There is this hypothesis called the “simulation hypothesis” that I’m sure you must have read about or at least heard about, in light of the fact that it has soared in popularity in recent years.
In search for an answer to one of the biggest questions we have, “What is the origin of the universe; how did it all start?”, we have come across several possible answers but we haven’t been able to definitively say for sure, though “the Big Bang theory” is pretty much the consensus right now.
The simulation theory is another one of those theories that tries to explain it all, going one step beyond even the big bang theory, but it is quite a weird one and something that sounds straight out of science fiction, but when you think about it, it sounds very plausible.
The Simulation Hypothesis
In simple words, this hypothesis states that the whole of reality, is nothing but a simulation likely running on some kind of computer of a highly intelligent being, somewhere outside of our realm.
If true, this has huge implications for us and our search for meaning and origin of life and reality itself. We might be just code/program running in some super powerful computer and all of this might just be an experiment for a higher intelligent being.
Some of you may think that this renders everything totally meaningless because it’s a fake reality conjured up in a computer that might be terminated at anytime. The rest of you may think that despite this being a simulation, it is as real as it gets for us and it doesn’t matter if it is real or just computer code.
Regardless, I think the real question is, who is the creator of this simulation and more importantly, did they leave a backdoor out of here?
Who Could Be The Architect?
When I think about who the creator of our simulated reality could be, three possibilities come to mind. God, aliens and our future selves.
In my opinion, god is not the answer, at least not in this particular scenario. I fail to see why an all powerful being would need to create a simulation, the purpose of which is mostly to test things out. An all knowing god would not need to ‘test’ anything and so, I think that if our reality is indeed a simulation, god might not be it’s creator.
A super intelligent race of alien beings is one of the likely answers. There could be many reasons why aliens would want to create a virtual reality universe. Maybe it’s just a part of a massive multiplayer online game for them, or maybe they want to see how things progress in a universe with different parameters (laws) into play or maybe it’s just a science project of an alien teenager and we all exist on his pen drive!
Another likely answer is our future selves. Our computing prowess is increasing day by day and soon we might be equipped with the power of a quantum computer. In the future, we might be able to create the most complicated simulations easily on a personal computer. So, in that case, maybe we are a result of our future selves creating a copy of their universe in their computer through which they are trying to study everything that happens from the very beginning. It is not too far-fetched to imagine something like this happening in our own future.
Could There Be A Backdoor?
One of the things that people ask when they learn about this theory is whether there could be a backdoor here in this reality so that we can escape into the ‘real’ world through it.
I gave it some thought and I think that would not be possible. Just think about it. We create games in which we control the characters. Even if the characters in our games had consciousness and free will, they just couldn’t come out of the game and into our world even if there was a ‘backdoor’ of any kind.
Similarly, if we are in a simulated universe, our whole existence would be a subset of the larger set which is the simulated universe itself. So, I don’t think any such thing would be possible. Being able to communicate with them though, would be a different matter. They could do it if they wished to and we could do it if we found a way to.
In any case, if we ever find an evidence proving this theory to be right, our lives would never be the same again. Or at least that’s what I think!
I'm sure this is something most of us have given a lot of thought indeed.
I want there to be a God! It is preferable to me than the ancient alien theory or certainly more realistic to my mind than the thought of us being in a simulation, much less a simulation designed by a future version of ourselves.
Perhaps the answer is beyond our ability to understand or perhaps one day one of us will figure it out and that will be the game completed!
Whilst I have a bias that I lean towards, I understand that I could be wrong.
My 'beliefs' can only be based on the knowledge and wisdom I have available to me so I always leave myself room to change my views.
There is no proof for any of these theories along with the mainstream theory of evolution so if I am being honest with myself then I would have to say any and all of them are possible. I simply don't know.
It does appear to me, however, that modern society is moving away from God in a big way and it strikes me that this correlates with what I feel is a downward turn in human morality.
I ask myself which one of these theories serves us best in our objective of becoming better men and women?
Thanks for the post!
Wow, this is one of the most awesome, open-minded comment I have read on Steemit ever. Thanks man!
I agree with you 100%. A lot of the stuff we are not sure about, we can't simply dismiss them saying they can't be true or they are true in a particular way only. There are lots of examples that show we do not understand things even with proper experimentation and proper results.
We can only hope to find more answers as we go and try to complete the game as you state (if ever we can).
Thank you very much @saurvungta ! You are very kind!
I really enjoyed reading your post and another couple I've read also and look forward to looking back through your previous posts.
Thanks again for replying to my comment and for such a thoughtful post!
Hope you're having a great day wherever you are!
