[The ultimate form of (tele)presence is captured by the Simulation Argument that we’re all living in a computer simulation. As this well-written essay from Vocal‘s Futurism notes, the related Theory of Holographic Reality doesn’t require that the illusion that everything in our universe has depth when it’s actually flat was created artificially, but it raises that prospect and is a thought-provoking reminder that our fundamental perceptions of reality may not be accurate. –Matthew]

What If the Universe Is a Hologram? Exploring the Theory of Holographic Reality

By Holianyk Ihor
June 9, 2025

The universe feels vast, solid, and deeply real. We touch mountains, observe galaxies, and live our lives under the comforting rules of gravity, matter, and space. But what if this experience — everything we see, feel, and know — is just a grand illusion? Not in a mystical or philosophical sense, but in a profoundly scientific one. Welcome to one of the most mind-bending ideas in modern theoretical physics: the holographic theory of the universe.

What Is a Hologram?

Before we zoom out to cosmic scales, let’s start small. A hologram is a flat image that appears three-dimensional when viewed from different angles. The illusion of depth and form is created through the interference of light waves, encoding three-dimensional information on a two-dimensional surface. You might’ve seen this effect on a credit card or a novelty sticker.

Now imagine that the entire universe — stars, planets, humans, thoughts, and all — is a similar illusion. What if everything we perceive as 3D actually originates from encoded information on a distant 2D surface?

That’s not science fiction. That’s the holographic principle.

Origins in Black Hole Physics

This strange idea was born from a very serious scientific dilemma: the black hole information paradox. According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, anything that falls into a black hole is lost forever. But quantum mechanics tells a different story — that information cannot be destroyed, ever.

In the 1990s, physicists Gerard ’t Hooft and Leonard Susskind proposed a radical solution. They suggested that all the information about the matter swallowed by a black hole might not disappear at all — instead, it could be stored on the black hole’s surface, the so-called event horizon.

Just like a hologram contains 3D information on a 2D surface, black holes might hold the secrets of their insides right on their outer shell. This was the spark for the holographic universe idea.

So… Could the Entire Universe Work Like This?

If black holes follow this logic, what about everything else?

That’s the leap theoretical physicists made. The holographic principle proposes that our entire universe might be described by data encoded on a distant boundary. It sounds wild, but it has mathematical support — especially from string theory.

In 1997, physicist Juan Maldacena formulated what’s now known as AdS/CFT duality. It states that a universe with gravity inside (an anti-de Sitter space) is mathematically equivalent to a universe without gravity on its boundary (a conformal field theory). In simple terms: a three-dimensional world with gravity = a two-dimensional world without it.

It’s like saying the 3D movie you’re watching actually lives on the 2D screen — just a lot more complicated and elegant.

But Is Our Universe a Hologram?

Here’s where things get tricky. Our universe isn’t an anti-de Sitter space — it’s expanding, with a positive cosmological constant (de Sitter space). The AdS/CFT duality doesn’t apply directly. Still, physicists, including Maldacena himself, are working on ways to extend the holographic idea to universes like ours.

Meanwhile, scientists are hunting for indirect evidence. Experiments such as the GEO600 gravitational wave detector have detected strange noise patterns — some interpret these as signs of space being “grainy,” like a projected hologram. Others look to the cosmic microwave background, searching for imprints of a deeper, encoded reality.

What Would This Mean for Us?

If the holographic theory is correct, it would flip our understanding of reality. The idea of “depth” or “inside” might not be fundamental. Space itself could be an illusion, an emergent property derived from information stored elsewhere. Matter would no longer be the base of everything — information would.

It would also reshape fields like quantum computing, cosmology, and even consciousness studies. Imagine our universe as a cosmic simulation — not necessarily artificial, but a kind of program running on a boundary beyond our reach, projecting everything we know.

Hypothesis, Not Fact

It’s crucial to be clear: the holographic principle is still a hypothesis, not a proven law. It hasn’t overthrown relativity or quantum mechanics — in fact, it tries to unite them. Its beauty lies in its consistency with some of our best theories and its ability to offer new perspectives on long-standing puzzles.

A Final Look Beyond the Surface

If the universe is a hologram, it doesn’t make it any less wondrous — perhaps even more so. In ancient times, people saw gods in the stars. Today, we see something perhaps just as mysterious: a reality born not of atoms, but of information.

The real question isn’t whether the universe is fake — it’s how deeply we’re willing to look beyond its shimmering surface.

Are we shadows cast on a cosmic screen? Or are we explorers peering through the veil of existence, one discovery at a time?