Throughout history, our belief systems have changed drastically. In the past, people believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth, not the other way around. Until Galileo proved the contrary in the 17th century, and the fact he was sentenced to life demonstrates how hard it is for people to accept new knowledge. In other words, even if our enemies are pure facts, we are simply not ready to collapse our belief systems. But what if I said simulation theory could blow your mind away in a way that you will never be the same person again?
What Is Simulation Theory?
When the iconic, one of the best sci-fi movies, The Matrix, hit the theaters in 1999, people started to question what they saw on the big screen. Are we in a matrix that we are unable to escape from? Do we actually live in a world constructed by a higher intelligence? Though these dazzling questions are difficult to answer and raise counterarguments, there are some fascinating facts to consider in the subject.
Simulation theory is a simple way of saying that our reality is just a little bit complicated version of The Sims. All your memories, dreams, people in your life, goals, happiness, sorrow, motivation, and plans could be a part of a computer game created by more intelligent creatures than us. Sounds unbelievable, right? But what do scientists have to say about that?
Elon Musk, Nick Bostrom, Neil deGrasse Tyson on Simulation Theory
Generally, we believe what modern scientists say about the topic while questioning them. Because in an era of false media news and pseudoscientists dominating our social media feeds, there is no one else to trust. Let’s see what are the opinions of some of these scientists.
A few years ago, Elon Musk said, “there is a one out of a billion chance that our reality will be the base reality.” He goes on saying that, “40 years ago we created Pong, a simple game where you move one dot between 2 lines. Now we have visually complicated, realistic 3D simulations played by millions of people all over the world. And they are getting better and better”. So, as the characters in those games change and act independently of the gamer, would that make it so different from what we perceive as real? Are we being controlled by a higher intelligence that we don’t know about?
Famous philosopher Nick Bostrom also has a say in simulation theory. He is the person who has come up with simulation arguments in the modern era. Like Elon Musk, he does not believe that the chance of our reality being the base reality is one in a billion. However, he says, “it is fifty-fifty.” He does not think that simulation theory has something to do with quantum physics, as many people assume. Although Nick does not like video games a lot, he says that “games like GTA and Red Dead Redemption give me gut feeling that simulations can actually be real.”
One of our time’s most famous astrophysics, Neil deGrasse Tyson, also has an intriguing quote about the mentioned theory. He says, “You can surely say I have the power of creating a world in a computer simulation. Imagine in the future you will have more of that, and you can create characters that have free will. And these characters decide to create a new world on their computer. The process goes on and on. So you have simulations all the way down. Which one among these is real? The original one? Or one of the generated ones?”
Other Conspiracies About Simulation Theory
Some people think that there is “evidence” worldwide, proving that our reality is just a simulation. For example, there is a phenomenon called the “Mandela Effect.” Researches show that most people believe Nelson Mandela had died in the ’80s despite the fact that he went on living till 2013. So does anyone in charge of our reality keeps changing the past?
Déjà vu is another phenomenon people keep relating to the simulation theory. They believe that it is related to the existence of parallel worlds or the simulation that we are living in one way or another. In the famous TV show Dark, the main characters say that it is “just a glitch in the Matrix.”
Conclusion
So what are the conclusions we can draw from these quotes and discussions? Can other creatures really control us? Are we observed during our lives? Is our “identity” just a part of a gigantic simulation? Or are all these theories just crazy? Regardless of what other people might be saying, this discussion will probably go on forever. There is no way to prove either side of the argument. The only thing left to us is to sit back, enjoy our lives, no matter if simulation or not, and focus on science all the time.
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