Inside a Computer System: Difference between revisions
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*** I, for one, hope the Universe is infinite.
*** An infinite universe can simulate other infinite universes within itself, so long as it confines the simulation to an [[wikipedia:Light cone|expanding finite region.]] Our universe, for example, could be infinite and as long as the portion of it that is simulated expands outward at the speed of light, we would never be able to tell. This can also be used to construct infinite simulations-within-simulations.
*** This idea is the subject of philosopher Nick Bostrom's "simulation hypothesis", described in detail at [https://web.archive.org/web/20081204055726/http://www.simulation-argument.com/ Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?]. To an SF fan, the argument can be quite convincing, considering that the technical premises of the argument are very mild speculations in comparison to the kinds of tech described in SF, even the hard variety.
*** An important note about this concept that is often forgotten: there is no logically meaningful difference from our inside perspective whether the universe is a simulation or the stack-top. For some reason a lot of people seem to find the idea that the universe could suddenly be revealed as "not real" disturbing, when it really makes no difference at all ([[Video Game Cruelty Potential|as long as the programmers don't interfere]], anyway). And no, there is absolutely no way we could somehow cost more computation power in our reality by running our own simulated universes.<ref>Basically, unless given evidence to the contrary, the most reasonable assumption is that the computer isn't simulating complex, advanced constructs like "people" or "planets" at a high level, but rather building them out of simpler units that are subatomic particles. These would eat up the same amount of processing power whether embedded in the middle of a planet, forming part of your digestive system, or shaped into a complex machine such as a universe-simulating computer. Secondly, it doesn't actually matter how fast the supposed external computer is; since our perception of time is going to be tied to the way the computer completes each stage of the simulation, it could be paused for ten thousand years and then powered up again ''and we'd never notice'' because the universe was effectively frozen during that period, your thoughts included.</ref>
* One bizarre philosophical twist on this idea is the notion that the Universe is at once a computer, and computer program, that [[Mind Screw|simulates itself]].
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