Electrons, Observation, and the Case for an Information-First Universe

Electrons, Observation, and the Case for an Information-First Universe

Electrons, Observation, and the Case for an Information-First Universe

Electrons, Observation, and the Case for an Information-First Universe

A philosophical inquiry grounded in contemporary physics

Abstract

Quantum experiments show that measurement outcomes depend on interactions that reveal information, not on human consciousness per se. Decoherence explains why interference disappears when “which-path” information leaks to the environment[7], while loophole-free Bell tests rule out local hidden-variable explanations of entanglement[4][5][6]. In cosmology, independent evidence for dark matter comes from the CMB, gravitational lensing (e.g., the Bullet Cluster), baryon acoustic oscillations, and galaxy dynamics—yet its microphysics remains unknown[1][2]. Meanwhile, information-theoretic ideas (Wheeler’s “it from bit”) and entanglement-geometry links (ER=EPR; spacetime-from-entanglement) motivate, at minimum, a simulation-adjacent perspective: the world behaves as if information is primary[9][10].

1) What the mainstream picture actually says

The baseline ΛCDM model—constrained by Planck’s CMB data—implies a universe that’s ~5% baryonic matter, ~27% dark matter, and ~68% dark energy. These proportions arise from independent datasets that mutually reinforce one another[1]. Rather than “invented to fix equations,” dark matter is favored because of the convergence of CMB fits, lensing, BAO, structure growth, and galaxy dynamics[2].

Multiple, independent observations favor an additional, largely collisionless matter component.

Gravitational lensing in merging clusters (the Bullet Cluster) geometrically separates baryonic gas from the gravitational mass, indicating that most mass is in a collisionless component[2].

2) What quantum experiments actually show

Single-quantum interference is real. In electron double-slit experiments, interference builds up dot by dot from individual electrons[3]. When which-path information becomes available, interference vanishes, consistent with decoherence[7].

Bell tests changed the game. Loophole-free Bell experiments, recognized by the 2022 Nobel Prize, show that no local hidden-variable theory can explain observed correlations[4][5]. These correlations are nonlocal, but they do not permit faster-than-light signalling[6].

3) From ‘observation’ to ‘recorded information’

In physics, measurement means an irreversible information-recording interaction. Decoherence explains why interference disappears when which-path information leaks to the environment—no conscious observer required[7][8].

4) Information as a primitive

Several research programs motivate the view that information has ontological primacy:

  • Wheeler’s “it from bit”—the universe fundamentally built from information[9].
  • ER=EPR—a conjectured equivalence between entanglement and spacetime geometry[10].
  • Spacetime from entanglement—the idea that geometry emerges from quantum entanglement networks[11].

5) Where the ‘simulation’ idea fits

Bostrom’s simulation argument is philosophical, not empirical. Yet physics increasingly treats information as fundamental, which makes the simulation metaphor a useful lens. Some speculative tests (e.g., searching for lattice artifacts in high-energy cosmic rays) have been proposed, but no evidence has been found[12].

6) Conclusion

Physics does not prove we live in a computer simulation. What it does show is that reality behaves as if information is primary—from dark matter puzzles to quantum measurement. That perspective is philosophically powerful, even if the final word remains unwritten.

References

  1. Planck Collaboration. Planck 2018 results – cosmological parameters.
  2. Clowe et al. (2006). Bullet Cluster gravitational lensing evidence for dark matter.
  3. Tonomura et al. (1989). Demonstration of single-electron interference.
  4. Giustina et al. (2015). Loophole-free Bell violation.
  5. Hensen et al. (2015). Loophole-free Bell test using entangled electron spins.
  6. Aspect et al. (1982). Experimental test of Bell’s inequalities.
  7. Zurek (2003). Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum-to-classical transition.
  8. Schlosshauer (2019). Decoherence and the quantum measurement problem.
  9. Wheeler (1989). Information, physics, quantum: the search for links.
  10. Maldacena & Susskind (2013). Cool horizons for entangled black holes (ER=EPR).
  11. Van Raamsdonk (2010). Building up spacetime with quantum entanglement.
  12. Beane, Davoudi & Savage (2014). Constraints on the Universe as a numerical simulation.
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