Don't ask me why I'm thinking about this, but...
I've been wondering lately whether we're living in a simulated reality. The idea was popularized, and then destroyed, by the Matrix trilogy. The Matrix treated the idea as a premise for an action flick, while in truth, it's a philosophy that makes a hell of a lot more sense than Jesus or God or anything far-fetched like that. The "Simulation Hypothesis" posits three very important questions:
1) Is it possible, even in principle, to tell whether we are in a simulated reality?
Now, let me use video games as an example. Video games are virtual reality, not simulated reality. We can easily tell that what's happening inside the video game is not real, and in fact, separate from our reality. In a simulated reality, we would not be able to tell that what we are experiencing is a simulated reality, and would merely scratch it off as a "true" reality, unaware of the other reality behind ours.
There's a hugely-popular video game in the market called "The Sims", where you control a normal family, and have them do everyday activities: go to the bathroom, cook dinner, raise children, go to work, etc. What if, right now, we are in an enormous video game similar to "The Sims"? Or what if we're in a laboratory experiment meant to test our reactions and behaviors in a fixed simulated reality, meaning that everything we're experiencing is being programmed into the simulation by scientists to study our brain waves?
2) Is there any difference between a simulated reality versus a 'real' one?
This one's pretty straightforward. If this is a simulated reality, is it the same as our "true" reality? Or is our "true" reality completely different? Do our "true" selves follow the same laws of physics, or are the laws of physics only applicable to the computer program we're in?
Another interesting way to look at this question is that even if we're in a simulated reality, it would by default be our "true" reality, since perception is relative. A lot of philosophical concepts would come into play here, so there is plenty of room for debate here.
3) How should we behave if we knew that we were living in a simulated reality?
This is the question that I find most fascinating. If I were to figure out that I was indeed in a simulated reality, how should I act? Clearly, since this is not really happening, I would be free to do whatever I wanted. I could kill, steal, rape, destroy property...all without any regard for morality. Remember, morality only applies to real situations. There is no moral consequence for killing "bots" or "avatars". They are not real.
To take this even further, what if I was able to figure out the code of the program? If I could hack the code, I could do things in the simulation that I would not normally be allowed to do. I could fly, shoot laser beams out of my eyes, run faster than the speed of sound, become invisible, walk through walls...I could basically become God. The same way that hackers crack video game codes so that they can cheat in their games, I could cheat in this simulated reality. Maybe people like Jesus, who people say had extraordinary powers, was simply someone who had figured out how to crack the code.
Of course, this is one of those concepts that I don't take lightly or seriously. It's just that: a concept. But in my opinion, it is a concept worth exploring. I'm going to look for books on computer simulation to see if the first question is even practical. I'll post an update if I learn anything interesting.
1) Is it possible, even in principle, to tell whether we are in a simulated reality?
Now, let me use video games as an example. Video games are virtual reality, not simulated reality. We can easily tell that what's happening inside the video game is not real, and in fact, separate from our reality. In a simulated reality, we would not be able to tell that what we are experiencing is a simulated reality, and would merely scratch it off as a "true" reality, unaware of the other reality behind ours.
There's a hugely-popular video game in the market called "The Sims", where you control a normal family, and have them do everyday activities: go to the bathroom, cook dinner, raise children, go to work, etc. What if, right now, we are in an enormous video game similar to "The Sims"? Or what if we're in a laboratory experiment meant to test our reactions and behaviors in a fixed simulated reality, meaning that everything we're experiencing is being programmed into the simulation by scientists to study our brain waves?
2) Is there any difference between a simulated reality versus a 'real' one?
This one's pretty straightforward. If this is a simulated reality, is it the same as our "true" reality? Or is our "true" reality completely different? Do our "true" selves follow the same laws of physics, or are the laws of physics only applicable to the computer program we're in?
Another interesting way to look at this question is that even if we're in a simulated reality, it would by default be our "true" reality, since perception is relative. A lot of philosophical concepts would come into play here, so there is plenty of room for debate here.
3) How should we behave if we knew that we were living in a simulated reality?
This is the question that I find most fascinating. If I were to figure out that I was indeed in a simulated reality, how should I act? Clearly, since this is not really happening, I would be free to do whatever I wanted. I could kill, steal, rape, destroy property...all without any regard for morality. Remember, morality only applies to real situations. There is no moral consequence for killing "bots" or "avatars". They are not real.
To take this even further, what if I was able to figure out the code of the program? If I could hack the code, I could do things in the simulation that I would not normally be allowed to do. I could fly, shoot laser beams out of my eyes, run faster than the speed of sound, become invisible, walk through walls...I could basically become God. The same way that hackers crack video game codes so that they can cheat in their games, I could cheat in this simulated reality. Maybe people like Jesus, who people say had extraordinary powers, was simply someone who had figured out how to crack the code.
Of course, this is one of those concepts that I don't take lightly or seriously. It's just that: a concept. But in my opinion, it is a concept worth exploring. I'm going to look for books on computer simulation to see if the first question is even practical. I'll post an update if I learn anything interesting.