We could be computer simulations

[kill dank]

I found this incredibly interesting article and I would like to share it with you all and see what your thoughts are.. I'll post mine once I get some responses.

Physicists say they may have evidence that the universe is a computer simulation.

How? They made a computer simulation of the universe. And it looks sort of like us.

A long-proposed thought experiment, put forward by both philosophers and popular culture, points out that any civilization of sufficient size and intelligence would eventually create a simulation universe if such a thing were possible.

And since there would therefore be many more simulations (within simulations, within simulations) than real universes, it is therefore more likely than not that our world is artificial.

Now a team of researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany led by Silas Beane say they have evidence this may be true.

In a paper named 'Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation', they point out that current simulations of the universe - which do exist, but which are extremely weak and small - naturally put limits on physical laws.

Technology Review explains that "the problem with all simulations is that the laws of physics, which appear continuous, have to be superimposed onto a discrete three dimensional lattice which advances in steps of time."

What that basically means is that by just being a simulation, the computer would put limits on, for instance, the energy that particles can have within the program.

These limits would be experienced by those living within the sim - and as it turns out, something which looks just like these limits do in fact exist.

For instance, something known as the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin, or GZK cut off, is an apparent boundary of the energy that cosmic ray particles can have. This is caused by interaction with cosmic background radiation. But Beane and co's paper argues that the pattern of this rule mirrors what you might expect from a computer simulation.

Naturally, at this point the science becomes pretty tricky to wade through - and we would advise you read the paper itself to try and get the full detail of the idea.

But the basic impression is an intriguing one.

Like a prisoner in a pitch-black cell, we may never be able to see the 'walls' of our prison -- but through physics we may be able to reach out and touch them.

Summary article (above) - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/11/physicists-may-have-evide_n_1957777.html

Important article - http://www.technologyreview.com/view/429561/the-measurement-that-would-reveal-the-universe-as/

Scholarly article (the one you should read)(PDF) - http://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.1847v1.pdf

 

[Saiyn]

Inception right here..... My mind wouldn't be able to cope with thinking that we are a simulation.

 

[Terrankiller]

How? They made a computer simulation of the universe. And it looks sort of like us.

Damn who would of thunk that? A simulation of the universe and it looks sort of like us.

 

[Lame]

Seems interesting but no one can know for sure. I don't think our minds are even developed enough to even examine something such as this. At least not mine.

 

[Sun]

Wait, would this mean that we're not controlling ourselves? Sorry, can't grasp it entirely.

 

[kill dank]

Wait, would this mean that we're not controlling ourselves? Sorry, can't grasp it entirely.

No. We're still controlling ourselves, but it's almost like our minds are just an extraordinarily well developed form of AI.

I guess an easy way to explain it would be that it's like an incredibly advanced RPG in which the npc's and characters have a mind of their own..

But instead of things (all the objects, and everything really) being created by the creator of the simulation, the "ingredients" were just left alone to become what they will. I'm not very good at explaining it..

 

[Buyers]

wow, that amazes me tbh.

 

[Trent!]

I'm not surprised. I've had a similar theory for a few years.

Essentially, as technology advances and science & physics become more accurate and complex, it is highly probable that someone will develop a form of "Virtual Reality" that is based off of what our "universe" is now. They would create the universe/world and make it so in this virtual world, the laws of physics, mathematics, and science are all accurately based off of our own. People could transfer into these virtual worlds, and live exactly how they would be living now, but inside of a simulation. The creator is open to intervene or cause specific events or changes, and this idea could eventually become so complex and dynamic that like we have designers for private servers for WoW or Runescape, we could have designers for virtual universes or worlds. Imagine being able to create your own world, alter laws of physics or mathematics at your will, and design not only the landscape, but the people or organisms in these worlds. The creator could interact with his simulation, give himself special "powers" or abilities. If you really wanted you could create a world where every chick is amazingly hot, and while you are interacting inside your own world, all of these women have intense lust or desire for you. One interesting idea I came up with for this scenario is what if you created your own virtual world, and set the time back to early man. Then you enter this world as a God of these people. You tell them what you want from them, give them aid if necessary, and essentially create your own religion and have a populace of people worshiping you. The possibilities are near endless.

Just my wild theories I formed after watching a shitton of Ancient Aliens and The Transcendent Man, don't mind me

 

[Drinking Hard]

I pretty sure this is not true hahah. But who I to decide. Space itself it so fast and growing that our mind can not comprehend. We are little particles compared to how big life really is. I just don't know if I can get myself to believe what these Scientist have to say, but nice post!

 

[ThomasH]

the act of imitating the behavior of some situation or some process by means of something suitably analogous (especially for the purpose of study or personnel training)

(computer science) the technique of representing the real world by a computer program; "a simulation should imitate the internal processes and not merely the results of the thing being simulated"

model: representation of something (sometimes on a smaller scale)

pretense: the act of giving a false appearance; "his conformity was only pretending"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

(simulate) imitate: reproduce someone's behavior or looks; "The mime imitated the passers-by"; "Children often copy their parents or older siblings"

(simulate) model: create a representation or model of; "The pilots are trained in conditions simulating high-altitude flights"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Simulation is the imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation

Logic simulation is the use of a computer program to simulate the operation of a digital circuit. Logic simulation is the primary tool used for verifying the logical correctness of a hardware design. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_(EDA)

(Simulations (Revelation Space)) This article lists elements of technology in the fictional Revelation Space universe created by Alastair Reynolds.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulations_(Revelation_Space)

(Simulator (genus)) Simulator is a genus of small freshwater snails or limpets, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulator_(genus)

