What is
reality
made of?
Independent researcher. First paper on informational ontology forthcoming on arXiv. Principal Engineer with 20+ years building systems at scale. Founder, Polyxmedia.
Scroll to readFigueira, A. P. (2026).
Informational Substrate Convergence
An Exploratory Philosophical Framework for Reality and Consciousness
Abstract
ISC examines the possibility that reality might be fundamentally informational, drawing on quantum information theory, the holographic principle, and integrated information theory to argue that informational ontology deserves serious consideration as an alternative to materialism. The framework proposes that consciousness emerges as specific patterns within an informational substrate, reframing the hard problem of consciousness as a question about which informational configurations give rise to experience.
“The hard problem of consciousness becomes less mysterious when both physical reality and consciousness are different manifestations of the same underlying informational substrate.”
Keywords
Currently Principal Engineer at Eagle Eye Solutions, building highly scalable APIs for major retailers. Previously architected event-driven systems processing 7B+ events annually.
I've been building production software for over 20 years. The work has ranged from event-driven systems processing seven billion events a year to small bespoke platforms for artists and museums. I build things that are meant to last and that don't require rebuilding every two years.
The research started as a private project. I spent years thinking about the systems I was building and wondering what they were actually made of — not in a software-architecture sense, but in a deeper sense. What is information? What is the substrate it runs on? Is there a substrate? Informational Substrate Convergence is my first attempt to write that down rigorously, drawing on quantum information theory, the holographic principle, and the philosophy of mind.
I work independently. No university affiliation. The paper stands or falls on its own argument.
Stack
Go · Rust · Python · TypeScript · React · Node.js · PostgreSQL · Kubernetes · Docker · AWS · GCP · Kafka · OpenAI · LangChain
Research Interests
Informational ontology · Philosophy of physics · Quantum information theory · Philosophy of mind · Consciousness · Integrated information theory