Elon Musk - Life is a Simulation.

[sammsky1]

Could our whole lives be part of a simulation? Multi-billionaire tech. entrepreneur Elon Musk believes so...



Also this BBC VDO (May be inaccessible outside UK) http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z98ry4j...rewelivinginacomputersimulation_contentcard17



Very interesting theory. I've met Musk and agree with everyone else that he is the smartest guy on the planet. And once I truly get my head around his theory, I cant find many ways to disprove him as it makes so much sense.

 

[SteveJ]

It's chicken & egg though - every simulation could be maintained by beings inside a simulation etc etc.

 

[sammsky1]

It's chicken & egg though - every simulation could be maintained by beings inside a simulation etc etc.

yeah, it's proper LSD headfcuk type stuff. Enough to drive one round the bend.

 

[Eboue]

elon musk stfu bitch

 

[11101]

He's incredibly bright but he definitely believes his own hype. It's one of those ideas that people have to try to be different.

 

[Raoul]

I wouldn't attribute this to Musk. The idea has been around for some time - I believe it was originally popularized by Nick Bostrom.

 

[Dante]

The information of the universe must necessarily be held in some medium. Whether you call that a simulation, or not, is down to personal interpretation.

This isn't even a controversial idea. It's just one that a lot of people are unable to fathom because reality seems so tangible. The fact is, our universe is the product of its constants. Those constants vary between each universe within the multiverse. And the multiverse needs to hold all of this data somewhere, or else it wouldn't exist. Maybe it's a harddrive on some alien's PC. Or in God's imagination. Or in the make up of the the ether. We'll never know because the supranatural is beyond the understanding of our species.

(I appreciate that using the word 'exist' is problematic in this thread, but I can't be arsed getting too deep into the ontological implications at this time of night.)

 

[Invictus]

This cockameme hypothesis has been around for a while like a fancy AI version of the holographic principle: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0203101.pdf, and has gained traction because it sounds wild in a Matrix-esque way and cannot be falsified.


But as of now, it's more a philosophical and theological and evolutionary inquiry than something that has a wider scientific basis or supported by a group of theoretical physicists - in contrasts with the holographic principle. No point mulling over an obscure train of thought when the odds of stumbling upon empirical evidence are negligible, and in theory - it cannot be proven or disproven with a reasonable degree of accuracy for what could be centuries from now.

 

[Camy89]

yeah, it's proper LSD headfcuk type stuff. Enough to drive one round the bend.

Disagree. I'm happy to accept it if the woman in the red dress visits me every night. Can you sort that out Elon? Cheers.

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

A bit depressing. Though I can now blame my failures on whoever programmed me, so that's something.

 

[donkeyfish]

How does Bostrom explain the beginning? If the argument is that we eventually will advance to create every possible outcome through simulation, and therefore it is likely we are part of an earlier one, and that part of yet an earlier one, you run into infinite regress.

In addition it should not only mean every possible now, but every possible outcome at any point in time. Implying now doesn't really exist, although that's not so controversial come to think of it.

It's always difficult to move this far away from the perceivable world, when intuition is at best worthless.

 

[Sweet Square]

I've met Musk and agree with everyone else that he is the smartest guy on the planet.

Not sure about that, ask him about workers rights and he get's very confused.

 

[dumbo]

Cogito ergo Musk is a cnut.

This is some facile shit.

 

[Archie Leach]

Musk would definitely have a Matrix meme as his Facebook profile picture. Then again his relationship with Talulah Riley would suggest some degree of artificial intervention is likely.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

This dope needs to read the bible. Pots of clay lad, pots of clay.

 

[langster]

I've met Musk and agree with everyone else that he is the smartest guy on the planet.

That sounds like something Trump would say. I've literally never heard anyone say he's the smartest person on the planet. Don't get me wrong, he's incredibly intelligent, but he's not the smartest guy on the planet.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

That sounds like something Trump would say. I've literally never heard anyone say he's the smartest person on the planet. Don't get me wrong, he's incredibly intelligent, but he's not the smartest guy on the planet.

He might not be the ‘smartest’ but he is highly intelligent and his work ethic and ambition are completely off the charts. That combination could lead him to be viewed as one of the great geniuses of our time when we look back in thirty years time or so.

 

[Invictus]

He might not be the ‘smartest’ but he is highly intelligent and his work ethic and ambition are completely off the charts. That combination could lead him to be viewed as one of the great geniuses of our time when we look back in thirty years time or so.

