Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
1–10 of 67 posts
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#2I have been giving this a lot of thought lately, especially after reading Superintelligience. I actually think that it is somewhat likely, or even highly probable given how we would model out our own behaviour and hardware. Further, to use a video game analogy, we may actually be non-primary characters, that are being modeled by a different, more sophisticated, group of actors.
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#3I have been giving this a lot of thought lately, especially after reading Superintelligience. I actually think that it is somewhat likely, or even highly probable given how we would model out our own behaviour and hardware. Further, to use a video game analogy, we may actually be non-primary characters, that are being modeled by a different, more sophisticated, group of actors.
Which still doesn't solve the whole first cause question (and doesn't have to of course)
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#4This idea of a computer simulation is what made me become agnostic. At first I was an atheist, I wasn't believing that any powerful entity would create us like this, a world so complex and coherent, just to test our belief.
If I had the capacity to build this kind of computer simulation, I would personally do it in an heartbeat. In fact I'm feel like I'm doing this on some games. I would also consider myself to be the god of that simulation, I'm omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, etc...
That's why I believe there could be a god, it's possible that he isn't even aware of our existence and he is just currently playing a big game of Universe Sandbox. However I also came to the same conclusion of that article (at least, based on the title, I still haven't read it, it's on my to read list), does it really matter?
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#51) Probably.
2) No.
Hell, even if it isn't, is time real? Is anything? Or do we create the reality we perceive through our perception of it?
Mused the other day on Descartes, and "je pense, donc je suis" is tautological. Everything is, as any definition of anything by us is inevitably from our reference frame, and is based on precepts we aren't even aware of.
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#6This idea of a computer simulation is what made me become agnostic. At first I was an atheist, I wasn't believing that any powerful entity would create us like this, a world so complex and coherent, just to test our belief. If I had the capacity to build this kind of computer simulation, I would personally do it in an heartbeat. In fact I'm feel like I'm doing this on some games. I would also consider myself to be th…
In my mind, I dislike the 'computer simulation' because it implies an entity that computes, which doesn't really make sense without an uber-reality. Such teleological thinking doesn't belong in scientific reasoning (or even, frankly, philosophy).
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#7If it's the case that we are currently a part of a simulation then we can assume those above use are part of a simulation too and eventually we will create a simulation below us and it's turtles all the way down....and up.
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#8Obviously this is a theme that has been explored in SF a fair amount (recent examples include Ken Macleod's The Restoration Game and Iain Banks' Surface Detail). One obvious problem is that it appears to be highly immoral to generate a simulation in which millions or billions of sentient beings suffer, which presumably would weigh heavier on a more advanced species (human or otherwise).
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#9> Should any error [in the program] occur, the director could easily edit the states of any brains that have become aware of an anomaly before it spoils the simulation.
This seems really problematic to me. Why would you assume that a full-on universe simulator has a concept of a brain? If you're in the business of simulating the interactions of nanoparticles, having a "brain" object doesn't seem to make much sense. I suppose that you could implement some heuristic to identify minds with some degree of accuracy, but then you're getting into some weird territory. Someone wants to model the entire universe just to observe life here on earth? Why assume the author of this system is even aware of us at all?
> It could be the case that one planetary civilisation is all that can be simulated, without running into computational capacity issues.
Again, why would a system like this be optimized toward the civilisation level?
The idea is cool, maybe probable, but this write up seems pretty fanciful.
Re: Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?
#101) Probably. 2) No. Hell, even if it isn't, is time real? Is anything? Or do we create the reality we perceive through our perception of it? Mused the other day on Descartes, and "je pense, donc je suis" is tautological. Everything is, as any definition of anything by us is inevitably from our reference frame, and is based on precepts we aren't even aware of.
Existence itself is a tautological attempt to bind language to reality. I urge you instead to view Descartes as a framework for building on perception (thoughts) and reality/existence (that which emerges from perception).