Thanks for that wonderful comment brother and for checking my other posts out! Have started following you too. Keep steeming :)
Maybe we shouldn't search for a backdoor, but a way of communicating with the intelligence. Even if we can't get out of this trap, we can ask questions and make more sense of everything.
Exactly. Being able to communicate with any intelligence that resulted in the creation of this reality would be just awesome. We could find out about a lot of things and could fill in a lot of gaps. Maybe some day, we will find a way. What a day that would be. :)
Early writings tell us that we were created by aliens to be 'dumbed down', that we were genetically altered to experience a limited reality. Previously we may have had sensory powers of great magnitude and would have been aligned with our spirit body. Who knows what else is around us that we cannot hear or see?
In Hindu mythology, there are tons of mentions about these saint-type people who were able to perform a lot of miracles that we are now doing thanks to technology. I wonder if there is such a realm that is beyond our perception and can be perceived with the help of either technology/science or on our own like through meditation like many people claim to do.
The reason I don't enjoy this kind of speculations is because they create more questions than those they claim to answer. It is the same as with the God hypothesis.
If there is some extremely intelligent supreme entity that created such an extremely complicated universe then who created the original and extremely complicated entity that created all these? (and so on and so forth).
If a hypothesis raises the same innate premise then it becomes invalid by default. What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Not knowing where the creator came from does not prove there isn't one. We don't need to know where a creator came from to know there is a creation, i.e. I'm wearing pants, but because I don't know who made them does not mean I'm not actually wearing them.
You can't disprove a negative. You don't have any evidence there is a creator thus the hypothesis is discarded. Again. What can be assume without evidence can de discarded without evidence.
Aliens...
that is correct! the fundamental error we commit when trying to explain "life" is that we assume there are choices waiting for us to pick when in truth i say "God-aliens-future selves are nothing but 1 inseparable entity just like the past-present-future are: Time deconstructed into 3 parts for conventional reasons. We forget the oneness of things, we deconstruct instead of constructing, we think instead of meditating, we float instead of immersing, we exist instead of living. This article would have been deemed valuable instead took the opposite direction in terms of the approach but nonetheless, respectful.
Yes, I agree that such a theory, even if proved somehow, would raise even more questions, but would it not take us one step closer to the answer though? Like for example we find proof that reality is indeed a simulation created by some super intelligent race of aliens, would that not be an answer to our origin? It would raise even more questions but I think that is how science has progressed and will progress. But I do see your point :)
The answer is close than you think. All the evidence we have as of now is that everything, always existed and that we just found ourselves in a given cycle with some given parameters. Everything looks designed for us because we are the outcome of such an environment. In the same respect if a paddle woke up today it would say "What a wonderful hole I am in, its just the right depth to keep me wet, and look at that tree, it is shading me so I won't evaporate. And hey, check that animal that drinks from me. I am needed and important".
Instead of searching for creators assume simply that there are not any and that we are just the outcome of a given environment that doesn't have any purpose. The only reason you seek a creator is because humans seek meaning.
steady state hypothesis?
yup...that's what I'd bet on.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
oh...I LIKE that.
Our reality is not an illusion. It is very real, but it is a much smaller version of a much greater reality that awaits us.
The matrix, world, this reality (whatever it is)...Seems to be responding to us in more personal tangible ways. Have you noticed this? Kharma is being dished out hard for those who have it coming. (Got a good dose myself, recently:). Its like the law of attraction concepts in Real Time. Anyone else experiencing this?
Yeah, there are other theories pointing to what you are saying, that ours is not the only reality out there, that there might be many dimensions and many universes.
Yes I believe this theory is plausible, they say at the rate of our creation of virtual universes (VR as it is today, compared to the first ever video games) there is bound to be a time that we reach perfect simulation, where the characters in that virtual reality have full consciousness and are not aware of the fact that they are a simulation. So there could be either a very advanced alien species that are running experiments like you said, or it could very well be future humans trying to understand their own selves by emulating an entire world of new humans to see how they behave adapt and evolve to certain situations.
Very interesting stuff...
Maybe when we die our so called spirit progresses to a different physical being or body.This would be given that should we progress according to the evolution of the universe. If you believe in reincarnation, it might be possible that a person is reincarnated as another being or species further along a specific spiritual path I guess I could say. Maybe each species in the universe exists on a different spiritual plain and the life you live now will determine the outcome of your next existence, species ect.... on this earth or elsewhere....
That is bound to happen. Our computing power is just increasing exponentially and virtual reality is just in its infancy right now and already producing great results. Also we are already running several simulations on the world's supercomputers for various purposes.
