Are we living in a simulation?

[devildavid]

And if we have billions of people that think some Magic Man in the Sky that always existed could just say, "Alakazam!" and create a universe, then it's just as reasonable that our god could be us.

You are just a simulation. Your ideas are not your ideas. You don't really exist.

 

[Brewdog]

You are just a simulation. Your ideas are not your ideas. You don't really exist.

It's nice to see you coming around to the truth.

 

[Harshaw]

And if we have billions of people that think some Magic Man in the Sky that always existed could just say, "Alakazam!" and create a universe, then it's just as reasonable that our god could be us.

It IS intetesting that you mock religion so viciously, yet argue this hard for something which is indistinguishable from it.

 

[devildavid]

It's nice to see you coming around to the truth.

I don't exist. There is no truth. We are not debating. Nothing is real. Physical reality is an infinite simulation loop. You haven't figured anything out. It's all just a simulation. Or at least the simulation is making us think it is. But there are no real individuals. This is just a simulation being watched by a simulator who is being watched by a simulator infinitely. Elon Musk is a charater name in this simulation.

 

[Brewdog]

It IS intetesting that you mock religion so viciously, yet argue this hard for something which is indistinguishable from it.

Who's to say that my metaphysical beliefs are so much more unbelievable than the ancient religions? Because modern scientists believe it's possible that we're inside a simulation as opposed to superstitious goat herders and fishermen from thousands of years ago that wrote some books? Ok, I see your logic.

 

[Brewdog]

I don't exist. There is no truth. We are not debating. Nothing is real. Physical reality is an infinite simulation loop. You haven't figured anything out. It's all just a simulation. Or at least the simulation is making us think it is. But there are no real individuals. This is just a simulation being watched by a simulator who is being watched by a simulator infinitely. Elon Musk is a charater name in this simulation.

You win a pizza.

 

[Harshaw]

Who's to say that my metaphysical beliefs are so much more unbelievable than the ancient religions? Because modern scientists believe it's possible that we're inside a simulation as opposed to superstitious goat herders and fishermen from thousands of years ago that wrote some books? Ok, I see your logic.

My "logic"?

I said you're pushing hard for something indistinguishable from religion. Does "indisinguishable" mean "so much more unbelievable"? Why, no; it means they're the same.

You have your own religion, apparently, yet you mock religion in general. If you cannot bring yourself to terms with that hypocrisy, you have some growing to do.

 

[Helix]

I've been intrigued by the increasing number of scientists that proclaim it's very likely that we're living in a computer simulation, "The Matrix" if you will.

it's a fascinating, and frankly mind boggling concept.

Do you believe it's possible that one day, say in a thousand years, quantum computers will be so powerful as to create a world where the beings believe they're actually real? Say, if you could take The Sims 4 and make those beings think their world existed. And if these computers could do that, couldn't these computers run billions of simulations at once?

yes, and yes.

So, is it more likely that we're the actual civilization that invents this technology one day, or is it more likely that we're just one of billions of simulations that our ancestors are running?

or a simulation within a simulation within a simulation? it's turtles, all the way down.

 

[devildavid]

Who's to say that my metaphysical beliefs are so much more unbelievable than the ancient religions? Because modern scientists believe it's possible that we're inside a simulation as opposed to superstitious goat herders and fishermen from thousands of years ago that wrote some books? Ok, I see your logic.

You are forgetting that those modern scientists are just part of a simulation. Religion is just part of the simulation. Everything you think you have figured out is just part of the simulation. You are talking as if there was once a real world when in fact it has always been a simulation. That is where your logic leads to.

 

[Brewdog]

You have your own religion, apparently, yet you mock religion in general. If you cannot bring yourself to terms with that hypocrisy, you have some growing to do.

I don't worship a god. I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that I have a religion or how I'm a hypocrite. Your logic still proves to be lacking.

som peeples is jus dum

 

[Harshaw]

I don't worship a god. I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that I have a religion or how I'm a hypocrite. Your logic still proves to be lacking.

som peeples is jus dum

You apparently believe everything around you is the creation of another, unseen, unprovable intelligence.

Explain in detail how this is different from a garden variety religion.

 

[Brewdog]

or a simulation within a simulation within a simulation? it's turtles, all the way down.

