2.3 A Digital Universe: Reality as Information

Let’s imagine being in a very special theater. There is no curtain. There are no wings. There is only a warm light that instantly reveals everything happening on stage.

A stage that changes appearance suddenly, at intervals that don’t seem the same. There, an actor is speaking — but you only see him when certain conditions in the scene come together: the angle of his body, the intensity of the light, the position of a chair…

And his words… you only hear them under certain circumstances: the light is dim, the actor is walking, someone in the third row has bowed their head.

That’s the key: reality, as this theater, is an ongoing process, not a stored object. And you, the one who experiences it, are not a passive spectator: you are part of the interpretive system. Everything you see and hear isn’t «there» as a thing, but rather a consequence of relationships and rules that are updated instantly. The main characteristic of this theater is that reality is not stored and waiting to be accessed — saying that everything is “pre-rendered and simply accessed upon observation” would suggest that reality exists fully formed, merely awaiting display. But in MBT’s digital paradigm, nothing is “pre-loaded”; instead, the act of observation triggers the rendering process: Reality is generated in real time as a process in execution. Nothing is «stored» behind the scenes: the stage doesn’t hide a physical world — it generates it dynamically when observed. And so, the observer is not a passive viewer — but part of the interpretative mechanism that brings the experience into being. In other words, they are observing a digital universe.

Now, if this still feels a bit abstract, let’s tell a story. Imagine you’re walking through a forest and you find a fern leaf. At first, you see the whole leaf — long, elegant, green. But then you look closer: each branch of the leaf looks just like the whole, only smaller. You take one of those smaller branches and — surprise — it too is made of even tinier versions of the same shape. No matter how far you go, the pattern keeps repeating itself…

💡The situation in which that friend who tells another bad joke right after you begged them not to was close… but that’s persistence, not a fractal. Fractals are everywhere: in plants, weather patterns, and landscapes. They show us how simple rules can create repeating beauty at many scales. (Your friend’s endless bad jokes may feel fractal-like, but sadly they don’t count as math.) A fractal is a pattern that repeats itself at different scales. Nature loves them: in the branching of trees, in the spirals of a Romanesco broccoli (yes, the vegetable that looks like it came from Minecraft), and even in the coastline shapes you see on a map.

Reality works in a similar way. Each frame of experience doesn’t come out of nowhere. It unfolds by reusing simple rules again and again — just like the fern’s pattern — but applied at larger or smaller scales, generating the next layer of complexity without needing to reinvent everything from scratch.

Saying the universe is digital means that reality emerges from data, relationships, and dynamic updates — all managed through information processing, which in turn shapes the structure of what we experience as the world. Just like our imaginary theater, where the scene unfolds only when certain relationships align, the universe does not store itself as a fixed recording, but generates itself in real time through rules, data, and interaction. Let’s unpack this through four essential components:

🧩1. Bits: The building blocks of difference

In a digital system, everything is reducible to choices: yes or no, on or off, 1 or 0; bits are not numbers, nor are they mere passive markers, but about difference. — they are the functional atoms of decision. Each bit represents a binary choice: a selection between two alternatives. This simple act of choosing — between yes or no, 1 or 0 — is what gives the digital system its flexibility, adaptability, and ability to evolve. It is not the presence of information that makes a system digital, but the structured resolution of alternatives at every step. Thus, bits enable the system to respond, differentiate, compute, and ultimately generate complex patterns of meaning through the ongoing cascade of these tiny, binary choices.
If reality is fundamentally digital, then what’s “out there” isn’t a smooth continuum, but a grid of possibilities resolved through choices. When something happens, it happens because it’s been selected among alternatives, not because it was predetermined.

2. Data: Not stuff, but structured meaning

Data serves as the raw input in a digital system. It is processed through algorithms and computations to produce meaningful output. Unlike instructions (which guide the system’s operations), data is the material that the system transforms into information or results. In this paradigm, data is not matter. It is structured difference — meaning that emerges when choices cohere according to a context. The redness of a rose, the weight of a stone, the sound of a violin — all of these can be seen not as things-in-themselves, but as interpretations of information received. What you see, hear, touch, and feel: it’s all meaningful data processed into experience.

In a digital system, data is stored in binary format, which uses sequences of ones and zeros. Data is not a mysterious substance, but a structured collection of bits. Each piece of data is made up of binary options, and each bit reflects a distinction: one thing versus another, presence versus absence, yes versus no. This binary representation allows the system not only to encode, store, process, and retrieve information efficiently, but also to interpret, modify, and generate new configurations, as it aligns with the fundamental structure of digital electronics. Data is meaningful only because it is made of decisions — and decisions, in a digital universe, are made of bits.