Just imagine the possibilities when the power of a supercomputer could be put inside a personal computer thanks to quantum computing and when that is combined with the ability to create virtual worlds, even kids would be able to create worlds of their own. Now, being able to create conscious beings in those world is a different matter.
Since time itself would likely be an aspect of the simulation perhaps we are the architects from the future, simulating our past. Wrap your head around that.
That is where I was going with the idea that it might be our future selves that are the architects and they have created this simulation for whatever purposes it might be. It's so mind boggling to think about this particular possibility.
But why in the hell would we want to come back to this?
Same reason we play many simulation games. :)
Congratulations @sauravrungta!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following category:
Thank you :)
What if one day when you die you realize you have actually just woken up for the first time.
It's nightmare.
there are a number of references that echo this idea; that some day, this life will seem like the dream from which you have awoken
And there goes my mind again, hope i can catch it!
it is wonderful to think of a better world, wish we had more of it now!
what if earth is a simulation test to see if you are great enough to bring to the world that is running the simulation. For example: if you are extremely violent angry and not too intelligent, when you die you will not wake back up, but if you prove yourself to be superior, intelligent, and helpful then they rise you to live your actual life on their planet which might just be a massive sized earth with a perfect race of humans living on it.
Exactally you said it better than I could!
But why would they go through the process of birth, life and death if they had to just 'test' us. Couldn't they do it within a shorter time frame?
Maybe years for us is simply minutes for them
That could be it!!
Some say our reality has been hijacked, and I believe it has by the 'gods' aka interdimensional entities, aka demons. They are the sons of Babylon. Nephilim, etc. Your RH- bloodline today, the reptilians. Some stories say that they have hijacked the original intent of this simulation, and created a cycle of death/war where they steal your immortal soul, trick you into a fake heaven, and recycle you back to continue to live, and allow the negative creatures to feed on your stress and anxiety they create.
IF we are immortal souls, being tested for quality, to ensure we are good enough in constitution to be released to judge others, do you really feel that this life is that long? (HUGE speculations in that, just a thought provoker).
Just like in Matrix right? Now, THAT would be freaky!
You are the architect of your own life.
That is a really nice saying and I think you are referring to the Law of Attraction, maybe?
beware of contractors.... ;)
There is evidence. They can't find what causes mass. Period. Being in a simulation does NOT imply we are not real, or nothing matters. Perhaps its a place where souls learn hardship and kindness in a hostile world. There is an exit. It's the holy grail, at the north pole, where the ether (aurora borealis) comes from the black hole sun and hits the firmament dome. Drink from the waters at the base of the tree of life.. Your compass points to mount meru.. Compass. Come-Pass. Pass out of the matrix, via the positive energy source of our dualistic universe to the land of perpetual twilight. Only the true of heart and faith can make the journey.
So, you do believe that our reality is a simulation?
Not as such as we are not real, and the things we do don't matter.. we live in a holographic universe.. the implications are far more important than a casual huh. I don't know for sure, but you should look into it. You will find even corporate shills pushing this reality. They could not find mass. Remember that hunt for the god particle? No mass found.
Yeah, but they found the Higgs Boson that gives everything mass, right?
no sir. well. they found it.. but its not what provides mass.
Look, you're being lied to at such an astounding level it's insane. Most of what you know is bullshit, based on a lie.
You need to start from zero, pretend you know NOTHING and do base research yourself. There is no other way to do this. So much is a lie, starting with Gravity.
So much is based on gravity being what They say.. and sure the force downward is 9.8m/s^2 but that does not mean their theory of why is correct, and I would assume incorrect if it's still not proven. Same with evolution. Until this theory is proof, I'd question everything you are told.
It's very easy to fool people, it's very hard to tell people they are being fooled.
But then, how can I be sure that these other people are telling the truth or the credibility of the information?
How can you be sure your current sources are credible? I guarantee you will find that people you assume credible are not. Solution? Start doing your own research. Trust no one.
And the creator of this universe is actually in a holographic simulation as well created by that being's creator- and so on and so forth : )
That is trippy!!
Maybe this is indeed all a simulation and one somebody will turn us off.
The freaky part is, if somebody turns it off, we wouldn't even know about it. We would just ..... stop existing!!
The Sumerian gods assuming there's a higher being. I don't think we're a simulation but merely a genetically modified species to consume in order for the anunnaki to collect monotonic gold. Ever wonder why gold is the standard and why any country that alters their means of currency is raised?
I have heard about this Annunaki theory and have done quite some research on this topic too. Maybe I'll write about it someday.
I find this absolutely great, thought i share it with the guys who are ready for their reality.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment :)
virtual reality is virtual, but not reality. I want everyone to beware of anyone speaking 'game theory' to describe this life, because there are people in places of power who would like to sweep billions of 'virtual players' off the gameboard
that is not what it implies.