Musk is more like post-modern Howard Hughes - someone who's incredibly wealthy because of the success of his businesses and has carved out a niche as a celebrity science popularizer with his gravitas and investment acumen. But he's not even close to being a noteworthy genius of our time - just like Howard Hughes wasn't a genius when compared with the likes of Bohr, Einstein, Feynman, Hilbert, von Neumann, Tinbergen, Fermi, Curie, Goddard and so forth. This isn't to disparage Musk, mind - he has done a lot of good and put a lot of money into research that will benefit people in the future, but he's a titan of industry and entrepreneurship and not someone whose scientific utterances merit some sort of deeper introspection or pause. In fact, it's downright laughable that folks attach credence to the scientific opinions of Musk, Sagan, deGrasse Tyson...

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Once I truly get my head around his theory, I cant find many ways to disprove him as it makes so much sense.

First off, not his theory.

Secondly, whilst it's true that if you accept the idea that humanity will eventually be able to simulate reality inside of a computer, then logic tells you that the chances of you living in the only "true reality" are less than 0%.

However, the theory takes a massive leap of faith, one that I'd argue is as big as believing in Jesus Christ the Son of God or Thor, or Zeus. Nothing we have created so far leads me to believe that we'll one day be able to simulate reality, the leap of faith required to believe that we eventually will is enormous.

 

[B20]

I think we could very well be a simulation. I think it's pretty naive to think that we are therefore simulated by the tech of an advanced race.

I think it is far more likely that simulation is simply part of the physics of our universe. There is no maker.

 

[SirAF]

Yeah.. no.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Musk is more like post-modern Howard Hughes - someone who's incredibly wealthy because of the success of his businesses and has carved out a niche as a celebrity science popularizer with his gravitas and investment acumen. But he's not even close to being a noteworthy genius of our time - just like Howard Hughes wasn't a genius when compared with the likes of Bohr, Einstein, Feynman, Hilbert, von Neumann, Tinbergen, Fermi, Curie, Goddard and so forth. This isn't to disparage Musk, mind - he has done a lot of good and put a lot of money into research that will benefit people in the future, but he's a titan of industry and entrepreneurship and not someone whose scientific utterances merit some sort of deeper introspection or pause. In fact, it's downright laughable that folks attach credence to the scientific opinions of Musk, Sagan, deGrasse Tyson...

It depends how you quantify 'genius' I guess. I wouldn't class Musk in the bracket of scientific intelligence or achievement as an Einstein or Newton, not even close. But if you consider the overall package, real world achievement, driving our species forward, then in time Musk may be considered a great genius. If it is question of linear intelligence and achievement in complex theoretical disciplines of physics, then he isn't in any conversation.

 

[Striker10]

A simulation maybe but if you believe people it would be seemingly more advanced or perhaps more organic in the sense that you could transition to other 'spaces using mind altering substances or even through altering consciouses via dreams (lucid dreaming). I think personally there is no space. People will hate that. I think we're INSIDE something. Perhaps like a russian doll and it's all connected. It's difficult to prove but I think if it were purely a simulation that could have every possibility then there are more ways to transition then death - that suggest something perhaps deeper. Who knows? We could be like a 'radio station' that is playing out at a certain frequency among other realities that are at differing frequencies.

Some people do DMT or they call it another name in shamanism - where they mix leaves. They got this one leaf and it does nothing because in the body is something like an inhibitor. In that same jungle, there was another leaf - you mix the two together and it turns off the switch inside the body and you experience whatever..The truth is probably much more profound, more organic and less systematic. It seems many people go through strange and varied experiences that are hard to explain

 

[Maradona10]

It depends how you quantify 'genius' I guess. I wouldn't class Musk in the bracket of scientific intelligence or achievement as an Einstein or Newton, not even close. But if you consider the overall package, real world achievement, driving our species forward, then in time Musk may be considered a great genius. If it is question of linear intelligence and achievement in complex theoretical disciplines of physics, then he isn't in any conversation.

If he puts people on Mars he will be called Genius regardless of anything.

 

[crappycraperson]

https://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html

This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed.

 

[horsechoker]

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

 

[Invictus]

It depends how you quantify 'genius' I guess. I wouldn't class Musk in the bracket of scientific intelligence or achievement as an Einstein or Newton, not even close. But if you consider the overall package, real world achievement, driving our species forward, then in time Musk may be considered a great genius. If it is question of linear intelligence and achievement in complex theoretical disciplines of physics, then he isn't in any conversation.

