--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the things that I've been doing…" description: "\"One of the things that I've been doing recently in my scientific research is to ask this question: Is the universe actually capable of performing thing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/seth-lloyd-13748_capable_one-of-the-things-that-i-ve-been-doing-r_2431394.jpg" --- # One of the things that I've been doing recently in my… ![“One of the things that I've been doing recently in my scientific research is to ask this question: Is the universe actually capable of performing things like digital computations?” quote by Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/seth-lloyd-13748_capable_one-of-the-things-that-i-ve-been-doing-r_2431394.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/seth-lloyd-13748_capable_one-of-the-things-that-i-ve-been-doing-r_2431394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/811/seth-lloyd-13748_capable_one-of-the-things-that-i-ve-been-doing-r_2431394.jpg) > “One of the things that I've been doing recently in my scientific research is to ask this question: Is the universe actually capable of performing things like digital computations?” [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores whether the universe itself can perform computations akin to digital processes. **In simple terms:** Is the cosmos a giant computer? Key Takeaway Consider the computational limits of nature. Themes science philosophy technology Mood curious speculative Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - AI development - education - public talks Key Concepts information theory cosmology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports a computational universe? - How does this view affect free will? A Different Perspective Computational models may oversimplify physical complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computation/) [Digital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Scientific research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-research/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [If we suppose that many natural phenomena are in effect computations, the study of computer science can tell us about the kinds of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/if-we-suppose-that-many-natural-phenomena-are-in-effect-computations/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous computations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/i-have-tried-to-avoid-long-numerical-computations-thereby-following/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations, or algorithms: it is about understanding”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mathematics-is-not-about-numbers-equations-computations-or-algorithms/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The question you raise, 'How can such a formulation lead to computations?' doesn't bother me in the least! Throughout my whole life as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-grothendieck/the-question-you-raise-how-can-such-a-formulation-lead-to/) [Alexander Grothendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-grothendieck/) > [I have no great faith in political arithmetic, and I mean not to warrant the exactness of either of these computations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/i-have-no-great-faith-in-political-arithmetic-and-i-mean-not-to/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Computations are everywhere, once you begin to look at things in a certain way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/computations-are-everywhere-once-you-begin-to-look-at-things-in-a/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [“Maybe there’s a universe out there — happening now — where we end up together. Maybe there’s a universe where I’m the right person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-dunn/maybe-there-s-a-universe-out-there-happening-now-where-we-end-up-2/) [Gaby Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-dunn/) > [“This definition, which sounds like the opposite of Brahman being the whole universe, is actually identical to brahman being the whole universe, because—in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-taft/this-definition-which-sounds-like-the-opposite-of-brahman-being-the/) Michael Taft > [Isn't it amazing that there are laws of the universe that you can actually find out about, live your life according to and change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/isn-t-it-amazing-that-there-are-laws-of-the-universe-that-you-can/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [We couldn't build quantum computers unless the universe were quantum and computing. We can build such machines because the universe is storing and processing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/we-couldn-t-build-quantum-computers-unless-the-universe-were-quantum/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [All physical systems can be thought of as registering and processing information, and how one wishes to define computation will determine your view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/all-physical-systems-can-be-thought-of-as-registering-and-processing/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [The history of the universe is, in effect, a huge and ongoing quantum computation. The universe is a quantum computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/the-history-of-the-universe-is-in-effect-a-huge-and-ongoing-quantum/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [I have not proved that the universe is, in fact, a digital computer and that it's capable of performing universal computation, but it's plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/i-have-not-proved-that-the-universe-is-in-fact-a-digital-computer-and/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [When you zap things with light to build quantum computers, you're hacking existing systems. You're hijacking the computation that's already happening in the universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/when-you-zap-things-with-light-to-build-quantum-computers-you-re/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [I don't believe in original melodies. There are only so many computations of eight notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/i-don-t-believe-in-original-melodies-there-are-only-so-many/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) ## More by Seth Lloyd > [Every physical system registers information, and just by evolving in time, by doing its thing, it changes that information, transforms that information, or, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/every-physical-system-registers-information-and-just-by-evolving-in/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [“The significance of a bit depends not just on its value but on how that value affects other bits over time, as part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/the-significance-of-a-bit-depends-not-just-on-its-value-but-on-how/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [ \[With quantum computers\] you can calculate how many bits are in the universe, how much energy it takes to flip them, how much energy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/with-quantum-computers-you-can-calculate-how-many-bits-are-in-the/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [In this metaphor we actually have a picture of the computational universe, a metaphor which I hope to make scientifically precise as part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/in-this-metaphor-we-actually-have-a-picture-of-the-computational/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Yes, I am a quantum mechanic! Those darn quantum computers break all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/yes-i-am-a-quantum-mechanic-those-darn-quantum-computers-break-all/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [What's happened with society is that we have created these devices, computers, which already can register and process huge amounts of information, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/what-s-happened-with-society-is-that-we-have-created-these-devices/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Meaning is like pornography, you know it when you see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/meaning-is-like-pornography-you-know-it-when-you-see-it/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [If you wanted to build the most powerful computer you could, you can't do better than including everything in the universe that's potentially available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/if-you-wanted-to-build-the-most-powerful-computer-you-could-you-can-t/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [There are considerable advantages to using many degrees of freedom to store information, stability and controllability being perhaps the most important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/there-are-considerable-advantages-to-using-many-degrees-of-freedom-to/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [When it comes to their capacity to screw things up, computers are becoming more human every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/when-it-comes-to-their-capacity-to-screw-things-up-computers-are/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [It's also a reasonable scientific program to look at the dynamics of the standard model and to try to prove from that dynamics that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/it-s-also-a-reasonable-scientific-program-to-look-at-the-dynamics-of/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Some folks think life and technology and mind can keep expanding forever. Others say it can't. We are still not clear on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/some-folks-think-life-and-technology-and-mind-can-keep-expanding/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Of course, one way of thinking about all of life and civilization is as being about how the world registers and processes information. Certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/of-course-one-way-of-thinking-about-all-of-life-and-civilization-is/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Programmed by quanta, physics gave rise first to chemistry and then to life; programmed by mutations and recombination, life gave rise to Shakespeare; programmed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/programmed-by-quanta-physics-gave-rise-first-to-chemistry-and-then-to/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) > [Instead of having to be a member of the Royal Society to do science, the way you had to be in England in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-lloyd/instead-of-having-to-be-a-member-of-the-royal-society-to-do-science/) [Seth Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) [Explore all 49 Seth Lloyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-lloyd/) ## More Capable quotes > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“If you not yet try How to know you can or not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sopharat/if-you-not-yet-try-how-to-know-you-can-or-not/) Sopharat > [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. And that wolf would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-light/i-m-attracted-to-the-garden-without-a-doubt-but-i-always-try-and/) [Michael Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-light/) > [A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/a-man-as-a-man-could-arrive-at-all-the-dignity-that-a-man-was-capable/) [John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/) > [Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. 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