Simulated Reality

From Are We Living In The Matrix?:

This page examines the theory that our universe is in fact a simulated universe which is running on a massively powerful computer programmed by some advanced civilisation. Though the world feels "real" to us, we might be merely logic states in an advanced computer. As improbable as this might sound, the theory has gained a lot of attention recently due to a similar idea in the film The Matrix, and the idea is even attracting the attention of several physicists.

However, as we shall now see, the particular situation depicted in The Matrix would seem to be a very unlikely description of our reality:

1) The "Brain-in-a-Vat" Scenario

The idea that we might be living in a simulated world is so fascinating because it is impossible to disprove the theory that we are living in a simulated universe. In order to see how difficult it is to disprove, consider the Brain-in-a-Vat Argument. The Brain-in-a-Vat Argument considers the situation whereby a person's brain has been removed from their body and is floating in a life-sustaining fluid. The brain is connected by wires to a computer which provides the brain with exactly the same impulses as the brain would normally receive, the computer effectively creating a "virtual reality". The person with the disembodied brain would continue to have perfectly normal conscious experiences without these being related to objects or events in the real world. It would be impossible for the person to discover the reality of their simulated world.

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