Colloquium Ehrenfestii by David Tong (University of Cambridge) on "Are we living in the matrix?".

Abstract: No. Obviously not. It's a daft question. But, buried underneath this daft question is an extremely interesting one: is it possible to simulate the known laws of physics on a computer? Remarkably, there is a mathematical theorem, due to Nielsen and Ninomiya, that says the answer is no. I'll explain this theorem, the underlying reasons for it, and some recent work attempting to circumvent it.

The Colloquium Ehrenfestii takes place Wednesday evenings starting at 19:30 hours in the main auditorium of the Oort building. Before the Colloquium, there is a common dinner in the canteen located on the ground floor of the Oort building. This dinner starts at 18:00 hours sharp and is free of charge, under the condition that one attends the colloquium and that one has made a reservation before noon on the Tuesday preceding the colloquium.

More information (including online link and link to register for the preceding dinner) can be found on this website.