Physicist proved the possibility of life in a two-dimensional universe

Three-dimensional universe — a familiar picture of the world for most scientists. But a physicist at the University of California disagreed with the conventional wisdom: in his paper, he argues that the laws of physics allow for the existence of a viable two-dimensional universe. To prove his point, the scientist turned to the structure of neural networks.

Most researchers point out that the three-dimensional universe is the only possible condition for the existence of life. In addition to the three spatial coordinates, scientists consider one time, taking the dimension of the universe as 3+1. Physicist James Scargill suggested that science might need to rethink this argument. He argues that the laws of physics allow gravity and the development of systems capable of supporting life in a two-dimensional world.

In his work, the scientist used physical formulas to prove the existence of scalar gravitational fields in two dimensions, and showed that the necessary level of organization for the emergence of life can also exist in a two-dimensional Universe. To prove the latter fact, the scientist cited the example of neural networks. The physicist proved that such two-dimensional systems can have "critical thinking". Based on these arguments, the researcher argues that in the 2+1-dimensional universe is theoretically possible the existence of life, similar in its structure to neural networks.