Have you ever wondered if this world is actually the real world?
Scientists and philosophers have been trying to answer this question since antiquity. So we should not feel too bad about not being able to come up with a scientific verifiable answer. Regardless of this, some scientists and philosophers argue that it’s likely we live in a computer simulation. I know this sounds crazy but just keep reading - you might be surprised.
Enter Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom.
Source: http://www.nickbostrom.com/
Bostrom argues that we live in a world where computers are becoming ever more advanced. We have just begun to see 3D technology being implemented and the next big thing might be the super powerful quantum computers. Because of this, Bostrom argues that the computers of the future might be able to conduct very advanced simulations.
This is where the Simulation argument comes into play.
The Simulation argument states that we most likely live in a simulated reality. The simulation might be the work of a future civilization wanting to play out different scenarios and collecting data on various parameters. Bostrom's argument is backed by mathematical probability theory (see link to PDF).
www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.pdf
I won’t be explaining the mathematical probability theory, but I will briefly give you the short version of the Simulation argument. For further study see the video below.
The simulation argument holds that at least one of the following propositions is true:
1 The first possibility is that all future civilizations go extinct before being able to conduct simulations.
2 The second possibility is that the future civilizations could conduct simulations but have no interest in doing so.
3 The third possibility is that we are currently living in simulation.
The argument for us living in a simulated world then becomes that if the first proposition doesn’t happen, then the civilization will not go extinct and moves on to the second proposition. If the civilization then begins to mature and starts conducting ancestor simulations, it will be able to run countless simulations. In such a case, there will be many more simulated people than there will be actual “real” people. Therefore Bostrom argues that there is a greater probability that that we live in a simulated universe than a non-simulated universe.
What are your thoughts about reality and the simulation argument?
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