The simulation theory is totally different.
they feed off each other, and have a similar history; more birds of a feather than not
no, not really. The nature of our existance is far less important than the lessons, and knowledge gained through living it. Electric or not, holograhpic or not, it just implies we know far less than we think, and I'd stop trying to put things in a box that exists (Hint, when the bible says we are born of sin .. It' means sin(x) (sine wave), and our existence and being put in a box is the control mechanism around our analog wave.
Ever hear of cube worship? Ever hear of the time cube? There is so much people don't know (myself included) that it's impossible to put things in a box, or categorize, since most of what we know is a lie.
Ever hear of cube worship? Ever hear of the time cube?
do you know what you imply?
I do know exactly what I imply. I imply that the ruler of this world is dark. I imply that the time cube is related to the saturn moon matrix. I imply that our reality is manipulated. I imply a lot.
What you’ve got here, really, are two realities, one of immediate artistic appearance and one of underlying scientific explanation, and they don’t match and they don’t fit and they don’t really have much of anything to do with one another.
Robert M. Pirsig, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, Chapter 5
and lostidentity, I meant you were implying that I was not well read enough to understand your references. There is still plenty to see and do here, while one learns.
the simulation theory requires you to have faith that the statement that we are most likely living in a simulation due to statistical modeling around a statement of the progressive advancement of computer science. The attempt to make this analogy has been kicked around for more than a decade, and few of those looking at it give even passing thought to the fact that they are repeating past philosophical arguments of ontological reductionism, which have a history of at least 400 years or more, depending on which philosophists one cares to quote.
how can you TELL?
I think, therefore I am
This. When put in the context of this conversation, that previously abstract (to me) statement has PROFOUND impact.
We don't know what the reality is, but I'm sure that it's not what they want us to believe.
Yeah, but we need to strive to know it :)
Of course. And that's good.
we, as we are right now, are the creators of our reality, however you may wish to describe it. personally, i see it as a collective dream >)
this is probably closer to truth than anyone else has stated.
Are you, by any chance, referring to the Law of Attraction?
i'm mostly drawing on my knowledge and understanding of buddhist philosophy, and my experience with lucid dreaming. i suppose in some aspects law of attraction is similar to teachings of karma (cause and effect). also, quantum psychics (that claims there is no reality until it's observed), is an inspiration. i think all of these concepts are interrelated and ~basically~ speak of the same thing, just we get confused and lost in language. but, the most important thing to me is belief in freedom of choice and personal responsibility, and i think that's the best we can do and have in this world, until we get some certain knowledge on the nature of things.
Yeah, there are a lot of things that will become clear if we are just able to decode the quantum world. The double slit experiment is one example where we don't always see what we expect. Hopefully we will get the answers we seek in the coming years.
me!.. pls keep it secret!
Haha, I knew it! That beard has always looked divine to me! ;)
Great article.
One bright mind responds on the chances of this theory. Elon musk lays it out in little over 3 minutes.
Elon Musk has been a proponent of this theory for quite a while. Him and Neil DeGrasse Tyson and some other really smart people!
Elon Musk is a smart person.
Neil Degrasse Tyson is a TV personality.
yeah, Elon is really smart. And I agree that Neil Degrasse Tyson is a TV personality these days but some of the things he says are really insightful and thought provoking but I don't agree with some of the things he says.
Tyson has good script writers.
yeah, that he does. But he also does QnA from time to time where he speaks about so many cool concepts.
we are
we are ..... groot?
The architect, I mean. Most likely we live inside an ancestor simulation. For some people this is a hard concept to believe. but for me it is comforting.
Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines as well. It is quite possible that we are witnessing our pasts by living in it!
I love thinking about things like this. As much as it scares me (not sure why) that this is what is actually happening, it's entirely possible in my book. Being in a 'game' or 'simulation' would limit our lives to certain predefined parameters, regardless of free will and higher level thinking. I think about situations in my life where I wanted something very badly but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't attain it. I wanted to move to the backwoods of Alaska for five years. I worked towards it, saved money towards it, bought cabin plans and all the tools I'd need when I got there. Only every time I was ready to begin the actual trip planning, I was shut down for one reason or another. Every single time to the point where it was rediculous. As an astrologer it makes sense to me that this was simply not in my best interest and/or my life path. On another level I wonder about an A.I reality and if that wasn't the reason as well. Lots to ponder. I love the endless 'why's' this type of article brings. It tickles the imagination.
