New Delhi, Nov. 1 -- The idea that reality-the universe, our world, and everything we perceive-is a simulation has fascinated philosophers and scientists for millennia, but new findings suggest that the theory, despite its immense popularity, is not just flawed but mathematically impossible.

The new study, by researchers at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus, not just debunked the theory that we live inside an advanced civilization's supercomputer, but also proved something far more profound: that the universe is built on a type of understanding that cannot possibly be modelled by any algorithm, however advanced it may be.

While the findings may seem mind-bending, we'll try our best to explain what the researchers foun...