No idea The Simulation Argument

[ileks]

Ok so I was quite stoned the other night and came across this youtube video somehow. I've heard the argument before but not quite as well structured. It's worth a watch and isn't as ridiculous as it first sounds. The more you think about it the more interesting it gets. Anyway I thought I'd share, here it is:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnl6nY8YKHs

edit - probably watch this first:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUcZ5MyabM

 

[Tom]

tl;dr?

 

[ECA]

the tldr is we're all just living inside a simulation.

 

[Raven]

Like the matrix maaaan.

 

[Job]

Simulating what?

 

[old.Tohtori]

It's a fun theory, though i find my theory of us being in a virtual jail much more interesting. You know, sentence is as long as our life lasts before our concious is returned to our body and we've "done the time" in seconds.

 

[ileks]

the tldr is we're all just living inside a simulation.

No, it's that there are three and only three possible states for the universe and our future:

1) The human race, or every other advanced civilisation that exists goes extinct before it reaches "technical maturity" - the point where they are able to simulate the world down to the very atom (although it may not need to even be that detailed to simulate consciousness).

2) Every single civilisation that reaches "technical maturity" decides not to run an ancestor simulation for moral or other reasons. I find this unlikely but it's possible so must be considered.

3) We are "living" in a simulation.

Some probability theory comes into it but that's the main argument/analogy.

We can assign some probability to each possibility based on what we observe. The funny thing is, as the human race continues to avoid extinction and increase computing power, the probability of being in state 3 tends to one! In effect, by surviving we increase our chance of not being real. That's my take on it anyway.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yeah there's a problem with that already. There is no case for "technical maturity".

So we're not at 1 yet, there's no case for 2 and 3 is just like saying we live up Deebs nose.

 

[ileks]

Yeah there's a problem with that already. There is no case for "technical maturity".

You might be right. In which case we are in (2). But if we continue to develop computing and programing power as we are, the probability of being in state (2) goes to zero.

 

[Jupitus]

So we're not at 1 yet, there's no case for 2 and 3 is just like saying we live up Deebs nose.

Well - that's a distinct possibility, eh @Deebs ?

 

[Job]

What amuses me given the complexity of us and matter itself ..how boring it can be.

 

[Tom]

For all we know, the reason we haven't detected life off our planet may be because extra terrestrials have erected some huge forcefield around our solar system. Perhaps they're all out there, keeping an eye on us, waiting for us to develop some breakthrough technology.

At which point they'll come in, say hello, and admit they've been watching us masturbate for centuries.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Or we're the first civilization.

Wouldn't it suck to be the "ancients".

 

[Scouse]

Or we're the first civilization.

Statistically very unlikely.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yeah, but bringing statistics into it makes it really boring.

 

[MYstIC G]

Or we're the first civilization.

Wouldn't it suck to be the "ancients".

Not if we come up with Stargates, that would be freaking awesome.

 

[Job]

Us humans are obsessed with.past and future...its all the same thing...yesterday is simply all the atoms in a different state and place and tomorrow the same

 

[Scouse]

Us humans are obsessed with.past and future...its all the same thing...yesterday is simply all the atoms in a different state and place and tomorrow the same

Maybe that outlook on life is the reason scousers don't like working. What's the point if it's all the same eh?

 

[old.Tohtori]

I think it's more about people obsessing over affecting the direction and speed of those atoms.

Someone proving faith would be fun, because if all things were set then everyone knowing nothing can be affected still wouldn't change anything

 

[Scouse]

Someone proving faith would be fun

You really need to get your terminology sorted.

Faith doesn't need proving. It's the "complete trust or confidence in someone or something" - and it's clear that faith is real.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Sorry, fate. Sue me

 

[TdC]

Not if we come up with Stargates, that would be freaking awesome.

hmm we'd:

a) meet aliens who look almost exactly like humans
b) meet aliens who look almost nothing like humans

either way...they'll try to kill us.

 

[MYstIC G]

hmm we'd:

a) meet aliens who look almost exactly like humans
b) meet aliens who look almost nothing like humans

either way...they'll try to kill us.

We'd fuck them up in the end though so it's all good.

 

[Job]

The chances of us meeting sentient alien life that is at a level of evolution that would allow us to communicate in any meaningful way is infinitesimal, either they would be 3 cells in a dish or have moved on to level of consciousness that would render us dust.

 

[MYstIC G]

You really need to get your terminology sorted.

Faith doesn't need proving. It's the "complete trust or confidence in someone or something" - and it's clear that faith is real.

not this shit again...

 

[TdC]

We'd fuck them up in the end though so it's all good.

Will Smith will not help you this time.

 

[MYstIC G]

Will Smith will not help you this time.

Wrong franchises... (both crap)

 

[Job]

Actually watched the vid and sparked me to think...if we are a superior civilisations simulation..wont we go on to become them and then create our own simulation...so really the originsl civilisation will be creating a simulation which will itself create a simulation...which will then...you get the point..they're gonna need one big server.

 

[fettoken]

We can at least agree on there's something behind this universe that we do not know of. Simulations - I'm skeptic to those sentiments though.

 

[Job]

I guess it's reasonable to presume in the not too distant future we will make artificial consciousness and then we could easily slot it into a virtual world, kinda freaky to think that the entire universe could be on some alien hard disk.
The point of doing this escapes me, because if we are in the position I'd like to fucking strangle the coder..or God as we should call him.