X-Message-Number: 16644
From: 
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2001 08:36:21 EDT
Subject: Re: Is life a game?

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  Well of course we're probably all living in a simulation. Every inhabited 
universe has zillions of simulations with only one "real" level, so the odds 
are huge that you're in a simulation. And the simulations have simulations in 
them, so you're probably ten levels down. (But then again we might be real 
and if we screw up we'll destroy not only ourselves but all the potential 
simulations we could build.)

>I would speculate that in order to win, one would have to come to know
things that count for points before the other contestants did.  And the
piece of knowledge that would count for the most points would be to fully
realize that you are in a fantasy world.   

  Given that your knowledge base consists of simulated facts, you might want 
to question your conclusions... but I agree it would be interesting to find 
out how far down in videogame land we are. I think that "realizing" that 
you're in a simulation is easy, "proving" it is what we're after. (Whether 
you would "win" anything then is a good question.)

>So the question that puzzles me, as much as Descartes probably questions
what would be a starting point for knowledge, is: "If you created a perfect
fake world, how could you ever know if the world you were in was fake?"

  You give me a good idea for a new drug-approval category: "Anti-solipsism 
drug." (In the meantime, try not using caffeine for a while, Dave!)

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