Are We Living In a Computer Simulation? | Two Minute Papers #28
421It's time to set foot in the wonderful landscape of philosophy in Two Minute Papers! We never discussed a philosophy paper before, so what would be a better opportunity to talk about the possibility whether we're living in a computer simulation?
There are many interesting debates among philosophers on crazy elusive topics, like "prove to me that I'm not in a dream", or "I'm not just a brain in a bottle somewhere that is being fed sensory inputs.
In his paper, Nick Bostrom, philosopher offers us a refreshing take on the simulation argument, and argues that at least one of the three propositions is true:
- almost all advanced civilizations go extinct before achieving technological maturity,
- there is a strong convergence among technologically mature civilizations in that none of them are interested in creating ancestor simulations,
- we are living in a simulation
There is no conclusion to the simulation argument at the moment - no one really knows what the answer is, this is open to debate, and this is what makes it super interesting.
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The paper "Are we living in a computer simulation?" from Nick Bostrom is available here:
http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.pdf
http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html
Is War Over? — A Paradox Explained by Kurzgesagt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbuUW9i-mHs
Recommended for you: Google DeepMind's Deep Q-Learning & Superhuman Atari Gameplays -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih8EfvOzBOY&list=PLujxSBD-JXgnqDD1n-V30pKtp6Q886x7e&index=10
The cover image was made by Tyler Hebert (CC BY 2.0, modifications: flipped, darkened, added lens flare and content-aware fill) - https://flic.kr/p/fo8vBn
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