On 2019-09-02 16:39:PM, Matt Mahoney wrote:
Here are at least 4 possibilities, listed in decreasing order of
complexity, and therefore increasing likelihood if Occam's Razor holds
outside the simulation.
1. Only your brain exists. All of your sensory inputs are simulated by
a model of a non-existent outside world. The universe running this
simulation is completely different and we can know nothing about it.
It might be that space, time, matter, and life are abstract concepts
that exist only in the model.
2. Your mind, memories, and existence are also simulated. You didn't
exist one second ago.
3. The observable universe is modeled in a few hundred bits of code
tuned to allow intelligence life to evolve. In this case the speed of
light is in the code.
4. All possible universes with all possible laws of physics exist and
we necessary observe one that allows intelligent life to evolve.
This makes 3 and 4 sound more likely. However, there's a problem with
that argument -
which is that the four cases are not mutually exclusive. 3 and 4 include
1 and 2 as possibilities.
If you try and fix that problem by defining 3 or 4 so that they exclude
1 and 2, then the
argument about 3 and 4 being favored by Occam's razor (if that is still
a thing in the enclosing
world) no longer holds - because they are no longer simpler options.
If this argument about Occam's razor did hold, I think simulism would be
a bit of
a less interesting possibility. However, it isn't a valid argument.
--
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|im |yler http://timtyler.org/
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