Is the Universe a Simulation?

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MSI
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Is the Universe a Simulation?

Post by MSI »

Feb 16, 2014: NY Times: Is the Universe a Simulation? by Edward Frenkel
With simulation in the title, and programming in the text, and my being a simulation programmer, i simply HAD to post this little ditty up. Mathematical truths exist and are merely waiting for us to discover them.
  • Consider some of the ideas in the article:
    • Mathematical knowledge is unlike any other knowledge. Its truths are objective, necessary and timeless.
    • The great logician Kurt Gödel argued that mathematical concepts and ideas “form an objective reality of their own, which we cannot create or change, but only perceive and describe.” But if this is true, how do humans manage to access this hidden reality?
    • one fanciful possibility is that we live in a computer simulation based on the laws of mathematics — not in what we commonly take to be the real world. According to this theory, some highly advanced computer programmer of the future has devised this simulation, and we are unknowingly part of it. Thus when we discover a mathematical truth, we are simply discovering aspects of the code that the programmer used.
    • Are we prepared to take the “red pill,” as Neo did in “The Matrix,” to see the truth behind the illusion — to see “how deep the rabbit hole goes”?
Polish up on your programming!

See the full article:
MSI
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Re: Is the Universe a Simulation?

Post by MSI »

April 2016: Now Neil deGrasse Tyson is in on it! which includes
  • One of the main arguments that physicists use to talk about what's known as the "simulation hypothesis" is that if we can prove that it's possible to simulate a universe — if we can figure out all the laws that govern how everything works (which physicists are trying to do) — that makes it much more likely that it is actually simulated. If we know that it's possible to do something, it's much easier to think that thing is being done.
    "And if that's the case, it is easy for me to imagine that everything in our lives is just the creation of some other entity for their entertainment," Tyson says. "I’m saying, the day we learn that it is true, I will be the only one in the room saying, I’m not surprised."
interesting!
MSI
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Re: Is the Universe a Simulation?

Post by MSI »

June 2016: Now Elon Musk is in on it...
Elon Musk: 'Chances are we're all living in a simulation'
Which begins...
  • Elon Musk wears many hats. He’s the co-founder of online payments behemoth PayPal, the founder of private space flight pioneers SpaceX, the chief executive of electronic car manufacturers Tesla, and the original doodler of utopian transport concept Hyperloop. He’s also outspoken about the dangers of AI research, the need for blue-sky thinking in technology, and his desire to colonise another planet.

    So it’s no surprise that over the course of an interview at California’s Code conference, Musk revealed a number of things we didn’t know before. Here’s some of them.
    He’s afraid we’re all in a simulation

    Musk is no stranger to the work of philosopher Nick Bostrom, who has warned before that superintelligent AI might wipe out humanity. Musk cited that fear as a reason for investing in AI company DeepMind, before it was bought by Google. But now he’s introduced the world to another concept popularised by Bostrum: the simulation problem.
See the full article:
Elon Musk: 'Chances are we're all living in a simulation'
MSI
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Re: Is the Universe a Simulation?

Post by MSI »

Aug 11, 2019: NY Times article opinion piece once again asks...
Are we living in a simulation?
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