研究者在分析具类似我们宇宙特性的模型时，发现该宇宙只容许「一种可能状态」，即其资讯量为零位元，完全无法编码任何0或1。此结果与该宇宙按理应能容纳黑洞、恒星、行星与观测者的事实矛盾。2019年的这项推导建立在量子理论与重力的基本原则上，因此可信度高，但其结论暗示：若试图在「无观测者」的前提下给出宇宙全域、客观且唯一的描述，宇宙的复杂性会在概念上崩塌。

该悖论引发重新检视观测者角色的需要。物理学家指出，问题出现在要求宇宙本身拥有可被完全指定的客观量子态，而不依赖任何观测架构。新提出的解释认为，宇宙的资讯与复杂度或许只有在包含观测者时才具意义；若剔除观测者，数学自然收缩到唯一态。此观点与量子理论中「观测定义状态」的特性形成呼应，并与黑洞资讯问题的讨论相关。

此悖论与近三十年来以反德西特空间为基础的分析紧密相连。Maldacena 的反德西特／边界对应显示，在具边界的AdS几何中，三维体积内的所有物理（含黑洞动力学）可对应至边界上类似「阴影」的二维理论，即全像原理。该框架令复杂的弦论计算得以转换为粒子物理语言，但其前提本身要求可被界定的全域描述；悖论则指出，若观测者缺席，此前提可能失效。

Researchers analyzing a universe similar to ours found it permitted only one possible state, implying zero bits of information and no capacity to encode even a single 0 or 1. This conflicted with expectations that such a universe should host black holes, stars, planets, and observers. The 2019 derivation, rooted in core principles of quantum theory and gravity, is considered robust, yet its conclusion suggests that attempting a fully objective, observer-free description collapses the universe’s complexity.

The paradox forces reconsideration of the observer’s role. Physicists argue the issue arises from demanding a complete quantum state of the universe independent of any observational framework. A new explanation proposes that cosmic information and complexity exist only if observers are included; without them, mathematics naturally contracts to a unique state. This aligns with quantum mechanics’ dependence of state definition on observation and connects to debates over black hole information.

The paradox is tied to three decades of work using anti–de Sitter space. Maldacena’s AdS/CFT correspondence shows that in an AdS geometry with a boundary, all interior physics (including black hole dynamics) maps to boundary “shadows,” a holographic dual. This framework allows difficult string-theory problems to be reformulated using particle-physics tools, but it presumes a well-defined global description—precisely what the paradox suggests may fail in the absence of observers.