universethe

Universethe is a neologism used in speculative philosophy and science communication to denote a framework that treats the universe as a unified informational or computational system. The term functions as a conceptual umbrella rather than a single formal theory, and it appears in discussions about the foundations of reality, cosmology, and computation. It is often used to contrast traditional physical explanations with information-centric viewpoints.

Originating in online discussions during the early 2020s, universethe collects ideas from computationalism, digital ontology, and informational physics. Proponents describe universethe as a way to examine how information, state transitions, and causal structures may give rise to observed laws and phenomena across scales, from quantum processes to cosmic evolution. The term is commonly invoked in thought experiments and popular science writing rather than in formal physics, where more specific models are preferred.

Its core claims are not a single theory but a stance: information is a fundamental substrate; physical law emerges from informational constraints; reality is interpretable as a network of state updates and interactions. In practice, universethe is used as a heuristic for integrating concepts such as entropy, computation, and cosmology, and is often discussed alongside pancomputationalism and digital physics.

Reception is mixed. Some scholars view universethe as a helpful umbrella for interdisciplinary dialogue and public engagement. Critics warn that the term may be too broad to yield testable predictions and could obscure the details of distinct theories.

See also: digital physics, computational universe, pancomputationalism, informational realism.