Are we living in a simulated world?

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  • germdoc
    Veteran Member
    • Nov 2003
    • 3567
    • Omaha, NE
    • BT3000--the gray ghost

    Are we living in a simulated world?

    I know most of you have seen the Matrix and are not unfamiliar with the idea that we are just figments of someone else's imagination, or possibly their computer circuitry.

    An interesting article in Wired about Second Life pointed out that this is rapidly becoming reality: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/m...15-08/ff_sheep

    The sophistication of these worlds seems to increase exponentially, so now it's obvious it's only a matter of time until virtually every human experience can be simulated by a computer chip. (Where can I get one of those Sex Balls they have in Second Life?)

    See also this article in NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/sc...pagewanted=all

    OK, I know it's too early in the morning to think about such things, until you've had your 4th or 5th cup of coffee. And it has nothing to do with woodworking. But it's a really crazy idea that could be TRUE. Not that we could prove it or even be aware of it. We would think that we are touching real oak and maple and padauk, when really we are just sensing variations on the master code for that wood as programmed by the prime designer. We have a modicum of "free will" as programmed, but we generally follow the path laid out by the designer. Our lives will last as long as we are of interest to the designer(s), then *zip*.

    Pretty freaky, huh?
    Last edited by germdoc; 08-15-2007, 08:09 AM.
    Jeff


    “Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing”--Voltaire
  • cabinetman
    Gone but not Forgotten RIP
    • Jun 2006
    • 15218
    • So. Florida
    • Delta

    #2
    Yeah, I agree with you. medical school was a simulation. Actually, you could be just a keystroke. What the heck kind of coffee do you drink??? If you get to the office today (which could be just a JPEG), cancel my physical for next month.

    Comment

    • oakchas
      Established Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 432
      • Jefferson City, TN, USA
      • BT3000

      #3
      So many things are possible. Some less probable. Read Koonts' The Corner of His Eye... could be parallel worlds, too... one in which we are sims from a future branch.

      Comment

      • LinuxRandal
        Veteran Member
        • Feb 2005
        • 4889
        • Independence, MO, USA.
        • bt3100

        #4
        Having issues determining reality from fiction eh? We should take all those sharp objects out of your shop.

        Or if I am not who you think I am, your process will be halted, and flushed from the system.



        I once got into a heated debate over that movie, in a place where you would have thought the attention would have been elsewhere (on the dancer). All I said was I was disappointed in the movie (first one, others weren't a concept yet), as it was Terminator mixed with Tron.
        She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

        Comment

        • pierhogunn
          Veteran Member
          • Sep 2003
          • 1567
          • Harrisburg, NC, USA.

          #5
          Doctor, sir, STEP AWAY from the 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3h,7h)-dione
          It's Like I've always said, it's amazing what an agnostic can't do if he dosent know whether he believes in anything or not

          Monty Python's Flying Circus

          Dan in Harrisburg, NC

          Comment

          • gsmittle
            Veteran Member
            • Aug 2004
            • 2784
            • St. Louis, MO, USA.
            • BT 3100

            #6
            Jeff,

            Put down the Sartre text and back away reallllll slow......

            Ever read/seen No Exit?

            g.
            Smit

            "Be excellent to each other."
            Bill & Ted

            Comment

            • jwaterdawg
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2005
              • 656
              • Washington, NC USA
              • JET

              #7
              What IS the matrix?
              Don't be stupid, the universe is watching.

              Comment

              • LinuxRandal
                Veteran Member
                • Feb 2005
                • 4889
                • Independence, MO, USA.
                • bt3100

                #8
                Originally posted by jwaterdawg
                What IS the matrix?
                Your gonna have to take the blue pill (NOT viagra) before we can show you.
                She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

                Comment

                • scorrpio
                  Veteran Member
                  • Dec 2005
                  • 1566
                  • Wayne, NJ, USA.

                  #9
                  That would be the red pill.
                  I think that Matrix (first one) can stand well on its own, but that is a different discussion.

                  It has ever been one of those philosophical conundrums. Even before computers, there was debate as to weather what we consider 'waking world' might actually be a dream. Or that there is some beings for whom we are just chess pieces in an elaborate game. Heck, Bible's Genesis reads a whole lot like setting up a simulation.

                  Matrix concept of actual humans plugged into a simulation network and living in a world other than real is one way. There has been this movie: 13th floor - where world, along with its inhabitants was completely simulated, but those running the simulation could 'log into' those simulated people and take control - sort of like Agents take over people in Matrix.

                  That said, it would have to be heck of a simulation to run this world.

                  Comment

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