Are we living in a simulation?

[Mintycash]

If you are interested in this concept of a simulation, I recommed this book:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permutation_City

Also, assume we are indeed in a simulation. This simulation could arise naturally from a primordial universe without the need of a ''programmer'' or advance civilization producing the simulation.

[Fundalini]

No, we are not. There are simply too many controlled variables and there are things that couldn't be considered coincidences like how plants produce oxygen and we breathe out CO2 or how out of all the 8 planets in the solar system, earth is the only one on the habitable zone.

[Mintycash]

No, we are not. There are simply too many controlled variables and there are things that couldn't be considered coincidences like how plants produce oxygen and we breathe out CO2 or how out of all the 8 planets in the solar system, earth is the only one on the habitable zone.

What you are implying is the ''rare earth hypothesis''... Please check:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/01/the-rare-earth-theory-logic-and-math-says-were-not-alone-in-universe.html

[Cryptopriest]

There are some videos about evolution of gaming. You can see that in period of 40 years, computer games traveled the path from 100x100 pixels on screen to photo-realistic images rendered in real time, in complex game world (simulation), with many players playing simultaneously. Now, can you imagine the those games in 200 years from now! (If we don't kill each other first of course.) What would they look like?

It is quite possible that we are living in a simulation. However, i don't think we will be able to prove it, unless the guys running this simulation wants it to be provable. Maybe they put some rules and a goal to figure which civilization (yes, there are most likely others on different planets too) will discover the truth about simulations or even escape own simulation or move to the other (multiverse?).

Those guys, simulation owners and creators, would probably be the closes thing to gods from human religions.

[Baconn]

No we are not in a simulation... we are not in the matrix either.... you've been watching too much the Matrix Trilogy bro 

Haha no, it's not because of the movie bro It's just that i have been open-minded and thinking out of the box for a moment
What do you think then, created by God?What is our purpose here on earth?

[genesis.re]

Elon Musk: one a billion chance...

It doesn't matter.

Enjoy every moment.

[slate_main]

Whether a simulation or not, we are not playing it very well on the whole, perhaps we are a mirrored 'species' on this planet, as well as others, being tested by a higher being, this unstable region of the galaxy could be a piece in a vacuum jar, of sorts, of course nobody can really know, can they?

[passteque]

50/50 imo

[naglas]

this is like one of those questions people ask after Burningman 
rly it's not a simulation, people just started to develop AR/VR technologies (it would be weird to create VR technologies inside VR world ), but I'm sure it could be a case soon... VR is a very promising industry now..

[HappyNonce]

Here is a nice introduction to the simulation hypothesis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlTKTTt47WE

[Mike Christ]

It's an interesting question--perhaps it was popularized by that movie The Matrix.  My problem with that movie is that, with all the energy in the universe, why would some advanced robotic species waste time enslaving humans for their energy, which likely wouldn't even power the very simulation they participate in.  The universe is full of suns which are far more efficient to harvest energy from.

As far as the simulation theory goes, my thoughts are this: if there's no evidence of it, then it's unwise to assume it's occurring anyway.  How does one show that this is a simulation?--we would need to be able to enter the "real world", and be able to view the simulation from outside of the simulation.  We would also need to be able to be certain that this experience of exiting the simulation into the real world was actually occurring, but there's limits to what the human experience can guarantee (empiricism gets us only so far.)  If we "break" the simulation from the inside, we could also just as well assume that we can break the real world.  Anything which occurs in the "simulation" can just as easily be attributed to occurring in reality.  Why limit yourself to one simulation?  Why not have every human being in existence be in their own simulation which combines into a supersimulation that we experience together.  Again, no evidence of this occurring.  What if, outside of the simulation, we're all brains in jars?  No evidence of this occurring.  What if we're all actually just souls lost in limbo and this is all a hallucination of post-death?  No evidence.  What if there's an tentacled alien demigod somewhere in another dimension who is having a multi-billion year long dream about our universe and that's what our existence is?  No evidence.

It's the same as questions for the tooth fairy and santa clause: we can make up as many reasons as we'd like as to why anything is happening, but if we can't actually experience the evidence of it, then we must assume it's not real.

[podrick17]

This is much of a thought for a human because everyone chooses the life they wants, they do decision base on their own thinking and ideas so i do not believe we live in a simulation because we have a freedom to do everything we want.

[Ihlan]

Iam living in computer situasion

[hownowbrowncow]

No we are not. But obviously get out if were.

[dunkindonat]

Neil deGrasse Tyson has interesting thoughts about this

[blackbitum]

No, we live too really do any step and you will see different events

[Baconn]

It's an interesting question--perhaps it was popularized by that movie The Matrix.  My problem with that movie is that, with all the energy in the universe, why would some advanced robotic species waste time enslaving humans for their energy, which likely wouldn't even power the very simulation they participate in.  The universe is full of suns which are far more efficient to harvest energy from.

As far as the simulation theory goes, my thoughts are this: if there's no evidence of it, then it's unwise to assume it's occurring anyway.  How does one show that this is a simulation?--we would need to be able to enter the "real world", and be able to view the simulation from outside of the simulation.  We would also need to be able to be certain that this experience of exiting the simulation into the real world was actually occurring, but there's limits to what the human experience can guarantee (empiricism gets us only so far.)  If we "break" the simulation from the inside, we could also just as well assume that we can break the real world.  Anything which occurs in the "simulation" can just as easily be attributed to occurring in reality.  Why limit yourself to one simulation?  Why not have every human being in existence be in their own simulation which combines into a supersimulation that we experience together.  Again, no evidence of this occurring.  What if, outside of the simulation, we're all brains in jars?  No evidence of this occurring.  What if we're all actually just souls lost in limbo and this is all a hallucination of post-death?  No evidence.  What if there's an tentacled alien demigod somewhere in another dimension who is having a multi-billion year long dream about our universe and that's what our existence is?  No evidence.

It's the same as questions for the tooth fairy and santa clause: we can make up as many reasons as we'd like as to why anything is happening, but if we can't actually experience the evidence of it, then we must assume it's not real.

Nice nice, interesting thoughts my friend There are a lot of things we do not have evidence of but yet we still believe in it.
Sometimes it's just about feeling something and the things that happen around you.Ok, of course, you cant be certain 100% because you feel something like that etc.
I just say you cant be sure in something you don't know.Evidence, a strange thing for some things in life Who knows what happens when we die...if we truly die
And that tentacled alien demigod, i hope he will not wake up

[Doclam]

Are we living in a computer simulation and if you found out somehow that indeed we are would you get out or stay in simulation?Reasons for both.
You do not know whats out there when you get out only that you can end this simulation.What are your thoughts on these subject?
I would get out because i would have a feeling that all of this is a lie, therefore, no reasons to stay here.

yes man that is what I feel too

[BlitzPredict]

No we are not. But obviously get out if were.

But what if your existence is only possible within the simulation?

It may not be like the Matrix. If it is like the Matrix I agree, get out.

[IJane]

We could be 100% generated artificial "intelligence"... and could be living in a simulation made by some alien student. What if that student lives in a simulation too...