What does it matter if what we view and perceive is "reality" or a simulation? You can't detect the difference, you were born into this "reality", simulated or not, and I'd bet that you'll die in it too.
There isn't any evidence of artifacts of some simulation, beyond the existence of the laws of physics. And there certainly isn't any way to break it. If there is a higher power/controlling computer, they don't seem to care about us that much.
In terms of what we mathematically define as computation (given the observed rules of the simulation we know as life), it would be pretty hard to simulate what scientists view, measure, and track with our computational technology. The geometric rate on our computational engineering will probably slow drastically in the next century (to be liberal), so we can't count on a trillion times more space and speed.
I think you're missing one significant possibility. In order to carry off the simulation, the computer need only simulate one person's consciousness. The computer doesn't need to simulate everything (you know, "if a tree falls and nobody hears it, did it really fall?"). It only needs to simulate one person's consciousness. Everything else is a simulation vis-a-vis that one person's consciousness. The computer doesn't need to simulate 6 billion people's consciousness--it only needs to present the facade
Oh yeah. And on that thought line, the simulation might soon realize the Genie is out of the bottle, and the simulation needs to be shut down. Send in George Bush, create an international New World Order that quickly leads to chaos and self-destruction a la Armageddon at the hands of nuclear-armed terrorists and trigger-happy superpowers.
Now that I think about it, GW's election sure did seem like a glitch--a poorly patched error in the Matrix. I mean, were you guys watching the preliminary results in Fl
"Be there. Aloha."
-- Steve McGarret, _Hawaii Five-Oh_
If you can't tell the difference... (Score:4, Insightful)
There isn't any evidence of artifacts of some simulation, beyond the existence of the laws of physics. And there certainly isn't any way to break it. If there is a higher power/controlling computer, they don't seem to care about us that much.
In terms of what we mathematically define as computation (given the observed rules of the simulation we know as life), it would be pretty hard to simulate what scientists view, measure, and track with our computational technology. The geometric rate on our computational engineering will probably slow drastically in the next century (to be liberal), so we can't count on a trillion times more space and speed.
Re:If you can't tell the difference... (Score:2)
Re:If you can't tell the difference... (Score:2)
Now that I think about it, GW's election sure did seem like a glitch--a poorly patched error in the Matrix. I mean, were you guys watching the preliminary results in Fl