I sort of lost you at turtles.

 

[KevinKohler]

Reality is all just one giant life Sim game, and most are just the extras.

I am, of course, the main character.

 

[Brewdog]

You apparently believe everything around you is the creation of another, unseen, unprovable intelligence.

Explain in detail how this is different from a garden variety religion.

If you're claiming I'm religious when I have no faith in any god, then you're off the rails. Claim what you want. I can claim that a zebra is going to crawl out of your left penis at 4:30 pm... as long as we're claiming outlandish things.

 

[Harshaw]

If you're claiming I'm religious, when I have no faith in any god, then you're off the rails. Claim what you want. I can claim that a zebra is going to crawl out of your left penis at 4:30 pm... as long as we're claiming outlandish things.

You have not explained how your beliefs are different from a garden variety religion.

Clearly, you are not prepared to think on that level. Oh, well.

 

[Brewdog]

Reality is all just one giant life Sim game, and most are just the extras.

I am, of course, the main character.

I think that when I go to sleep that all of you just disappear. The rest of you are only here for my personal entertainment. And my personal misery.

 

[Helix]

I don't exist. There is no truth. We are not debating. Nothing is real. Physical reality is an infinite simulation loop. You haven't figured anything out. It's all just a simulation. Or at least the simulation is making us think it is. But there are no real individuals. This is just a simulation being watched by a simulator who is being watched by a simulator infinitely. Elon Musk is a charater name in this simulation.

as a teenager, i once pointed a video camera (VHS) at the television while it was also connected to the television. i saw a 1990s approximation of swirling infinity, with a feedback scream for audio. i still have the VHS tape somewhere.

 

[devildavid]

I think that when I go to sleep that all of you just disappear. The rest of you are only here for my personal entertainment. And my personal misery.

You keep forgetting you are only a simulation and don't really exist.

 

[Helix]

I sort of lost you at turtles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down

i first read about this concept in Stephen King's "It."

from the Dark Tower series :

"See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the earth, his thought is slow but always kind, he holds us all within his mind. On his back all vows are made; He sees the truth but mayn't aid. He loves the land and loves the sea, And even loves a child like me."

 

[Brewdog]

i first read about this concept in Stephen King's "It."

I got to talk to Stephen King for about 30 minutes when I was in college. He's as nice a guy and as weird as you imagine he is. He had spaghetti stains on his white t-shirt which he was wearing both days in a row that I saw him. I'm not making this up.

 

[Helix]

I got to talk to Stephen King for about 30 minutes when I was in college. He's as nice a guy and as weird as you imagine he is. He had spaghetti stains on his white t-shirt which he was wearing both days in a row that I saw him. I'm not making this up.

that is really cool. it would be so awesome to meet him. i love his work.

 

[Brewdog]

that is really cool. it would be so awesome to meet him. i love his work.

He signed my book "Four Past Midnight". I apologized to him for being a bit star struck. You know he gets mobbed all the time by fans. He said, "Naw man! It's great to talk to you! Hang out with me for a few minutes!"

 

[Skeptic Bob]

I have been toying with this idea for several years now. Yes, it falls under philosophy and speculation as it currently isn't testable or falsifiable.

If creating a simulation with sentient beings is theoretically possible, then I find it far more likely we are in a simulation than not. And I see no reason why such simulations are not possible.

And in many ways our universe has some properties one would expect from a simulation. It is "digitized" at the Planck length, has a processing speed capped at the speed of light, and at the quantum level reality doesn't "render" until observed.

Doesn't prove a thing, but kind of cool to think about. And if you can't distinguish a simulation from a non-simulation does it really matter which you are in?

 

[Helix]

He signed my book "Four Past Midnight". I apologized to him for being a bit star struck. You know he gets mobbed all the time by fans. He said, "Naw man! It's great to talk to you! Hang out with me for a few minutes!"

makes me like him even more, if that's possible.

 

[Brewdog]

Doesn't prove a thing, but kind of cool to think about. And if you can't distinguish a simulation from a non-simulation does it really matter which you are in?

But if we are in a simulation, there's still that bothersome question of: Where did the operators of the simulation come from? And is their universe even like ours?