Are we part of a 'computer game'?

Z

Zoidberg

Registered Senior Member
I have been thinking about this for quite a while.

With our current leval of computer AI and at the rate that it's advancing. Could it be possible that we are in fact part of a computer game. Something like a world wide SimCity.

If anyone has any thoughts, I'd be glad to read them.
 
Originally posted by Zoidberg
I have been thinking about this for quite a while.
Click to expand...

I don't know what you are smoking, but it must be pretty damn good. Why don't you pass it around the room.
 
Is it possible that I'm a hummingbird who thinks he's a man?
Is it possible this is all a dream?
Is it possible I'm some odd-looking alien who is dreaming up Earth?
Is it possible that The Trueman Show is actually The Tyler Show (See Trueman Show thread) and it's going on right now?

..................

Is it possible these questions are useless? Yes!!!


Get over the idea. There's no way to prove or disprove it. And you have no logical reason to base this theory on.
 
Tyler, don't be boring. How do you think "cognito, ergo sum" evolved?

There's no logical reason NOT to entertain this theory, either. And the evidence of your senses rules against most of the theories you made up.

Joeman: Indeed, I suspect that many great advances in philosophy are due to

A: Coffee
B: Sleep deprivation
C: Drugs - booze and weed especially.

Zoidberg:

Indeed, Descartes struggled with the same thing. He could never prove that he was actually living in a dream. So he figured that hey, if I know nothing else, I know that I exist.
 
Did you actually read it. I do have reason do think it. Did you see the bit about AI. What if our reality is a computer game with the best graphics and excellent AI. Surely there is some possibility there.

I'm not smoking anything. I will never smke anything.

Think about the thread for a while and it may make some sense.
 
Arg. Sorry Xev if I seem like I'm getting pissed off.

Zoidberg you've entered the realm of the early philosophical thoughts. 'Oh my god....what if I AM a butterfly? I'd have no way of knowing!'

You have to learn to jump over this hurdle. It's been a completely useless philosophical question since after Descartes said 'hmm, well all I can conclude is that I know I exist!'

And no, you have no evidence. What you have is a theory that fits nicely IF IT'S TRUE.

There is another planet with giant technologically-advanced human-like creatures who created Earth as a science project and observe us from an unimaginable distance away. What is my proof? They are human like and we look like them. My theory works nicely. There's no way to disprove it. It fits quite well.

Does this in ANY way suggest that it's true? Nope. Nada. Nein.

Now. Do you have ANYthing to suggest that your theory is true? Any ONE thing? Basically what you've said is "It's possible, therefore it might be probable". Um......no. Like I said, it's possible that giant human-like aliens created us as a science project. With our current level of scientific knowledge is it not possible that eventually we will have the capability of creating life? Does that make it probable that other creatures created us? No. And it does not make it a respectable theory. It just makes it a wild pipe-like-dream.




"Think about the thread for a while and it may make some sense."

You'll soon find most of the people (keep in mind, I said most) in General Philosophy and Religion and such have entertained and explored this type of thought already.
 
I'm not talking about us being a science experiment. I got this idea from other threads about AI. Is it wrong to kill an artificial sentient being? is one of them. I'm saying that we may have been created by a 'programmer' who made an ultra-realistic AI system and we are it (Me speak English well).
 
You're not understanding this. Slow down and re-read.

The point is that your theory is groundless. The 'science experiment' thing was just another example I gave you to show how many billions of these groundless (but nice-fitting) theories can exist.
 
Tyler:

"You have to learn to jump over this hurdle. It's been a completely useless philosophical question since after Descartes said 'hmm, well all I can conclude is that I know I exist!'"

Why is it useless? Isn't there a possibility that we might advance beyond "cognito, ergo sum" in philosophical knowledge of existance?

"The point is that your theory is groundless."

Says who? Why?
 
"Why is it useless? Isn't there a possibility that we might advance beyond "cognito, ergo sum" in philosophical knowledge of existance?"

Yes there is. But it's not going to happen by just sitting here and saying 'it's possible we are all part of a computer game/butterflies/dreaming/an alien creation.....'. It will come through actually pondering over what makes us sure this is not true.


"Says who? Why?"

Says I. Why? Because so far he has shown zero evidence that his theory is even remotly probable. Come on Xev. Just because something is possible does not make it probable. You know that.
 