Something which simulates a system or environment in order to predict actual behaviour; The process of simulating; the act of falling over in order to be awarded a foul, when a foul hasn't been committed
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/simulation

(simulate) To model, replicate, duplicate the behavior, appearance or properties of
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/simulate

(Simulations) Highly interactive applications that allow the learner to model or role-play in a scenario. Simulations enable the learner to practice skills or behaviors in a risk-free environment.
www.uen.org/core/edtech/glossary.shtml

(Simulations) A number of simulations are available in FLASH4-alpha which use this unit. MGDStep, MGDInfinite and Shafranov use the solver in multiTemp mode and ConductionDeltaSaDiff uses this solver in single temperature mode.
flash.uchicago.edu/site/flashcode/user_support/flash4_ug/node2…

(Simulations) Creation of a “virtual” world (of an organism, galaxy, pond, etc.) where students can alter variables and determine the course of change according to choices made by the user.
www.clrn.org/definitions/index.html

(Simulations) games that replicate aspects of real or fictional reality (including the development of restaurants, theme parks, and entire civilizations as well as raising pets, dating, and the design of peoples' entire lives)
simonesmith.hubpages.com/hub/A-Glossary-of-Video-Games-T…

(Simulations) interactive multimedia presentations designed to model real scenarios and which allow the user to participate and experience without risk.
www.worldwidelearn.com/elearning-essentials/elearning-glossar…

(Simulate) During the order entry process, you "imitate" an order in your computer before you send an actual order to Kodak. This simulation displays the prices and estimated delivery dates for every item you place in your shopping cart. ...
www.kodak.com/global/en/b2b/demo/help/glossary.shtml

(Simulate) Verb meaning to imitate or copy
www.museumnetworkuk.org/materials/glossary.html

(Simulate) in conservation terms, an attempt at close representation in order to study a specific problem or aspect of the artist’s practice
www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/tatepapers/07autumn/term…

(simulate (v)) To take on the appearance or form of; imitate
www.sitesalive.com/admin/glossary.htm

(simulate) A computer application used to study the possible results of a process or strategy.
www.sd58.bc.ca/Scope & Sequence webpages/glossary.htm

(simulate) To test the function of a DVD disc in the authoring system, without actually formatting an image.
www.dvdmadeeasy.com/glossary/s.html

(simulate) v. pretend to have or feel
www.rong-chang.com/awl03.htm

(Simulated) Artificial gemstones used to “simulate” natural gemstonesGemstones in order to make more affordable jewellery, for example simulated pearls.
www.thejewelhut.co.uk/glossary-of-terms-jh.htm

They made a computer simulation of the universe. And it looks sort of like us.

They made a simulation of the universe as they know it, which would include us. So of course it's going to look like us. This honestly makes no sense.

 

[kill dank]

They made a simulation of the universe as they know it, which would include us. So of course it's going to look like us. This honestly makes no sense.

The thing you're missing is that that's just a journal article summarizing the actual research.. In other words, written by a moron. I posted the link on the bottom that you should read if you're looking for the actual scientific information..

 

[mage3158]

It seems more like a convenient explanation for things in my opinion.

And the evidence isn't true evidence, it's just a hopeful explanation to phenomena.

 

I get the feeling that if we were in a simulation that the simulation wouldn't allow us to find out if we were inside one or not. If it's eliminated the possibility of us remembering any sort of outside life, then it sure as hell wouldn't want us knowing it exists and start to make attempts to crash it or something.

 

[mage3158]

I get the feeling that if we were in a simulation that the simulation wouldn't allow us to find out if we were inside one or not. If it's eliminated the possibility of us remembering any sort of outside life, then it sure as hell wouldn't want us knowing it exists and start to make attempts to crash it or something.

A computer capable of running a simulation of this magnitude wouldn't be able to be crashed by our vantage point I'd think.

 

[rue]

So they've incorporated all of the physics based on what we've created, that's interesting to say the least.

 

[yewcan]

Ever heard of the matrix? lol

 

[I_DONT_BOT]

Surely because its a simulation of us, if they're good at their job it should be like us? I've had the thought what if I'm real and everyone else is fake and it's all a game, but as I've got older and more knowledgeable, I've realised that its not true. It's like of they simulate the damage a natural disaster is going to do, they should be able to do it accurately enough to know what preparation is needed, for instance evacuation for tornados that are too strong.

 

A computer capable of running a simulation of this magnitude wouldn't be able to be crashed by our vantage point I'd think.

Not necessarily. A game like WoW is essentially a simulated world as well. Since so many people play it, its kinks and bugs have nearly been perfected. Crashing a real-life simulation would be about as hard as trying to crash one of WoW's servers. How? Basically, a DDoS. You ram the server with more information than it can handle, and it will undeniably crash.

 

[kill dank]

Not necessarily. A game like WoW is essentially a simulated world as well. Since so many people play it, its kinks and bugs have nearly been perfected. Crashing a real-life simulation would be about as hard as trying to crash one of WoW's servers. How? Basically, a DDoS. You ram the server with more information than it can handle, and it will undeniably crash.

How would you go about doing that from within?

 

[mage3158]

Not necessarily. A game like WoW is essentially a simulated world as well. Since so many people play it, its kinks and bugs have nearly been perfected. Crashing a real-life simulation would be about as hard as trying to crash one of WoW's servers. How? Basically, a DDoS. You ram the server with more information than it can handle, and it will undeniably crash.

The scale is so much different however. We are so incomprehensibly tiny compared to the "program". As opposed to the WoW server.