#1 — The Simulation Theory
What if we weren’t real? What if every aspect of our lives and our universe were artificial, and were only real to us . What if technology had gone so far, that our world is truly not our base reality like we believe it is and our whole world is being controlled by a 14 year old kid on a couch in the year 5000?
The notion that our whole lives are part of a computer simulation is not a new theory. The popular console and PC game The Sims has been around since February of 2000. The game developer, Electronic Arts, has been racking in millions upon millions of American dollars for each base game released, along with expansion packs for the past decade. It’s simply not true to state that The Sims isn’t popular. The Sims is a life simulation game that focus on the player making whatever kind of life they want for their household. In a sense, the player plays God, and controls the life of the sims and what they say, what they do, and how they progress in life.
The Simulation Theory suggests that in the very far future, The Sims or a game alike is our reality. That we ourselves are little digital people that are being controlled by a “player.” While it sounds crazy, it does not seem out of the realm of possibility. The theory has been around for centuries, dating back to the 17th century. Look how far our society has gotten — a hundred years ago we were barely driving in cars and were communicating in crusty letters, but now we have the ability to drive 100 mph < and contact someone instantly on slick new cell phones. We have advanced technology in so little time, that it is not crazy to think that in 2000 years we will be able to replicate souls, or real thoughts and emotions into digital/robot people and have them believe they’re alive.
Elon Musk, a technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer, is among the many that believe in the Simulation Theory. During a press conference, he confidently claimed -
“There’s a billion to one chance we’re living in base reality,”
Nick Bostrom, a philosopher in 2003, once released 3 claims centered around the Simulation Theory- Bostrom declared that one reason the theory may not be true in our reality is the small “ chance that a species at our current level of development can avoid going extinct before becoming technologically mature.”
Bostrom also revealed that he believed “almost no technologically mature civilizations are interested in running computer simulations of minds like ours.”
However, Bostrom lastly said that if the human race can get past the earlier two points, our reality is “almost certainly” a simulation.
While theres no solid proof, the simulation theory may very well have a chance at being true.
— Olivia, Solon, “Is our world a simulation? Why some scientists say it’s more likely than not,” The Guardian, October 11, 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/11/simulated-world-elon-musk-the-matrix
