Simulation Theory zealots really annoy me
This sub has essentially turned a simple thought experiment into a pseudo-religion. Let's think about it:
- It’s unfalsifiable: there’s no clear experiment that can confirm or deny it.
- It borrows the "sky daddy" structure of belief systems: We’re created by higher beings, just with programmers instead of gods.
- It feels profound but requires little actual understanding or explanation. Just a hunch.
That is religion in a nutshell.
And that's before we get into the logical issues at play...
The argument hinges on a huge assumption... That conscious experience can be perfectly simulated.
That’s not proven at all. It depends on unresolved questions spanning philosophy of mind (what is consciousness?), physics (is reality computable?), computation limits (can a universe simulate another?).
The list is endless.
So the whole thing is built on stacked uncertainties which supporters, especially on this sub, swallow like religious dogma.
The trilemma itself isn't even particularly compelling!
As far as I can tell, this whole thing exploded because our Ketimine addicted overlord Musk, during one of his regular manic episodes, decided to massively misrepresent the original thought experiment.
Then his unthinking minions just ran with it and made it a religion for edgy people.
Basically, a growing number of people embrace it because it offers:
1 - existential meaning (“look! we’re part of something bigger”)
2 - intellectual sexiness (“look I'm into deep physics/philosophy stuff")
3 - a very low barrier to entry (you don't really have to understand anything)
Am I being unfair?