That's not what the initial argument was about, though. Musk might very well join the likes of Ford and Carnegie when you consider real world achievement and driving the species forward as a capitalist in charge of an enterprise - I am not disputing that. However, an increasing number of people are conflating his overall commercial influence with Tesla and SpaceX in recent years with some sort of scientific merit, and if you look at the OP - at first glance, it seems like the simulation hypothesis is being attributed to Musk when as an abstract concept, the illusionary universe argument can be traced back to Asian theology with Zhonguan Jìan and Madhyamaka, or even René Descartes as a metaphysical idea. It's not a revolutionary hypothesis by any means if you tweak a couple of details in Bostrom's argument. The point about him being a genius is a subsequent post for mostly financing and potentially putting people on Mars is a bit weird too, because people like Tsiolkovsky, Von Braun, Korolev - the real geniuses and pioneers whose shoulders Musk stands on, aren't even mentioned as footnotes.

 

[afrocentricity]

Y'all been smoking? Bit early for me but okay.... Subbed

 

[Blodssvik]

That's not what the initial argument was about, though. Musk might very well join the likes of Ford and Carnegie when you consider real world achievement and driving the species forward as a capitalist in charge of an enterprise - I am not disputing that. However, an increasing number of people are conflating his overall commercial influence with Tesla and SpaceX in recent years with some sort of scientific merit, and if you look at the OP - at first glance, it seems like the simulation hypothesis is being attributed to Musk when as an abstract concept, the illusionary universe argument can be traced back to Asian theology with Zhonguan Jìan and Madhyamaka, or even René Descartes as a metaphysical idea. It's not a revolutionary hypothesis by any means if you tweak a couple of details in Bostrom's argument. The point about him being a genius is a subsequent post for mostly financing and potentially putting people on Mars is a bit weird too, because people like Tsiolkovsky, Von Braun, Korolev - the real geniuses and pioneers whose shoulders Musk stands on, aren't even mentioned as footnotes.

There are probably deliberate attempts to elevate private entrepreneurs and diminish importance of tax funded research attributed to our achievements as a species as well.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

A bit depressing. Though I can now blame my failures on whoever programmed me, so that's something.

What kind of fecked beta code was the Moyes Malware then ??

 

[Tarrou]

Sort of OT but has anyone used VR and been blown away by it? I tried one recently and it was a bit shit - but I have no idea how advanced this one was supposed to be. Not enquiring because of porn, honestly.

Well maybe a little bit.

 

[VorZakone]

What kind of fecked beta code was the Moyes Malware then ??

I think Moyes' code was Stuxnet. Just feck everything up.

 

[ivaldo]

If this is a simulation then I want my money back.

 

[Kasper]

Very interesting theory. I've met Musk and agree with everyone else that he is the smartest guy on the planet. And once I truly get my head around his theory, I cant find many ways to disprove him as it makes so much sense.

 

[Tarrou]

If this is a simulation then I'd question the perfect timing of Terry and Gerrard slipping on their arses. Dev is a United fan?

 

[Vidyoyo]

The Critique of Pure Reason

 

[Kentonio]

The fact is, our universe is the product of its constants. Those constants vary between each universe within the multiverse. And the multiverse needs to hold all of this data somewhere, or else it wouldn't exist. Maybe it's a harddrive on some alien's PC. Or in God's imagination. Or in the make up of the the ether. We'll never know because the supranatural is beyond the understanding of our species.

You can't use the word 'fact' and then start talking about multiverses and differing constants. That's massively theoretical physics. Even worse is this idea that there'd need to be a central repository of the 'data'.

Oh and finally the idea that there are things we can never know and that some things are 'beyond our understanding' is complete supposition based on absolutely nothing but your opinion.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

I came up with this theory myself when I was about 8 but it is a bit of an immature theory to be honest. I think my other theory was that each atom in our universe could be another little universe in its own right (so our universe is an atom in a bigger universe), etc. Either could be the case but there's no real evidence and it seems highly unlikely. Just kids stuff probably.

 

[Kentonio]

I came up with this theory myself when I was about 8 but it is a bit of an immature theory to be honest. I think my other theory was that each atom in our universe could be another little universe in its own right (so our universe is an atom in a bigger universe), etc. Either could be the case but there's no real evidence and it seems highly unlikely. Just kids stuff.

I've thought about the second one many times too. Seems as likely as anything else.

 

[Jippy]

If this is a simulation then I'd question the perfect timing of Terry and Gerrard slipping on their arses. Dev is a United fan?

Yeah, I was a tech event a couple of years ago and tried a few games out on a headset. I'm sure it's constantly improving, but the games were pretty basic and it made me feel nauseous after a bit.