A Simulated Universe? - Part II.

 .........contd

"Just as you can simulate anything else, you can simulate brains", Bostrum says. True, we don't yet have the technology to pull it off but he says there's no conceptual barrier to it. And once we create brain simulations "sufficiently detailed and accurate", he says, "it is possible that those simulations would generate conscious experiences".

The search for evidence

Will we ever learn whether the simulation hypothesis is correct? Bostrum says there's a remote chance that one day we might encounter a telltale glitch in the simulation. "You could certainly imagine a scenario where a window pops up in front of you, saying, 'You are in a simulation; click here for more information", he says. "That would be a knock-down proof".

More realistically, physicists have proposed experiments that could yield evidence that our world is simulated. For example, some  have wondered if the world is inherently "smooth" or if, at the smallest scales, it might be made of discrete "chunks" a bit like the pixels in a digital image. If we determine that the world is "pixelated" in this way, it could be evidence that it was created artificially. A team of American and German physicists have argued that careful measurements of cosmic rays could provide an answer.

What if we did confirm that we were living in a simulation? How would people react upon learning that our world and thoughts and emotions are nothing more than a programmer's zeroes and ones? Some imagine such knowledge would disrupt our lives by upending our sense of purpose and squashing our initiative. Harvard astronomer Abraham Loeb says the knowledge could even trigger social unrest. Knowing that our thoughts and deeds aren't our own could "relieve us from being accountable for our actions", he says. "There is nothing more damaging to our social order than this notion".

Others imagine evidence in support of the simulation hypothesis could engender a new fear - that the creators might grow tired of the simulation and switch it off. But not Bostrum. "You could similarly ask, 'shouldn't we be in perpetual fear of dying?' You could have a heart attack or a stroke at any given point in time or the roof might fall down", he says.

Whatever we might think of the simulation hypothesis, Bostrum thinks the mere act of pondering it provides a welcome dose of humility. He cites Hamlet's cautionary remark to a friend in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" : "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".

And Bostrum insists that he takes the simulation hypothesis seriously. "For me, it's not just an intellectual game", he says. "It's an attempt to orient myself in the world, as best as I can understand it".

- Dan Falk is a science journalist based in Toronto. His books include "The Science of Shakespeare" and "In search of Time".  

Tailpiece.

Had an early morning haircut; Sajish gave me a good massage after clipping my hair. The chores and was ready by 1000 hrs.

Had gone to pull out some money from the ATM and picked up fruits.