Is the World Material or Informational?

A recent dialogue with my old buddy Nick, a computation theorist, sparked a fascinating and profound line of thought. "Increasingly," he said, "I feel that computation theory is more fundamental than theoretical physics and even mathematics. It's 'It from Bit'." This statement challenges the classical hierarchy of sciences and proposes a new foundation for reality itself.

This post is a dive into that conversation, exploring the radical idea that computation might be the ultimate "turtle" supporting our entire universe.

A Dive into Computational Metaphysics

Introduction
What if our universe runs on an invisible operating system? This radical idea—that computation is the bedrock of existence—challenges everything we thought we knew about reality. Let’s unpack this paradigm shift using a simple metaphor: The Cosmic OS.

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1. The "Turtle Stack" of Science

We typically see the world as a hierarchy of dependencies:

• • Psychology rests on biology (brain structures).

  • Biology depends on chemistry (molecular reactions).

  • Chemistry builds on physics (atoms and energy).

  • Physics is described by mathematics.

This creates a "turtle stack": each layer rides on the one below it.
The burning question: What’s the foundational "turtle" at the bottom?
Traditionally, we pointed to math or logic.

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2. The New Foundation: Computation

Nick’s claim: The ultimate turtle isn’t math—it’s computation.

• • What is "computation"?
    Not calculators or spreadsheets. It’s the universal rules of information processing.  Think of a computer's CPU: it doesn't care if you're playing a game or writing a document; it only executes the most basic instructions—the manipulation of 0s and 1s.

  • "To be is to compute":
    Stars evolving, cells dividing, our thoughts forming—all are computations：To Be Is to Be a Turing Machine.  Everything is an "information processor." The Turing machine is the universal model for computation.

  • "It from Bit":
    This idea, famously proposed by physicist John Wheeler, aligns perfectly. Reality isn’t made of matter or energy but information. The physical world? A hyper-real simulation running on bits and computational rules.

The new stack:
Computation → Math → Physics → Chemistry → Biology → Psychology

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3. How Chaos Becomes a Computer

The toughest challenge: "If civilization collapses, leaving a blank slate of snow-covered land—where’s the Turing machine?"

Nick’s counterintuitive reply:

• • Chaos is data:
    Randomness isn’t emptiness—it’s unstructured information. Imagine a hard drive filled with scrambled 0s and 1s.

  • Energy fuels self-organization:
    Cosmic radiation, sunlight, or geothermal heat acts like a "power button," forcing chaotic systems to organize.

  • Computation is the optimal outcome:
    Of all possible structures, a system that processes information (a computer) is the most efficient way to compress complexity. Why? It’s the universe’s way of finding the shortest "code" to describe itself—a process formalized as Solomonoff induction.

In short: Computation isn’t an accident—it’s inevitable. It’s nature’s optimal path from noise to meaning.

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The Great Divide: Matter vs. Information

This isn’t just philosophy—it’s a lens reshaping physics, AI, and our search for cosmic meaning.

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Why This Matters

• • Beyond human-centric meaning: Even if humanity vanishes, the universe keeps "computing" itself into existence.

  • Redefining existence: Quantum fluctuations, black holes, consciousness—all become computational phenomena.

  • The AI frontier: If minds emerge from complex computation, artificial consciousness isn’t sci-fi.

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Open Questions

1. 1. Are we in a simulation? If the universe computes, could we be someone else’s program?

   2. Continuous vs. discrete: Can quantum fields (continuous) fit a Turing machine’s (discrete) logic?

   3. Free will: If thoughts are computations, is choice just an illusion of complexity?

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Final Thought
We’re not just observers of the universe—we’re subroutines in its cosmic code. Whether you side with matter or information, one truth remains: Reality is far stranger than we imagined.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.