Is the Universe a Hologram

[malleodei]

So, Steve, what do you think of this?

www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/universe-hologram-physicists_n_4428359.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

I know that you are into astronomy, so I assume that you also have some interest in astro-physics and the like.
Just when I thought that I was beginning to understand scientists explanation about the metric expansion of space, this comes around.
This goes beyond my understanding. What do  you think about it?

[Flitzerbiest]

It goes beyond all of our understanding. I don't have any comment on the validity of the theory. What I can say is that string theory is interesting in that it is a "math first" approach from the theoretical (as opposed to the empirical/observational) side of physics. String theorists, instead of progressing from observation to mathematics, are seeking out equations that "work". As such, string physics' Achilles heel is a lack of confirmatory evidence. In their defense, strings, if they exist in fact--and I don't think theorists care--they are way, way, way too small to be seen. It's a novel approach, and apparently (to people who understand what the hell string theorists are talking about) shows a lot of promise.

My only personal exposure to this is a few scattered articles for the popular scientific literature and one book by string apologist Brian Greene.

[stevec]

Like FB, I really can't offer any commentary on researcher's claim. I only lived near and circled around the Institute for Advanced Study's event horizon in Princeton, never really being sucked into it with my minivan. I've read several articles and a compresensive book(can't remember the title) on string theory, branes, and alternate universes. I wish i could offer a layman's interpretation, but it really is beyond my mental abilities.

Do you suspect that scientists interpreting the universe as a hologram consider the universe as any less real?

[malleodei]

I don't know. I'm not even sure what he meant by hologram. It's all very confusing to me. I;m just an Engineer. I deal with things like steel, valves, mechanical actuators and such. It's beyond my pay grade, but I doubt that he meant to question whether or not the universe was real. That seems more like a philosophical question rather than a scientific one.

[Flitzerbiest]

You're an engineer? You probably know more about holograms than us rubes.

[malleodei]

Well, not me, at least. I mean. I know what a hologram is, but have no idea what this means in terms of the Universe.
I'm a mechanical engineer. The industry that I work in isn't quite that hi-tech. We do high temperature metals processing equipment and manufacturing so it often involves hot and dirty factories. 

[Flitzerbiest]

Well, think "projection of a second, distant reality through local dimensions". Without going to Webster, that's about the limits of my understanding.