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Ask HN: Regarding the simulation hypothesis, is something better than nothing?

1 pointsby GWBullshitalmost 2 years ago
You may not believe we are currently living in a simulation, but if we are, such a state would have some very important implications, for example:<p>(1) Is it possible to examine (and possibly hack) the underlying source code in order to improve the lot of both humanity and the other living organisms we share our planet with?<p>(2) Is it a digital simulation encompassing the whole universe (which for all we know may be just-in-time rendered background filler), or is it a biological simulation localized to, say, experimental colonies of an alien civilization (for example, what if there were 100s or 1000s of &quot;Plan-ETs&#x2F;ET-Plans&quot;, each with their own versions of Joe Biden and the NASDAQ and Ukraine and Putin and so on)?<p>Since there are no current tangible standards for assessing the likelihood of the simulation hypothesis being true and if so to what extent it is (save for a few philosophical postulates and Moore&#x27;s law), can we come to a reasonable conclusion that &quot;something&quot;, however imperfect and possibly objectionable it may be, is better than nothing?<p>What is being proposed is something that, however ridiculous it may seem at first glance, will at the very least allow for for the calculation of probabilities (&quot;What are the odds that all these similarly-themed things are concurrent coincidences?&quot;).<p>Currently putting the finishing touches on such a presentation and transferring it to some managed hosting service for public contemplation.<p>What are your thoughts on the subject, Hacker News?<p>What if something came up that, although not 100% perfect evidence of the actuality of a sim, allowed you to calculate the likelihood of such to, say, a 99.99999999999...% likelihood?<p>Anybody see potential logical flaws with this approach?

2 comments

smoldesualmost 2 years ago
&gt; What are the odds that all these similarly-themed things are concurrent coincidences?<p>It&#x27;s inversely proportional to the odds that these similarly-themed things pop-up coincidentally in human language, if I remember the gist of your argument here.
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al2o3cralmost 2 years ago
Have you considered the likelihood of a carbon monoxide leak in your dwelling?
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