Cognitive Scientist Claims Reality Is a VR Game

Donald Hoffman, PhD, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, Irvine, argues that reality is a virtual reality game in which human bodies are avatars. He proposes that perception is not a direct window into objective truth but an evolved interface designed to survive and reproduce. In his 'interface theory' of perception, evolution shaped humans to interpret the world through simplified, adaptive models rather than accessing an underlying truth. Hoffman claims that what we perceive, like a red Corvette in a virtual world, is not real but a constructed simulation. This view challenges the notion of objective reality and suggests that all sensory experience is a game-like interface, not a direct reflection of truth.