Creative Speculation
Related: About this forumAre we living in a simulated universe? Here's what scientists say.
What if everything around us the people, the stars overhead, the ground beneath our feet, even our bodies and minds were an elaborate illusion? What if our world were simply a hyper-realistic simulation, with all of us merely characters in some kind of sophisticated video game?
This, of course, is a familiar concept from science fiction books and films, including the 1999 blockbuster movie "The Matrix." But some physicists and philosophers say its possible that we really do live in a simulation even if that means casting aside what we know (or think we know) about the universe and our place in it.
If we are living in a simulation, then the cosmos that we are observing is just a tiny piece of the totality of physical existence, Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom said in a 2003 paper that jump-started the conversation about what has come to be known as the simulation hypothesis. While the world we see is in some sense real, it is not located at the fundamental level of reality.
Rizwan Virk, founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys PlayLabs program and author of "The Simulation Hypothesis," is among those who take the simulation hypothesis seriously. He recalls playing a virtual reality game so realistic that he forgot that he was in an empty room with a headset on. That led him to wonder: Are we sure we arent embedded within a world created by beings more technologically savvy than ourselves?
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/are-we-living-simulated-universe-here-s-what-scientists-say-ncna1026916
vlyons
(10,252 posts)that "reality" is merely a projection of mind. The example of the seeming reality of dreams is given as an example.
Anon-C
(3,438 posts)The mind is the basis for everything.
Everything is created by my mind, and is ruled by my mind.
When I speak or act with impure thoughts, suffering follows me
As the wheel of the cart follows the hoof of the ox.
The mind is the basis for everything.
Everything is created by my mind, and is ruled by my mind.
When I speak or act with a clear awareness, happiness stays with me.
Like my own shadow, it is unshakeable.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)on the progressive stages of meditation on emptiness. A slender 100 page volume that is tough reading. There are numerous schools of thought on this topic. My own opinion is that there really is stuff having the properties of mass and potential energy "out there," but all we can know is our own subjective experience about what we perceive through our 6 senses. We can try to be objective about what we experience and observe, that is the scientific approach. But even so, our experience is subjectively influenced by our culture, education, and previous experience. Contemplating the Buddhist teachings on emptiness is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
customerserviceguy
(25,185 posts)In Philosophy 101, my prof had me convinced for a few weeks that I had no basis for believing that I even existed.
There's always a new mind-fuck out there somewhere.
colsohlibgal
(5,276 posts)The truth about everything could well be anything.
ADX
(1,622 posts)- 2nd Corinthians 4:18, NKJV...
Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)But doubtful.
SHRED
(28,136 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)"the cosmos that we are observing is just a tiny piece of the totality of physical existence"
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)California_Republic
(1,826 posts)And Im late for workIll tell the boss its a glitch in my software and not my fault
Marie Marie
(10,001 posts)ummmm, we definitely need to make some changes here. Just sayin'...