I like tickling the imagination all the time. Gives you some perspective over things. I agree that it can be scary but right now at least, things aren't under our control therefore there is no reason to be scared. If the intelligent beings decide to shut this reality down, so be it. We wouldn't even feel it!
I FIND THIS VERY PLAUSIBLE AND BELIEVABLE. One thing that has me baffled already is that people have already witnessed "glitches" in the world we live, typically like the glitches that we see in computer games! This is why I always keep my mind open.... I honestly believe there is forces in this universe that our senses cannot comprehend, yet.....
I agree. It is really important to keep an open mind. I see many people just shrugging things/theories off like they were nothing. We should at least do our own research into some of these before casting them aside. Only then do we have a change of getting at the truth.
Agreed!
If there was a God it need not be all knowing. That may be an assumption based on what we tell ourselves about our god as limited humans.
Or a trick god employs to make us believe it sees and knows all.
If there was a god of course.
That is what religion says about god. But I think what is actually the case is that, if our reality is a simulation, then its creators would be god like for us. In that case, they wouldn't be all knowing (just higher intelligent beings).
Thanks for answering a bit :)
My more fun answer I posted here last night:
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@tarazkp/my-first-response-to-an-article-is-a-repost
Great! Will check it out :)
Oh my goodness... IT'S OZ!!!
I don't get that reference :P
The wizard of Oz. Its a famous american movie. You should watch it!
Ok will do! :)
omg! you have to watch the movie, then watch Bill Still's The Secret of Oz
Ok I am excited now :D
The architect is you.
Thanks. You are finally on to my secret ;)
If you were the ONE like Agent Smith was in the Matrix (yea sorry guys it wasn't Neo. Agent Smith was the one that fulfilled all the prophecies). He broke out of the Matrix and manifested himself into a host body. A much more commendable feat then what Neo preformed. .
Looking for the back door sounds cute but in reality that shit will wreck your soul. "ALL" you have ever known and love will be obliterated into oblivion. Including most of all your minuscule little self identity. And if you don't get any of that, rip some DMT and just peak thru the crack of that door for your self.
That event would surely be a world shattering event.
It would be "funny" if our architects have gone (died, disappeared, forgotten about us), and our simulation will eventually start to falter...
I hadn't even thought about this. This is entirely plausible and this might explain all the chaos in our world ;)
Nice my first follow! nice philosophy @sauravrungta , keep posting and thinking up great stuff!
Thank you! Followed back. Keep posting interesting stuff :)
I liked that show
MUCH better than this one
which had good special effects
and CGI
haha!! Totally get you! :D
I also think about this for a long time. I bow to the fact that we from the future create ourselves here. We look at the computer, and we create reality there, everything that we see new or cool is modeled by a computer, using the means of a human idea. We are a virus that infects everything around us.
That's a nice way to think about it. Really deep :)
suppose the simulation hypothesis is true.
and our universes is a video game.
for preliterate toddlers...
That would be a big bummer!!
ummm...read history or the news lately?
Oh, now I know what you mean. Hehe.
ever so often mommy and daddy tell the little guy that he has to quit..so he turns his game off..
then reboots the next time he wants to play.
looks like mommy and daddy have forgotten to tell the little guy that he has to quit for quite some time now.
reckon he's gone outside to play?
and left it on while he was gone?
or maybe off to school?
Greatest post, it is real science
Thank you for reading :)
Your showers are "getting warmer" @sauravrungta
Keep STEEM N ON,
Frank
haha they definitely are ;)
Thanks for the support always :)
Fascinating article.
Thank you :)
God might not be the architect, unless EVERYTHING is a simulation.
That's deeper than deep!!
this made me smile!!! god is just one entity on 5th dimension (not much beyond santa claus). there is more... just like steemians, depended on followers. Now divide with various Gods or God imaginary. Fantasy is tricky thing, as so is belief! It creates entites, etheric forms, like vortex of energy, more believers, the stronger it is.
You surely create intriguing posts and I'm very glad to find you Sir! Hope you'll be my daily coffee'tea reading. Kind regards
Uhh.. Sorry to be "that" guy, but this "theory" has no basis in modern physics, and is not at all taken seriously by any physicist worth their salt. Only place you hear this term is in pop-science literature and the click bait articles that try to "explain" incredibly complicated phenomena in your coffee break, and reading that perhaps makes their readers feel smart about themselves, but there's simply no substitute to understanding physics than going through the standard literature yourself.
Back to the topic, take a look at this blog :
http://motls.blogspot.in/2017/05/pbs-hypes-tyson-and-his-simulation.html
it explains these things far better than what I could possibly do in a comment
This is excellent. Thank you for the mind. Glad to find others with interest
I'm glad you liked it :)