A former NASA scientist has taken it upon himself to try and prove once and for all whether life is a simulation.

The theory is one that’s formed the premise of a few sci-fi movies over the years, but what if even all the actors, producers and writers of those movies were stuck in a simulation themselves, without even knowing it?

Could near-death experiences, apparent ‘glitches’ and bizarre coincidences all be explained by something outside of our awareness, controlling everything we do?

Thomas Campbell, a former NASA and Department of Defense physicist, thinks it could well be.

In 2017, he published a paper which detailed a number of experiments designed to figure out whether something is rendering our world, similar to the way video games are created.

Campbell has set up a non-profit called Center for the Unification of Science and Consciousness (CUSAC) to continue his hunt for the truth, and scientists at the California State Polytechnic University (CalPoly) are now putting his experiments to the test.

Could our own lives be like a video game? (Getty Stock Photo)

On its website, CUSAC describes one of its goals as: “To develop fundamental knowledge and understanding, of both the self and the evolving information system that appears to be the source of all reality, through rigorous scientific investigation of both physical reality and consciousness.”

In a press release, CUSAC explained Campbell’s experiments are ‘expected to provide strong scientific evidence that we live in a computer-simulated Virtual Reality.

They’re based on the idea that our ‘consciousness is not a product of the simulation — it is fundamental to reality’; with Campbell hypothesizing that the universe doesn’t exist without a player – aka, us – at the center of it.

It’s certainly an interesting the theory, but it will only become more interesting if Campbell finds evidence to support it.

Thomas Campbell shared his experiments in a 2017 paper. (CUSAC)

He noted his five experiments could ‘challenge the conventional understanding of reality and uncover profound connections between consciousness and the cosmos’.

News of Campbell’s experiments has sparked mixed reactions from people who think he could be on to something, and those who are more sceptical of the idea that the world around us is a simulation.

In a Reddit thread which discussed the theory, one person pointed out: “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?”

Another joked: “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?”

I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether Campbell’s experiments reveal a shocking truth…