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Ilya · 07-04-2007

A few months ago, I've come up with an argument for the existence of God. I wrote a blog post about it, but never published it because I thought I couldn't accurately describe the idea. I've decided to publish it just for the purpose of this post.

It basically goes as follows: if the universe is infinitely long (over time), infinitely complex, infinitely large, or part of an infinite amount of universes, it must have in it a copy of myself (all of my states throughout my life), as well as of a machine capable of generating the data that corresponds to the entire universe. If such a machine exists, I am necessarily a part of its generation because my mathematical definition so precisely defines me that I am exactly equal to every copy of me that exists.

Anyway, if this doesn't make any sense, no worries. That's not the main point of the thread. The main point is that some professor has come up with a somewhat similar argument that I am interested in. It's not an argument for the existence of God, but rather for the real possibility (around 20%) that we live in a simulated reality. His idea is basically this:

It seems that we will soon be able to fairly accurately simulate intelligence. It also seems that there is nothing in particular that makes our consciousness special; it can be generated in a simulation complex enough. From this follows that either,

1. We, and almost all civilizations like us, will go extinct before reaching such a stage.
2. We, and almost all all civilizations like us, will have some (moral) reasons not to create such a simulation.
3. We are living in a simulation.

Read his abstract for a more detailed description of the theory.

Anyway... What are your thoughts on this? How do you think it relates to religion and spirituality? For example, if this guy is correct, it would make a lot more sense for God or gods to communicate with us through Biblical-style prophecies. It would also make Biblical texts like "they made us in their image" possibly true in the literal sense.

Also, outside of the religious context, the argument is quite interesting. What if we are mere simulations? Does it even matter?

07-04-2007	#1 (permalink)
Ilya Eligible for a custom title Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 107	Are you living in a computer simulation? A few months ago, I've come up with an argument for the existence of God. I wrote a blog post about it, but never published it because I thought I couldn't accurately describe the idea. I've decided to publish it just for the purpose of this post. It basically goes as follows: if the universe is infinitely long (over time), infinitely complex, infinitely large, or part of an infinite amount of universes, it must have in it a copy of myself (all of my states throughout my life), as well as of a machine capable of generating the data that corresponds to the entire universe. If such a machine exists, I am necessarily a part of its generation because my mathematical definition so precisely defines me that I am exactly equal to every copy of me that exists. Anyway, if this doesn't make any sense, no worries. That's not the main point of the thread. The main point is that some professor has come up with a somewhat similar argument that I am interested in. It's not an argument for the existence of God, but rather for the real possibility (around 20%) that we live in a simulated reality. His idea is basically this: It seems that we will soon be able to fairly accurately simulate intelligence. It also seems that there is nothing in particular that makes our consciousness special; it can be generated in a simulation complex enough. From this follows that either, 1. We, and almost all civilizations like us, will go extinct before reaching such a stage. 2. We, and almost all all civilizations like us, will have some (moral) reasons not to create such a simulation. 3. We are living in a simulation. Read his abstract for a more detailed description of the theory. Anyway... What are your thoughts on this? How do you think it relates to religion and spirituality? For example, if this guy is correct, it would make a lot more sense for God or gods to communicate with us through Biblical-style prophecies. It would also make Biblical texts like "they made us in their image" possibly true in the literal sense. Also, outside of the religious context, the argument is quite interesting. What if we are mere simulations? Does it even matter?