Conventional physics views the universe as evolving from initial conditions via fixed laws. An alternative view is that the universe is a self-constructing system with no external builder. Life is the physical process through which the universe explores possibilities and generates novelty.

The universe operates on roughly two dozen physical constants, like gravity's strength, that are tuned within incredibly narrow ranges to allow for life. A slight change in any one would make atoms, chemistry, or stars impossible. This precision is more analogous to calibrated game physics than a random cosmic event.

Cosmology is stuck because it operates on the unexamined axiom that our universe is a random, one-shot event. This single, unproven assumption forces all subsequent theories and interpretations of data into a flawed paradigm, preventing exploration of more fruitful ideas like an evolved universe.

The universe builds complexity by repurposing existing structures for new functions, a process known as exaptation. For example, the CNO cycle evolved to make stars more efficient at producing black holes, but its components (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen) were later exapted as the building blocks for life.

This theory posits that the singularity of a black hole in a parent universe "bounces" to become the Big Bang of a child universe. Slight variations in physical constants are passed down, and universes that produce more black holes are more "reproductively successful," driving cosmic evolution.

The dominant cosmological model, based on a random one-shot universe, fails to predict observed structures. Instead of questioning the foundational axiom, scientists invent "dark matter" as a fudge factor to fix discrepancies, much like Ptolemaic astronomers added epicycles to save their geocentric model.

Lee Cronin argues that both Newtonian and quantum physics are incomplete because they lack a fundamental concept of causation. This omission is why physics struggles to explain the emergence of complex systems like biology and intelligence, which are inherently causal.

A more effective way to define life is not by its internal components (like RNA or metabolism) but by its unique capability. Life is any system that can recursively produce many identical copies of highly complex objects, a feat only achievable through evolution.

The Nobel Prize-winning discovery that the universe is not locally real suggests it operates like a video game engine, rendering reality only when an interaction or measurement occurs. This principle of computational efficiency, along with the universe having a minimum pixel size (Planck scale) and tick speed, strongly supports the simulation metaphor for reality.