Re: Are we simulated by some massive computer?

From: George Levy <glevy.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 15:56:03 -0700

This has been an interesting thread. Unfortunately I was too busy to
contribute much. However, here is a thought regarding simulation versus
first and third person points of view.

It does make sense to talk about a 3rd person point of view about
simulation of a conscious entity on a computer. However, I don't think
it applies to a first person point of view.

In the plenitude we'll have an infinite number of levels of simulation
as well as an infinite number of simulations per level (2^aleph_0 as
suggested by Bruno in a previous post, or higher)

 From a first person point of view any observer moment in any simulation
and at any level can transit to another observer moment in a different
simulation at a different level provided the transition is consistent
with the observer. Therefore from the first person point of view there
is no such a thing as living in a simulator. As first persons we live in
all simulators and at all levels.

In addition, since lower levels have lower complexity and therefore
higher measure, the number of simulations is higher at lower levels.

Therefore we are more likely to occupy ensembles of simulations located
at the lower levels. Is there a lowest level in the level hierarchy,
that is a level below which there is no simulation, just the plenitude?
Possibly. If so, we are most likely to exist "most of the time" at that
base level, but we cannot exclude that "some of the time" we may be in a
higher level.

hmmmm. This argument points to the fact that "most of the time" we do
not live in a simulator!

George
Received on Wed May 05 2004 - 18:59:25 PDT