Bits are the fundamental units of information in a digital system. They form binary sequences (combinations of 1s and 0s) that encode all types of data, including text, images, sounds, and more. This binary representation allows the system to process and store diverse types of information efficiently.

In a digital system, data refers to the raw, unprocessed input, such as numbers, text, or signals. Information, on the other hand, is the meaningful output obtained after processing the data. This distinction highlights the transformation that occurs within the system to generate value from raw inputs.

Data is the raw material that feeds computational processes. In a dynamic system, computations act on data to transform it into new states, outputs, or representations. This interaction between data and computation is what enables digital systems to adapt, evolve, and generate meaningful results in real time. In a digital system, data by itself has no effect — it is static until computation acts upon it. Computation is the process by which the system applies rules to transform data into updated states. This interaction — data being interpreted and modified through logical operations — is what allows the system to function dynamically. Updating is not simply storing and retrieving: it’s a continual recalculation that generates new outputs from prior inputs, based on changing conditions and programmed logic.

In a digital system, an update refers to the process of recalculating or transforming data to reflect new inputs, conditions, or states. This ensures that the system remains dynamic and responsive, adapting its outputs based on the latest information or programmed logic. Admitting that the universe works a digital system implies that its evolution is not fixed in advance, but dynamically computed in real time. Unlike a static world that simply is, a universe as a digital system is always updating — frame by frame — according to rules, context, and previous states. This doesn’t mean there is a cosmic computer operating in the background, but rather that reality unfolds through iterative logic: each new moment is computed based on context, intent, and the system’s internal rules. Observation plays an active role in this process — it triggers the rendering of specific outcomes, just like in a virtual environment, where elements only appear when required by the point of view. Updating, then, is not remembering the past — it is computing the present based on potential (context), participation (intent), and coherence.

In MBT, saying that “everything is subject to logic or consistent transformation” does not eliminate randomness; it places it inside the rules. Randomness is implemented as lawful probability: selections among possible outcomes that remain consistent with the system’s constraints, prior state, and evolutionary purpose.

• Randomness ≠ chaos; it is probabilistic choice governed by distributions and constraints.
• Observation and intent help determine which possibility is rendered from the allowable set.
• This yields a universe that is non-deterministic yet coherent, learnable, and evolution-friendly.

Randomness in MBT is the language of probability through which the system explores new coherent possibilities while staying within its rules.

Summary: Understanding the universe as a digital system means two things: that it evolves dynamically, computing each moment from past states and contextual information; and that every transformation follows consistent logic and internal coherence — no event happens outside the rules that govern the system.

The digital nature of the functioning of the universe implies that reality is not a frozen stage, but an improvisational process — responsive, adaptive, alive. Each moment is computed from prior states, context, and intent, just like a scene in improv theater that depends on what came before and how each actor chooses to respond. You don’t just watch the show — you help write the next line. Observation, participation, and decision-making are the core mechanisms that keep the universe updating, not from determinism, but from emergent coherence.

To say that physical reality is a rule-based virtual environment means that it operates under a consistent set of rules and patterns, much like a virtual simulation. These rules ensure coherence, predictability, and the emergence of complex systems. Just as a video game relies on a programmed framework to generate its world, physical reality uses fundamental laws (such as physics and mathematics) to create a structured and intelligible environment. This does not imply determinism but rather a dynamic system where rules guide possibilities.

Before anything is rendered in your experience, it exists in a cloud of probabilistic possibilities. The stone you’re about to kick? It didn’t exist as a definite object until your interaction required it to. Just like in quantum physics, reality in MBT is probability-based: the system resolves what’s most consistent with its evolutionary rules and previous choices. The digital nature of the universe’s functioning means that it works in a similar way to one of the advanced virtual reality environments designed by the most expert programmers.

In a digital universe, probability governs the range of potential outcomes that can emerge from any given state. Multiple possibilities coexist until contextual factors and interactions —including intent and observation— determine which one becomes actualized. Far from being chaotic or purely deterministic, this dynamic gives the system flexibility, responsiveness, and emergent order; far from chaos or rigid determinism, outcomes are shaped by coherence and informational consistency, making probability a key mechanism for meaningful evolution. Before anything is rendered in your experience, it exists in a cloud of probabilistic possibilities. The stone you’re about to kick? It didn’t exist as a definite object until your interaction required it to. Just like in quantum physics, reality in MBT is probability-based: the system resolves what’s most consistent with its evolutionary rules and previous choices. The digital nature of the universe’s functioning means that it works in a similar way to one of the advanced virtual reality environments designed by the most expert programmers.

