Written by Mark Branson, Leadership Theorist
Mark Branson has combined 20 years of experience, 5 State Titles, and one World Record into the first advancement in leadership theory in 50 years. Branson's first book, The Illusion of Competence, introduced perception-based leadership. Branson's second book, Unified Leadership Theory (2025), advances the theory further.
Living in a simulation has consequences. Do those consequences already exist in our current “Reality"? Some consequences are dictated by interpretations of our current reality.
The first consequence?
Time cannot be real in a simulation. Time is a construct created beyond the simulation.
Time does not exist in Grand Theft Auto, even though time passes in the game. Time only exists for those playing GTA.
Einstein said that riding a light beam across the universe would happen instantaneously once we attain lightspeed and time ceases to exist.
Quantum mechanics interprets time as separate from space, causing a disconnect with relativity.
Relativity’s interpretation of time more closely aligns with The Simulation than with quantum mechanics.
The second consequence?
The Universe must be quantum in nature. Fully operational quantum computers are the only systems powerful enough to pull off The Simulation.
The third consequence?
The human brain must be quantum in nature.
The only thing currently more powerful than quantum computers are the human brains contemplating them
How does our current universe stack up to A Simulated Consequences?
Consequence 1
According to scientists, time might be an illusion related to Thermodynamics and entropy (Ralls, 2025).
Time cannot flow from the past to the future without locking down “right now.” A lack of right now means that right now can happen back then or after later.
Consequence 2
A recent scientific study specifically suggests that the observable universe, or “Hubble sphere,” functions as a massive quantum gravity computer (Swane, 2024)
Though speculative in nature, a quantum computer running a simulation makes more sense than a quantum computer running the cosmos.
Consequence 3
“Cognitive neuroscientists and neurobiologists consider the quantum world to be irrelevant to their concerns and therefore do not attempt to understand its concepts” (Koch & Hepp, 2006)
Cognitive neuroscientists and neurobiologists have little use for quantum brain functions, which is not the same as there is no relationship between the brain and quantum mechanics.
The more I look for the consequences of The Simulation, the more consequences I find.
I can't say we live in a simulation yet, but I’m working on it.
Keep an eye out for “Death Becomes Us,” a mind-bending interpretation of death in The Simulation.
Read more from Mark Branson
Mark Branson, Leadership Theorist
Mark Branson set the world's record for the arcade game Asteroids in 1981, playing for 55 hours in a quarter. Branson then applied his concepts of greatness to winning 5 New Mexico state racquetball titles over a 15-year career. Branson then created a leadership theory from scratch, combining 30 years of leadership experience and his habit of winning into the first advancement in leadership thought since the turn of the century.
Reference:
Rolls, E. (2025, January 11). “Time is an illusion” and doesn’t exist as we know it, according to many physicists. Earth.com.
Swayne, M. (2024, November 9). Weighty subject: Is the universe a giant quantum gravity computer? The Quantum Insider.
Koch, C., & Hepp, K. (2006, March 29). Quantum Mechanics in the brain. Nature News.
