Scientific theories about the world, space, solar systems and so on are infinitely interesting to us, regardless of whether we don't really understand them.
A basic GCSE understanding of science usually indicates that we shouldn't be indulging ourselves in studies about meteorites, asteroids or life on Mars. Because of our lack of knowledge we come to the same conclusion: Aliens, the world's ending, aliens, Armageddon, aliens, we're going to die, aliens.
It's not until we see some hot-shot professor saying that they have 'evidence' of something happening that shit hits the fan. So, with that in mind... Physicists have 'substantial evidence' that our universe is an illusion.
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The group of theoretical physicists, from the University of Southampton, have been working with colleagues in Canada and Italy, studying irregularities in the 'afterglow' of the Big Bang, according to the Daily Mail.
Credit: NASA
They claim that the universe is nothing more than a hologram, an idea first proposed in the 90s. The theory hasn't really been put to the test since then, but current findings suggest it could be true.
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"Imagine that everything you see, feel and hear in three dimensions (and your perception of time) in fact emanates from a flat two-dimensional field," Professor Kostas Skenderis, of mathematical sciences at the University of Southampton, told the MailOnline. "The idea is similar to that of ordinary holograms where a three-dimensional image is encoded in a two-dimensional surface, such as in the hologram on a credit card.
"However, this time, the entire universe is encoded."
Without outright saying he's going to 'dumb it down' for folks like me and you who are still baffled by gravity, he dumbed it down. If you imagine you're in a cinema, looking like a bit of a goof in those 3D glasses watching something like Avatar, it's like that, only when you reach out you can feel the things in front of you. And, of course, you don't look like a fool.
To come to this conclusion the team looked at irregularities in the white noise left over from the 'Big Bang'.
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The findings were published in Physical Review Letters with researchers from the University of Southampton, University of Waterloo, Perimeter Institute, INFN, Lecce and the University of Salento contributing.
In short, the principle suggests that gravity in the universe comes from thin, vibrating strings, which occur in a flatter surfaces which contains all the information needed to create a three-dimensional hologram - in this case, the universe.
Featured Image Credit: NASATopics: Science