Are we all living in a simulated world ?

Posted on Saturday, 27 October, 2012 | Comment icon

36 comments | News tip by: Still Waters

Image credit: flaivoloka / sxc.hu

It is a question that has been debated by philosophers and scientists alike for thousands of years.

The idea that the world we see around us is actually a complex computer simulation gained popular recognition following "The Matrix", but outside of the film is there a chance that there is any truth to this idea ? Scientists have been attempting to come up with a way to prove that the world we know and see is actually real and may have come up with a novel way to accomplish this.

The technique involves the use of mathematical models to reproduce a theoretical simulated reality. While there is still a long way to go, scientists are confident that by building a simulation of our universe it will be possible to determine if such an exercise is possible and if, therefore, there is a chance that we ourselves may be living within one.

"Professor Silas Beane, a theoretical physicist at the University of Bonn in Germany said that his group of scientists have developed a way to test the 'simulation hypothesis'."

View: Full article |

Source: Telegraph

Discuss: View comments (36)

<< Previous story
Mobile owners' bizarre insurance claims

Next story >>
Trapped permafrost gases could be released

Recent comments on this story

#27 Posted by gnostic-deity on 1 November, 2012, 19:06

ive often wondered about this. sometimes i am sure none of this is real. for instance, sometimes i feel like i am not a part of my body, just wearing a kind of simulation goggles or something so im plugged into me lol. but then other times im sure its all here because i can observe it, therefor ive created my own reality. but is that really reality?

#28 Posted by Rlyeh on 2 November, 2012, 6:58

From what I understand of this simulation hypothesis you're not plugged into it, you are a part of the simulation.

#29 Posted by Simbi Laveau on 2 November, 2012, 8:41

If this is simulated ,I want to know why am I not playing Kochanski in the Red Dwarf simulation ?

#30 Posted by gnostic-deity on 2 November, 2012, 20:23

ok, but then what am i?

#31 Posted by Rlyeh on 3 November, 2012, 5:47

A simulated lifeform. http://www.simulation-argument.com/

#32 Posted by StarMountainKid on 3 November, 2012, 17:13

If the human race is likely to become extinct before we reach the posthuman stage, and we construct a simulated universe with us in it for the continuation of the human race, are we really continuing the human race? After the bio-humans become extinct, the simulation continues to run. But, the sims can never regain their biological form, they're trapped in the simulation. The other thing is, would the simulators create the kind of universe we now live in? Wouldn't they create a better universe than ours for our own comfort? Maybe there is only one construction of a universe that is p... [More]

#33 Posted by Kludge808 on 4 November, 2012, 2:33

This could just as easily be the New and Improved version over their universe. On the other hand, this universe could also be a grade school class project created by some not all that talented children.

#34 Posted by FlyingAngel on 4 November, 2012, 16:49

The universe isn't messed up, humans are. Any program can have bugs and unwanted behavior. Therefore patches exist. If in 12/2012, an meteor hit the earth to wipe out the entire human species, you can call it a patch. Happy?

#35 Posted by StarMountainKid on 4 November, 2012, 18:32

We humans are a product of the universe. I don't necessarily want the human species wiped out, it wouldn't make me happy, but if it happens I don't think it will make much difference to the planet or the universe at large. The human species is going to become extinct at some moment in the future anyway, and our legacy of cruelty and love will vanish leaving no trace. Except maybe for the remembered amusement of the simulators.

#36 Posted by BeetlejuiceBob on 5 November, 2012, 15:30

Simulacrum 3000. Do you want to visit Earth that was? Be an eagle in the sky. A dinosaur stomping across the land. A dolphin in the sea. Or a human in any time period from the first dawn until the big blast. Total immersion! A vacation from yourself--You will not remember anything from your life on Omega 7. If you act now you can try our special 15-day housefly package for only $999.99 You will believe it is real!