Imagining Simulation Theory

Imagine a world where everything around you is simulated by a computer, well, you may not need to imagine. As unbelievable as it may be, people on our earth truly think we may be within a computer simulation.

Nick Bostrom's simulation theory was revolutionary to the field of simulation philosophy. Bostroms predicted simulation is an entirely computer generated simulation with unlimited computing power. His ingenious proposals of our future world spurred much thought among many different influential minds on philosophy. Bostrom imagined a future world where our human race either: 1, does not create technology to simulate reality, 2, does create the technology but decided against using it, and, 3, creates the technology and decides to create an ancestral simulation. According to Bostrom, if the third and final prediction does in fact occur, that greatly increases the chance of our universe being simulated.

David Chalmers responds to the claims of Bostrom with some of his own claims. He agrees with Bostrom’s hypothetical idea of a simulation being computer simulated, however, thinks the manner in which the simulation occurs is different from that of Bostrom’s. In Chalmers proposal, he uses the ideas of the famous movie The Matrix to form his own simulation theory. He believes that if we were within a computer simulation, it would be a computer controlling the cognitive functions of our brain. Essentially, he thinks we are just brains in a vat. Chlamers uses his prior knowledge of the brain to propose that the brain can be convinced into believing it is experiencing things that are not happening. Thus, a computer would function to convince ur brain into thinking it is living a life in a false reality.

There is no definitive answer as to whether a simulation is in fact possible. According to Bostrom, the computing power necessary to create a simulation is possible to create, even though it may be the size of entire planets. Others, however, do not believe that the computing power is possible to create within our universe. Scientists, after some calculations, determined that to power an entire world, the necessary computing power would exceed the atoms of our world. Thus, it would not be possible for humans to develop the necessary technology to simulate realities. However, that does not mean that, potentially, other universes had greater computing power not feasible by mankind and were able to run simulations within their own realities. In which case, one cannot rule out the possibility of our current world being a simulation. Nonetheless, if we were able to simulate reality within our own world, it would provide much conviction to the argument of our reality being simulated.

The answer is simple, no. If the computer simulation creating our world has unlimited computing power, we will never be able to know if we are in fact in a simulation. This is because with unlimited computing power, the computer simulation would control all degrees of reality. Therefore, the computer can make anything that occurs within the simulation feel as if it is real. Furthermore, the simulation is able to stop and reverse the simulation if need be. The computers also have control over our memories and can erase any memory we have of a potential glitch within the simulation. However, if the computer had limited computing power it would be possible to see a glitch within the simulation. But we have no idea what this possible glitch would encompass, and we may never know. It is very possible that if there is a glitch within the simulation, we will notice immediately. Although, we may not notice a glitch, and never be able to prove that we are in a computer simulation.