Thursday, April 18, 2024

Thoughts on the Simulation

For those not in the know, the simulation hypothesis is that we are nothing more than a computer simulation by a vastly more advanced civilization.  Kind of like The Sims game, only with more polygons.  Scott Adams and Elon Musk are proponents of the hypothesis.  After all, we have begun making computer simulations that have rapidly improved.  What will they be like in a hundred years?  Will it be possible to tell reality from virtual reality?  It's the Matrix.  It is inevitable that there will be many simulations as computer technology advances.  What are the odds that we are the original and will be the ones who produce countless virtual realities with NPCs who think they are real vs. we are one of the many simulations created by the originals?  Adams and Musk think it is unlikely that we are the first.

One thing I find particularly interesting about the simulation hypothesis is that Christianity has an odd compatibility with it.  God (i.e., the programmer) has indeed created the universe.  Like most programmers of such simulations, he has an avatar so he too can "play" the game: Jesus.  Ergo, Jesus really is God.  That parallel is weird.  The Holy Spirit would be the program itself, the coding that makes the world work the way it works.  Gee, that's always present.  Moreover, the program literally knows all.  The data logs of a well-designed program will show what everything has done and when.  Yeah, the programmer has a record of all the errors (i.e., sins) committed by the players.

Scott Adams holds that those who embrace the simulation hypothesis are able to influence reality.  Of course, he is all about framing, viewing things in a way that maximizes your odds of success, which might not correspond with actual reality.

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