Okay, this is for real, whatever that really means.
There's an instrument under construction now at Fermilab which will, among other things, look for evidence that the universe (Yes, the one we live in.) is a holographic projection of data encoded on its 2-dimensional “surface”. Theoretically, it's a sound idea that could help explain some very basic problems in physics.
If it's true, there should be some measurable “jitter” to reality; the holographic equivalent of the pixelation you see if you enlarge a digital photo too much. That's what the “holometer” under construction now will look for; jitter. If the universe is a hologram, it'll be there. The holometer should be operational in 2012. This story itself isn't breaking news, but we might have some actual data a year from now.
See The Femilab Holometer for more.
If there universe is holographic, it means there's a fixed amount of information in it, and a maximum bandwidth. Exactly how our holographic universe might get projected is a pretty interesting question, to say the least. And if there are parallel universes and extra dimensions, this gets even better. “The Holographic Principle and M-Theory”
I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few months about “real” vs. “virtual” relationships and experiences, and what “real” means. For example, is there a qualitative difference between a “real” friend and and friend in virtual space, or is there only a difference in quantity of information? And one can ask the same question about every virtual experience, cyber-sex being the one that probably gets discussed most often. But how about virtual artists, who create art entirely within a virtual space? If a Second Life artist creates a stainless steel sculpture, what medium is he working in?
See what I mean? The idea of “real” gets blurry (or jittery?) pretty quickly.
And now, we may find out that all this nice “real” reality is just a hologram. If I were paranoid, I'd think the universe was poking me with a stick, just for fun. I don't believe that, but this question of what's “real” gets more interesting all the time.