Originally posted by Zoidberg
I'm not smoking anything. I will never smke anything.
Click to expand...

I admire people who are perpetually high. It is cheap that way :D

Originally posted by Babe
Joeman: Indeed, I suspect that many great advances in philosophy are due to

A: Coffee
B: Sleep deprivation
C: Drugs - booze and weed especially.
Click to expand...

That is probably why there are more bad philosophers than good ones.

Although I said I am not really into philosophy, I developed a few of my own. It all involves looking at a set of specific problems and look for solutions. With that experience at hand, I look for a systematic approach that is universal to all the similar problems with maybe a few variations. Next I can develop a philosophy that is applicable to a larger scale in general.

What I was saying is, I like finding a systematic approach to things in a micro scale first, and then think about how I can apply it in a much bigger picture, instead of thinking about things out of nothing and then try to see how it can be applied to real world. The advantage of my approach is that it always has practical applications. I prefer to derive my philosophy from practical real life experience.

Einstein would have never invented theory of relativity if he uses my approach, but most people are not qualified to be like Einstein. You could be but I don't know. People like Einstein are statistically rare. I do think it is better to think of something then to think of nothing, but wouldn't it be better to divert some of a your brain power to something more pressing at hand, like study SAT? :p

I hope I am making some sense. My approach is boring. Sometimes we do need some wacky people for a good laugh. :D
 
I know that you were merely making an example. I'm saying that this really is a possibilty. A very real possibilty. I'm saying that we are the AI. We are living inside a "computer game". With the level of AI we are creating at the moment, could it not be extremely plausable that we are in fact artificial. Everything we know of is made up or copied from other sources.
 
Replace the word 'plausible' with the word 'possible' and you have a fine statement. For something to be 'plausible' it must be first supported by evidence. All you done is shown that it is possible. There is not one inch of evidence to suggest it is plausible/likely/probable/true. It's just possible.
 
It is possible. My only peice of evidence is our own current advancement of AI. We are developing living beings electronically. They probably don't know that they are part of a 'computer game' much as we would not know if we were.
 
And it's possible we're actually the 475th link in a series of humans who created a game of humans who created a game of humans who created........

And it's possible I'm a butterfly who thinks he's a man

And it's possible human-like aliens created us as a science project


The point is Zoidberg, you have no reason to believe this. Each theory is as groundless as the other. I seem to recall you somewhere else claiming to be logical and scientific in your approach. Good. Then use that approach for this idea. You'll notice that you have no reason to believe it probable.
 
Originally posted by Zoidberg
It is possible. My only peice of evidence is our own current advancement of AI.
Click to expand...

Stop right there Einstein and observe the paradox.

You kept saying our own advancement of AI. Do we understand how brain works? NO. Is our AI as advanced as human brain? NO. We all have brains and we all think. How can we be part of a computer game that is not as smart as us?
 
I know that I'm basing all this on 'What if'. I know I have little evidence to back this up, nut all I'm saying is that this is a possiblity. You're right, I do like to think logically, in my mind at the moment, I am. even the most farfetched thoeries sometimes turn out to be true, i.e, the world is round. This was the words of a heretic a few hundred years ago. People denied it because of few
1 - They didn't want to fall off the edge of the Earth
2 - Religion denied this thoery to be true

What I am saying makes sense. I'm not saying that it is true, I never have done. All I've said was 'What if?'

We will never know, and if, and I mean if, we find my thoery to be true, would you want to know?
 
It is possible that whoever may have created us was incredibly intelligent to our own standards i.e, the Asguard from Stargate. We may only have the brain power of a small portion of this beings brain. You were assuming that whoever may have created us is indeed like us. That may not be the case.
 
My god man.
How many times have you watched the matrix??


"What I am saying makes sense."

It makes as much sense as any other theory. It is groundless and is just possible. Remember; that something is possible in no way means it is probable. You have to slow down there bucko and start looking for evidence of something before you go considering the reprocusions of it.

And joeman is right. We do not have NEARLY the AI to handle this kind of thing. In fact, it's a major debate on it's own whether or not we ever will.
 
Zoidberg - look back at my original example. We are just the creation of a smarter existence. Fact is, there is no reason to beleive this thought.

Entertain the idea all you wish, but never accept it until you have some kind of evidence.
 
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