Let's Discuss: What if we're living in a simulation?

[ProphetofGanja]

What if we were all living in a simulation right now? How would that make you feel? Would it matter?

Here's some reading material to get you started; there's several different flavors to choose from:



Scientific American: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?

IFLScience!: Elon Musk Says We’re Probably Living In A Computer Simulation–Here’s The Science

Snopes: Are We Living Inside a Computer Simulation?

VICE: Whoa, Dude, Are We Inside a Computer Right Now?

VICE: Whoa, Dude, We're Not Inside a Computer Right Now!

The New Yorker: Did the Oscars Just Prove That We Are Living in a Computer Simulation?

[FredWolfLeonardo]

I have been intrigued by this idea for quite a while since the last 2-3 years but I dont believe we're living in a computer simulation with the "real" humans outside.

Maybe you could call a theistic viewpoint of creation to be a like a simulation with God as the simulator outside this world, as I believe, but not in the same way as most people think of simulated reality nowdays.

[Cure]

Doesn't matter to me. If we are, there isn't much I can do about it and I'm not gonna worry about something that is out of my control.

[snake]

Psuedo-Intellectual BS.

[CyberCubed]

Isn't this a Matrix thread?

[Powder]

Originally Posted by Cure

Doesn't matter to me. If we are, there isn't much I can do about it and I'm not gonna worry about something that is out of my control.

This. It's an interesting concept but I don't like putting too much time into stuff that's all question, no answer.

[Wildcat]

I don't think so. I don't think any being would create such an elaborate and detailed simulation just to see. Too many things in the world and universe to account for. Physical and non-physical.

I do think that aliens observe us though. I'm sure they've been on earth before many times.

There must be more than 1 alien race though. I wanna know why none have revealed themselves even if others choose to remain hidden.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Cure

Doesn't matter to me. If we are, there isn't much I can do about it and I'm not gonna worry about something that is out of my control.

I appreciate this sensibility.

[IndigoErth]

Fun theory, but probably not. If it was... nah, doesn't matter much. And at that rate, then maybe some part of us existing as data would be immortal, so no worries.



At that rate though, how do we know we are not just microbes existing inside a vastly much larger being? What if the Earth is just a cell we're busy infecting and destroying?

[Candy Kappa]

We could all be a part of Blips and Chitz arcade's Roy: A Life Well Lived VR Simulator.

[AT-Man]

All of existence is the Idiot-God Azathoth's dream.

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

I have been intrigued by this idea for quite a while since the last 2-3 years but I dont believe we're living in a computer simulation with the "real" humans outside.

Maybe you could call a theistic viewpoint of creation to be a like a simulation with God as the simulator outside this world, as I believe, but not in the same way as most people think of simulated reality nowdays.

I think that's what I find so interesting about this question, is that if you follow any one of various lines of reasoning you can ultimately determine that it doesn't matter if we're in a simulation or not, because it seems real to us. This could be a virtual space existing within the computation capabilities of an extremely-advanced CPU or we could all be inside the dream of a vast and unknowable god.

Originally Posted by Cure

Doesn't matter to me. If we are, there isn't much I can do about it and I'm not gonna worry about something that is out of my control.

Practical. I respect it.

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I don't think so. I don't think any being would create such an elaborate and detailed simulation just to see. Too many things in the world and universe to account for. Physical and non-physical.

I do think that aliens observe us though. I'm sure they've been on earth before many times.

There must be more than 1 alien race though. I wanna know why none have revealed themselves even if others choose to remain hidden.

That's the thing though, with computer processing speed advancing at the rate it is, we will have the technology to simulate a universe that is impossible to differentiate from our own within the next 50 years or less most likely. It's crazy to think about.

I've started to think that it's more likely that there exist and that we have been visited by extradimensional entities rather than extraterrestrial ones

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

We could all be a part of Blips and Chitz arcade's Roy: A Life Well Lived VR Simulator.

muthafukkin Blips and Chitz!!!!!!!

[Wildcat]

Originally Posted by ProphetofGanja

That's the thing though, with computer processing speed advancing at the rate it is, we will have the technology to simulate a universe that is impossible to differentiate from our own within the next 50 years or less most likely. It's crazy to think about.

I've started to think that it's more likely that there exist and that we have been visited by extradimensional entities rather than extraterrestrial ones.

Are you saying you believe in extradimensional beings but not extraterrestrials? That makes no sense.

I mean how can you believe in other dimensions but not aliens?

I'm not ruling out the possibility of other dimensions but of the 2 aliens are far more possible to exist.

[ProactiveMan]

Originally Posted by ProphetofGanja

That's the thing though, with computer processing speed advancing at the rate it is, we will have the technology to simulate a universe that is impossible to differentiate from our own within the next 50 years or less most likely. It's crazy to think about

I seriously doubt it. Processing speed hit a fundamental wall a few years ago. They're getting cheaper and more energy efficient, but they're not getting faster.

Plus, you can have all the processing power in the world, but how are you going to simulate something nobody really understands?

Also, computers as we know them may not be very good at simulating our universe, if you accept that chance and chaos played a big role in its creation. Computers are fundamentally bad at being random.

[TurtleWA]

I'm not so sure about a computer simulation but maybe I'm in something similar to the Truman show. I'm not though, probably not anyway, am I?

Spoiler:

[sdp]

You are now aware of your tongue.

You are now breathing manually.

[Sumac]

What difference does it make at the end of the day?

If our sensory organs could be deceived into believing that we are living in a "real" reality, than why does it matter whether it's really "real" or not?
You wouldn't be able to tell difference anyway. Just enjoy your life and don't ask useless questions.

[Prowler]

Sometimes I wonder if my life is Truman Show.

[BubblyShell22]

I doubt it. It just doesn't make sense to me for this to be happening, but I do agree that aliens probably observe us. As for why they aren't revealing themselves, I feel that they may be afraid to do so with how we like to do experiments on everything nowadays.

[snake]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Sometimes I wonder if my life is Truman Show.

You're just saying that to throw me off! I'm onto you guys.