Former NASA scientist is undergoing experiment to prove we 'live in a simulation' and people are divided

A former NASA scientist is undergoing an experiment to prove that we “live in a simulation”.

Apparently, we really are living in the The Matrix according to the scientist but people are divided as to whether he’s right.

Thomas Campbell used to be a NASA physicist and is now working to find out if we’re all trapped inside a simulated reality.

If the scientist is correct, we are all trapped inside a virtual reality (Paper Boat Creative/Getty)

If proven to be true, it could mean that the world around us is rendered inside a computer, just like a video game.

Campbell’s experiments will involve a demonstration designed to show how light and matter can act like waves and particles.

According to Campbell, if he can remove the observer then actual recorded information never existed in the first place.

Basically like how without a player, the universe around a character in a video game doesn’t exist.

Scientists at the California State Polytechnic University (CalPoly) are getting to work on the first experiment.

It’s safe to say Campbell’s theory has caused quite a stir and people are divided online as to whether he might have a point.

The former NASA scientist believes that the world around us is rendered inside a computer (Yuichiro Chino/Getty)

Taking to Reddit to share their opinions, one fan of the scientist wrote: “Love Thomas Campbell, he's an actual genius.”

A second said: “I wouldn't even film myself sleeping to prove if I am haunted and you want me to find out if I live in a simulation?”

Not everyone is convinced, with one naysayer posting: “This is just a blown up version of the old chicken vs. egg dilemma. It's the same confused mindset that leads to religious beliefs.”

A fourth wrote: “If we were in a simulation, wouldn't any tests to prove it turn up negative since the simulation would be programmed to falsify the results?”

A fifth person said: “What if they aren’t stars, just air-holes in the top of the container?”

And another user joked: “When the NPCs become self aware.”

The theory has people divided online (DrPixel/Getty)

Still, Campbell reckons that there are five experiments that have the potential to “challenge the conventional understanding of reality and uncover profound connections between consciousness and the cosmos”.

He believes that while humanity might be trapped in a virtual reality, our “consciousness is not a product of the simulation — it is fundamental to reality”.

If Campbell is right, scientists aren’t sure what this will mean for humanity and it will open up a lot questions around what is beyond our simulation and who is controlling it.