Do We Live In A Computer?

Do we live in a computer?

This may initially seem like a strange question, but let’s have a closer look.

Computers, as we understand them, are devices that display results and computations, harnessing the invisible but ever-present forces in nature. Then, by channelling, squeezing, and resisting those forces, computers tame the electrical potential to do our bidding (or calculating in our case).

When picturing a computer, we think of a glass tablet or a sleek steel laptop, but these are just fancy casings to interface with the actual powerhouse, the chip. As computing has progressed in this age, it’s been systematically scaling down the same technology. The forces of nature have their own patterns they conform to and the microchip is a miniature version of that.

Let us take a brief look at two early computers to understand further the essence of computing:

1. The analytical engine: the first general-purpose, completely mechanical computer

In 1837, Charles Babbage proposed the first general mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. The Analytical Engine contained an ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit), basic flow control, punch cards (inspired by the Jacquard Loom), and integrated memory.

It’s an entirely mechanical machine able to perform calculations involving punch cards.

2. The ENIAC: over 167 square meters in size!

Invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. They began construction in 1943, and it was not completed until 1946. It occupied about 1,800 square feet, used about 18,000 vacuum tubes, and weighed almost 50 tons.

Now, let’s look at one of the new computers that we all know and use:

The Largest Computer in the World

The company, which started as a bookseller, now runs a cloud system with over 2 million servers; essentially amounting to the biggest computer in the world.

SOURCE

Computers now are growing to be the size of small towns, held in rows of secure buildings.

So, before asking “do we live in a computer?” we must first consider what a computer is. What scale are we considering? Theoretically, it may be big enough to live in.

Let us now take a look in the archive to see what the past may be able to reveal.

The same forces we’ve trapped in our microchips have existed since the dawn of ages. Who is to know which of our ancestors had previously observed the nature of electricity and its many expressions?

The above image show a striking similarity to a modern CPU. The first computer in history was huge, what if computers of the past were built into the very fabric of their architecture?

Next, we include two popular images circulating in many online groups. Although we don’t profess to understand chip technology, one can’t help but notice the similarities between these images.

Could these so-called primitive peoples of our distant past actually have a far greater understanding of their realm’s nature and how to harness its power for their bidding? If we look at the architecture, it demonstrates a deep understanding on how to work with nature. As we can see in these images, there may have been a desire to communicate this with future generations. Today, we’re beginning to decipher the information hidden in these structures.

Now, one could call this a coincidental, grand accident in the immense randomness of life. Or, one could notice that the patterns and structures in the realm around us are merely mimicked in our modern computers.

We intend to do more articles on the individual sites shown in these comparisons over time. Until then, we have grouped some of the more noteworthy ones below:

As we move forward, we find the following architecture is well-preserved and far more able to communicate its possible purposes. We will now travel to India for an interesting comparison.

Looking closely at the architectural marvel of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, the precise engineering employed by these ancient builders is breathtaking. They have captured both equinoxes every year for at least the past 1,000 years, and they’ve been able to communicate this information through architecture for generations, past and present.

Could it be that those same architects had also tamed electricity into the architecture? Many of our ancient buildings had lighting loops or earthing strips installed in modern days, what would have happened if they were not there to divert power away from the building? Would the building light up?

An amazing video of one of these buildings in action:

To explore this theory further, we need to consider that electricity exists in the very air around us. We all experience it from time to time, whether it be from receiving tiny electric shocks when opening a car door or walking on a fresh carpet. Lighting, in essence, is an extreme expression of this force. When thinking that nature always shows us the presence of electricity, it seems more probable that we were not the first to discovery its amazing attributes and potential.

We may find that, not only had it once been harvested and mastered by our distant ancestors, but they may have woven it into the very fabric of their surroundings.

Now, as we know, many of these amazing structures have stubbornly survived the test of time. It may be worth researching these buildings today with fresh eyes, maybe then, we would understand their full potential and what the ancient builders had fully intended them for. We look forward to covering this in a future post.

As we arrive back to our current time period, we can now ask the question again:

“Do we live in a computer?”

To answer that, let’s first play a little game:

Can you spot which of these images is a real circuit board? Answer in the comments!

Now, we’re not suggesting that we all live on a giant circuit board, but we will be looking at the subject in greater depth in our coming posts. We can assure you that this theory is stranger than you think.

So for now, we will leave you with this video and bid our fellow electrons adieu.

We would love to know your thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments below.