory that we may be living inside a hologram. In simplest terms, our reality — the region of the universe we can observe — might just be a 3-D depiction of reality.  (..)

So what does it mean to be in a hologram? Simply put, it means that our known universe — the part we inhabit and can scientifically observe — and a simpler, 2-D region far beyond it depict the same reality. Neither is real; both are representations of reality.

Yes, you could say [we are] an illusion, or an emergent phenomenon.

— THEORETICAL ASTROPHYSICIST JUAN MALDACENA 

Sounds freaky, but that theory is gaining traction after the release of two studies led by Ibaraki University physicist Yoshifumi Hyakutake last November. In one study, he created a computer model of a 10-dimensional universe containing a black hole — a region where gravity prevents anything, even light, from escaping. He then computed the black hole’s internal energy and compared it to that of a one-dimensional, gravityless outer region, described in a separate paper. Sure enough, the calculations matched.

Read more: Are We Living in a Hologram? | Acumen | OZY