Columbia Professor: 50/50 odds

In an influential 2003 paper, University of Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom laid out the possibility that our reality is a computer simulation dreamed up by a highly advanced civilization. In the paper, he argued that at least one of three propositions must be true:

 

  1. Civilizations usually go extinct before developing the capability of creating reality simulations.
  2. Advanced civilizations usually have no interest in creating reality simulations.
  3. We’re almost certainly living inside a computer simulation.

Now, Columbia University astronomer David Kipping took a hard look at these propositions, also known as Bostrom’s “trilemma,” and argued that there’s essentially a 50-50 chance that we are indeed living in a simulation, Scientific American reports.

 

Kipping collapsed the first two propositions into one, arguing that they both would result in the same outcome — we are not living inside a simulation.
https://futurism.com/columbia-professor-50-percent-chance-simulation

 I am OK with 50/50, unless a simulation actually becomes possible, anywhere in the future of our planet, then it becomes almost certain.
Destroy technology to stop it happening?
No, that would only stop us from making a simulation within our simulation.

Virtual Universe 1.0

I’m sure there have been less detailed virtual universes previously, but this one – Illustris – feels like it might lead to better and better representations as time goes on and computing power increases. It looks great (pic above).

The stats:

– 5 years of work
– 3 months of computer run time (2000 years if run on a regular PC)
– 12 billion pixels
– 41,000 galaxies
– 350 million light-years in each direction

Every few years a new group of scientists will build on previous simulations, with the latest technology, and the resolution will improve.

At some stage we will see life begin on numerous simulated worlds…