The Universe: Reality or Simulation

Dive into mind-bending theories and decide if we’re living in the real world or just a simulation. Overview Scotland’s Astronomer Royal, Prof. Catherine Heymans, is having an existential crisis! Ever since her son asked, ‘could we be living inside a computer game?’ she’s been questioning everything she sees. Throwing all the science that she knows at the problem, Catherine explores whether humanity could ever create a virtual universe as rich and diverse as our own. Unpack the rules that appear to govern our existence as we journey from the quirky quantum world, up into the wild dark Universe. Will technology ever be able to replicate the complexity of life? Could consciousness be coded? Catherine invites you to reconsider what it means to be real. Catherine will be signing her latest book before the talk. Biography of the speaker: Catherine Heymans is Astronomer Royal for Scotland, the first woman to hold the title in its 200-year history. A Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh, she is internationally recognised for her pioneering research mapping invisible dark matter and mysterious dark energy across the Universe. Catherine’s accolades include the Royal Astronomical Society’s William Herschel Medal, the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award, and fellowships of both the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Leopoldina. All net royalties from her book, How to Design a Universe, go to the Royal Observatory Trust, supporting astronomy youth projects across Scotland. Visitor Information and Services Car parking is charged at £2 on weekday evenings and can be paid for via the JustPark app on arrival: click here to download. The closest car park is Leighton car park (Location ID 82722). The event will be held in the Darwin Lecture Theatre. For our campus map and how to find us, click Preston Campus map For accessibility information, click AccessAble - Your Accessibility Guide For any further questions, please contact Victor Debattista at [email protected] Refreshments will be served from 6:00pm. If you are unable to attend the event, please cancel your ticket 24 hours prior to the event. Data Protection We use data collected at registration for our evaluation. This will enable us to enhance the impact and running of our event. See here for how we handle data: https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/legal/privacy-notices. Unless you have indicated you wish to be added to our events mailing list, we will only use your email address to contact you about this event and for feedback. You may be sent the post-event email even if you don't attend the event.