Some scientists claim that humanity, Earth, and everything in the universe are part of a massive “holographic projection.”

According to theoretical physicist Professor Marika Taylor from the University of Birmingham, the universe is actually two-dimensional. Similar to a 3D film watched on a flat screen, the images on that 2D surface give a sense of depth due to how they are reflected, appearing three-dimensional depending on their reflections. So, despite seeing the world around us as a complex, three-dimensional structure, Professor Taylor believes this is only an illusion. This does not mean that our lives or the universe are less “real”; it simply shows that the universe may be much stranger than we think. WHAT IS THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE THEORY?

The idea that the universe is a hologram may bring science fiction movies to mind, but the hologram physicists refer to is one that has a two-dimensional surface but appears as if it were three-dimensional. Professor Taylor, speaking to the Daily Mail, and other like-minded scientists believe that the entire universe has a two-dimensional surface but appears as if it were three-dimensional. According to the theory, rather than being thought of as a solid mass, the solar systems and galaxies in the universe should be considered more like an empty sphere, contained within 3D space, but with the surface of the universe consisting of only two dimensions. According to the “holographic principle,” knowing what happens solely on this two-dimensional surface is sufficient to explain the movements of planets and stars. Professor Taylor supports her views with the statements: “Visualizing this is very difficult. However, imagining what is inside an atom is also challenging. At the beginning of the 20th century, we learned that atoms follow quantum rules. This was quite different from our daily reality. Holography takes us into an even more extreme world: not only the forces are quantum but also the number of dimensions is different from the reality we perceive.” DOES THIS MEAN THE UNIVERSE IS NOT REAL?

One of the biggest misconceptions related to the holographic theory is the idea that the universe is not real or is a simulation. Typically, holograms in our daily lives are usually projected by someone and can be turned on and off at will, but this is not what scientists mean. Professor Taylor explains this as “The Matrix movies are thought-provoking but don’t entirely reflect holography,” whereas the Fermilab laboratory, a part of the US Department of Energy, notes that the concept of the universe being a ‘simulation’ is misleading: “The fact that our universe appears three-dimensional when it is coded on a two-dimensional fundamental level does not mean that there is an entity creating this reflection.” Thus, even if the universe is truly holographic, the existence of a simulation like in the Matrix is not implied. According to scientists, gravity and the third dimension are ’emerging’ properties. Professor Kostas Skenderis, a mathematical physicist from the University of Southampton, compares this thesis to temperature: “Think of it like temperature. Each atom does not have a temperature; it only has position and velocity. However, when enough atoms come together and interact, the property we call temperature emerges. Temperature is not inherent in the nature of fundamental particles. But it is an emergent property that arises collectively. This does not make the temperature less real; on the contrary, it explains.” According to this thesis, gravity and the third dimension also arise through the interactions of parts of the 2D universe in certain ways. WHY DO SCIENTISTS THINK THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM?

The answer to this question is based on the “information paradox” proposed by Stephen Hawking. This paradox claims that black holes violate one of the fundamental laws of physics. According to a law of physics, matter cannot be created or destroyed out of nothing. Similarly, in quantum physics, information cannot be created or completely destroyed out of nothing. According to the information paradox, a note torn into pieces can be read again when the pieces are put together, but a note thrown into a black hole cannot be accessed again. In the late 1970s, scientists realized that looking at black holes two-dimensionally was a way to overcome this problem. According to this view, when a note is thrown into a black hole, information is not destroyed but “spreads” onto the two-dimensional boundary of the black hole. This perspective was also embraced by Stephen Hawking in the last years of his life. Scientists advocating for viewing the world two-dimensionally claim that this perspective would be particularly useful in understanding physics during moments when gravity is very strong, like the first moments of the Big Bang or inside black holes. Professor Skenderis explains this perspective with the statement: “Black hole physics shows us that we only need 2D information to explain a 3D universe.” IS THERE EVIDENCE FOR THIS THEORY?

Although Professor Taylor mentions that there is not yet “definitive evidence” for this theory, scientists continue to work on the theory. It is suggested that the best place to look for this evidence is the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, which carries traces of the earliest moments of the universe. Professor Craig Hogan, an astrophysicist from the University of Chicago and the director of the Fermilab Particle Astrophysics Center, believes that this radiation should contain “holographic noise.” Saying that the CMB and all large structures must have emerged from quantum-gravitational noise, Hogan uses the words: “If the universe is holographic, we should see traces of this in the CMB pattern. It reflects a part of the universe’s creation process.” Hogan also notes that the CMB shows “surprising symmetries” in the sky and these are expected signs in a holographic universe. Skenderis states that they tested the predictions of holographic models with the observed properties of the CMB and found a perfect match. This represents the only direct observational test for holography to date.