Are we living in a simulation?
Elon Musk has recently popularized this question again, but it's been around for centuries in one form or another. In ancient times the question was more along the lines of whether we're living in a dream. Today, in the Information Age, the analogy is the computer.
The question is, what are the odds that we are the first civilization in all of history to reach a level in which we could make simulations? The chances seem infinitesimally small when you consider this question. If we are in a simulation, it does seem to solve a lot of strange questions we have, like why we haven't run into other sentient beings in the universe, yet.
While there's a pretty damn good chance that we are in a simulation, I'm not sure it's a question that can be meaningfully asked at this point in time. There could be all kinds of reasons, many of which we cannot even comprehend yet, that the question doesn't even make sense. Or it could be that we simply aren't looking hard enough in the right places. Remember that humans have only had control over radio waves for less than 100 years. And who knows? We might be about to move on to some other paradigm that we can't currently imagine fairly soon. It seems fairly likely that we're just unadvanced.
Also, we can't dismiss the possibility that we really are the first species to make it this far. I don't want to undermine how incredibly unlikely this is given what we currently know, but unlikely isn't the same as impossible.
What about the simulations that we are creating now? Right now you need to have a team of individuals working over the course of years just to make a simple video game. But what about a time when a single individual will be able to create worlds, universes, by themselves? That's god-level power.
I suppose there's no guarantee that we'll get that far or that that is even possible, but I know better than to bet against human beings. We are some crafty, resourceful, persistent motherfuckers.
If you could create your own world, what kind of world would you create? I mean, you sort of can create your own world, now. That's what you do when you use your imagination. That might sound a bit corny, but it's literally true. You've literally created a simulated reality in which there are people, objects, and events that are (to varying degrees) under your complete control and totally of your own creation. In fact, I would go so far as to say the following:
Human Beings are simulation machines and it's this ability that makes us so incomprehensibly powerful.
It's our simulations that make us able to do so much. We are drawn towards simulations, whether they take the form of memories, books, movies, or video games. Or base experience of reality is, at its core, a simulation. Is it any wonder that, now that we're approaching the limit of what we can do with our mental simulations as they are, we are looking to use computers to extend the capabilities of these simulations even farther?
Think about everything we really want. Money? An abstract simulation of value that we can turn into other concrete forms of value. That's why when people argue that fiat currency is 'real' and crypto currencies are fake I chuckle. There's nothing more dangerous than thinking your simulation is the only one.
But so far we haven't taken any of our simulations that seriously as a world society. You can dream about being rich all you want, but go try to spend a daydreamed dollar and you might find the response to be somewhat chilly. Even in our computers simulations are just used to transact ownership of things that exist in the objective world.
That is, until very recently. Cryptocurrencies are basically a simulated reality that has value in the 'real' world. Yes fiat currency is a simulation, but that simulation has always been tied to or associated with a physical object. That's beginning to change.
All of it is fascinating to watch develop. I confess that I scour the web looking for any interesting developments along these lines daily. Right now I'm impatient. I don't think it's moving fast enough for my taste. But the day is likely fast approaching where I'll think the opposite, where it'll be moving too fast. People are beginning to realize that the these simulated realities aren't just for gamers and geeks. They're for everyone. And they're the future.
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