Experiences in virtual environments —like those described in MBT— are not preloaded or rigidly scripted, but dynamically rendered in real time. The system doesn’t “show everything at once”; instead, it updates based on context, user interaction, and intent — just like a video game that renders new scenery only when the player moves forward. This ensures efficiency, coherence, and personal relevance. In other words: reality appears as needed, shaped by what’s meaningful to the observer in the moment. What you experience is not what exists «out there» — it’s what’s been computed for your interaction right now. In essence: the world appears when and because you’re engaging with it — not before, not outside of that relationship. If reality unfolds like a virtual environment, then it becomes natural to explore its similarities with the digital logic behind video games: programmable laws, dynamic feedback, interaction loops, and optimized rendering. This takes us to our next question — one that delves into that very analogy and what it reveals about the true nature of our experiential universe.

Much like in advanced virtual reality environments, time acts as a central structure: it’s not something we move through, but the framework that allows information to flow and evolve coherently in our universe. It’s this functional architecture —not a material substance— that gives shape to the experience of change and makes interaction possible.

Dynamic rendering ensures that environments are created based on interaction and intent, rather than preloading everything in advance. Programmable rules (scientific rules in MBT reality) govern the behavior of objects and interactions, ensuring coherence and consistency. Real-time adaptation allows the system to respond dynamically to the observer’s choices, creating a tailored and immersive experience. These features don’t just resemble reality —they do so because they are built using the same informational architecture. It’s not that reality functions like a video game; it’s that video games, as digital microcosms designed by conscious agents, naturally replicate the core logic of our own digital universe: interaction-driven updates, rule-based coherence, and experiential rendering. They work as they do because they reflect the rules we already live by. Much like in advanced virtual reality environments, time acts as a central structure: it’s not something we move through, but the framework that allows information to flow and evolve coherently in our universe. It’s this functional architecture —not a material substance— that gives shape to the experience of change and makes interaction possible.

In any virtual reality game, time is the fundamental framework within which the flow of information takes place. It’s not merely a background feature —it’s the structure that allows events to occur in a meaningful and coherent sequence. In MBT, this means that time is not a physical constant, nor a byproduct of material processes; rather, it’s a logical and functional architecture that organizes updates, guides interaction, and enables evolution. Without time, there would be no before or after, no direction to change, and thus no learning or development. Time structures the experience, ensures causality, and allows the system to evolve progressively. Time enables the way information is processed in a coherent order —an essential requirement for any digital or experiential framework. Likewise, time allows for interaction and learning by providing the necessary scaffolding for sequences to emerge and for observers to engage meaningfully with the system. Time, in this sense, is not imposed from the outside but inherent to the logic of the system itself. In MBT, time, far from being a static physical constant, plays a crucial role in virtual dynamics, making possible a digital environment that is coherent, playable, and evolvable. And

In MBT, AUM stands for Absolute Unbounded Manifold. It represents the fundamental consciousness system —the source of all experience, interaction, and potential. AUM is a dynamic, evolving process that optimizes itself by lowering entropy and partitioning into subsystems (IUOCs) to explore and evolve within a coherent digital framework.

In MBT, AUM stands for Absolute Unbounded Manifold. It is the fundamental consciousness system —the source of all experience, interaction, and potential. AUM is described as an information system composed of identity, data, and process, which enables it to function as a unified, self-evolving system. Its purpose is to survive and continue evolving, and it has the capacity to subdivide itself into individuated units of consciousness (IUOCs).

We’ve learnt AUM’s ability to subdivide itself without creating separate identities (We name IUOC (Individual Units Of Consciousness) to each of the partitions of AUM).

AUM, as an information system, requires order to survive. To evolve toward a better state, it must increase that order —or in other words, decrease entropy. Without order, the system would descend into chaos, making survival impossible. Therefore, AUM greatly benefits from a process that reduces disorder: the evolutionary process, which ensures the system maintains coherence and continues evolving toward greater efficiency and functionality, to effectively manage and preserve the information it contains. We’ve learnt AUM’s ability to subdivide itself without creating separate identities (We name IUOC (Individual Units Of Consciousness) to each of the partitions of AUM).

IUOCs can participate in a virtual universe where they can form relationships, while «playing» as individual identities —such as persons, animals, or avatars based on silicon chemistry.

AUM benefits from its ability to subdivide into IUOC because this structure allows for interaction and information exchange between units, fostering learning, cooperation, and evolution. Unlike a simple chat room, where participants exchange messages without deeper integration, IUOC relationships are part of a unified system, enabling greater coherence and efficiency. This dynamic reduces entropy by encouraging growth and optimization through shared experiences and feedback loops. IUOCs can participate in a virtual universe where they can form relationships, while «playing» as individual identities —such as persons, animals, or avatars based on silicon chemistry.