Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks there’s a ‘very high’ chance the universe is just a simulation. 

But then again, David Chalmers says that it’s impossible to prove definitively that we don’t live in a simulation and that the universe is real. Tyson agrees, but says he wouldn’t be surprised if we were to find out somehow that someone else is responsible for our universe. This was some of the interesting discussions from the 17th annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate that took place at The American Museum of Natural History on April 5th, 2016. (source: Techinsider) 

astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was hosting the debate, said that he thinks the likelihood of the universe being a simulation “may be very high.”

American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, hosted and moderated a panel of experts in a lively discussion about the merits and shortcomings of this provocative and revolutionary idea. The other 2016 panelists were: 

1. David Chalmers, Professor of philosophy, New York University 
2. Zohreh Davoudi, Theoretical physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
3. James Gates, Theoretical physicist, University of Maryland 
4. Lisa Randall, Theoretical physicist, Harvard University 
5. Max Tegmark, Cosmologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Physicist Lisa Randall, for example, said she thought the odds that the universe isn’t “real” are so low as to be “effectively zero.”

Have a look and listen at the interesting debate below: 

• 2016 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Is the Universe a Simulation? (2:00:58) 

It turns out that it’s impossible to prove that the universe is “real” and not a simulation, according to panelist David Chalmers, a professor of philosophy at New York University.

Photo credit: American Museum of Natural History.