Science Suggests We're Living in the Matrix

[Fractured Silhouette]

German physicists have discovered evidence suggesting that we are all merely elements of a complex computer simulation.

I'm sure you all remember The Matrix but on the off-chance that you weren't paying attention or somehow forced yourself to forget the whole thing after watching those awful sequels, it turns out that humanity exists within the confines of a highly-detailed computer simulation created by the machine overlords. And now German physicists have come up with evidence showing that this might actually be happening.

Whoa!

The whole thing is based on the idea that any sufficiently advanced civilization will eventually create a simulation of the universe, which would of course lead to the creation of more such simulations within the original simulation. So it would continue, eventually resulting in a huge number of simulations nested within simulations, making it statistically probable that the universe we inhabit is in fact merely a simulation.

It's a thought experiment, apparently a fairly famous one, but researchers at the University of Bonn say they have evidence that this could actually be the case. As Phys.org explains, a simulated universe would have an "underlying lattice construct" that would impose a limit on the amount of energy that could be represented by energy particles. And the University of Bonn team has found evidence that something very much like those limits do actually exist in our universe.

One example of such a limit is found in the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) limit, "an apparent boundary of the energy that cosmic ray particles can have." It's caused by "slowing interactions of cosmic ray protons with the microwave background radiation over long distances," according to Wikipedia, but the Bonn team says that it also exhibits the same kind of behavior you'd expect to see in a computer simulation.

It may not be proof that we're living in the Matrix, but it is a pretty cool idea. The actual science behind it all is thick and heavy, as demonstrated by the abstract for "Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation," which explains, "Using the historical development of lattice gauge theory technology as a guide, we assume that our universe is an early numerical simulation with unimproved Wilson fermion discretization and investigate potentially-observable consequences." But if you want to take a crack at it - hey, free your mind, right? - you can download the paper in full from arxiv.org.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120132-Science-Suggests-Were-Living-in-the-Matrix

What is the Matrix? The answer is out there, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.

[West Coast Sheriff]

Crazy

[Iron Man]

Mindfucked.

[Eliza Snark]

I don't buy it.

[OldSchool]

Any good simulation wouldn't have let the world go past July 1964.

[Eliza Snark]

Any good simulation wouldn't have let the world go past July 1964.

Why's that?

[TheMatrix]

I can agree with that :P
I've even suggested it to my friends several times, but they just laughed. :-|

[OldSchool]

Why's that?

No one, not even a deity is heartless enough to let society slide to the point its at now.

[Eliza Snark]

No one, not even a deity is heartless enough to let society slide to the point its at now.

But what significance does July of '64 have?

[OldSchool]

But what significance does July of '64 have?

It was the beginning of the end.

[Eliza Snark]

It was the beginning of the end.

I give up.

[TheMatrix]

It was the beginning of the end.

The rapture!

[OldSchool]

I give up.

It was the point where the sprawling peaceful suburbia of the early 1960s began to devolve into the hectic violent later 1960s.

[Fractured Silhouette]

Maybe that's what our robotic overssers wanted. To see how we survived in chaos.

[Eliza Snark]

It was the point where the sprawling peaceful suburbia of the early 1960s began to devolve into the hectic violent later 1960s.

The world is bigger than the United States. Quality of life all around has improved significantly in many areas since then. That's all I'm going to say here, though, lest this turn into some aimless debate thread.

[OldSchool]

The world is bigger than the United States. Quality of life all around has improved significantly in many areas since then. That's all I'm going to say here, though, lest this turn into some aimless debate thread.

Places like China/India will never have a decent quality of life because there's too many people there. Also Africa hasn't really improved THAT much for the most part. The dictators have just shuffled a few times.
Only decent place there is south Africa.
As for South America, other than Brazil the same rule applies.

Maybe that's what our robotic overssers wanted. To see how we survived in chaos.

I want a real SHTF rioting scenario, not this slowly dying world lol.

Please use the multi-quote or edit button instead of double posting. ~TheMatrix

[Mob Boss]

My mind just died from over-thinking and trying to process all that. O_O

[Scotland]

Holy shit ... My brain hurts

-Scotland

[Mortal Coil]

Yup, and on December 21st we'll find out for real that it is in fact a simulation. Everything makes sense now!

[Haufen]

It was the beginning of the end.


No, the beginning of the end was 1945.

[Jackerlus]

Now we just need to figure out how to materialise a military worth of guns next to us, oh and a new laptop would be nice. And a mind, because mine was just blown.

[DerBear]

The rapture!

I hope everyone has been good :devil:

[Eliza Snark]

I hope everyone has been [-]good[/-] Mormon :devil:
Fixed that for you.

[DerBear]

Fixed that for you.

I don't know how to respond to that :yeah:

[Sir Suomi]

No, the beginning of the end was 1945.

No, the end started on June 10, 1998. Because then..... I was born.

[Castle of Glass]

now how do i stop bullets, fly at supersonic speeds, bend stuff around, and materialize weapons and any thing i want.

oooh wait, the materializing was only in the loading program. need to get unplugged.

[Magical]

Yeeeeahhhh.

Did anyone read this?

Sufficiently advanced society WILL create a simulation OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE?

What is the point of that, Escapist?

How would it be made? You'd need a rather large quantum computer...the size of a galaxy maybe? (You'd need to track the location of EACH ATOM and EACH QUARK and EACH PHOTON...)

How would you make the computer large enough?

Where would you get the materials?

Simply, it's got no point, and would take a ridiculous amount of materials.

[Magus]

Doesn't sound like a real thing to me.

[Sephtyan]

One problem about the simulation within a simulation within a simulation idea...

Has anyone tried to run a virtual PC on their rig? An operating system running inside of an operating system? It's definitely possible. The thing is, while a super-advanced race could create a computer capable of simulating an entire universe, and they may have the thinkpower to create a simulation of a universe INSIDE of their simulation of a universe, in order to continue it, you'd need to keep building on to this computer infinitely and exponentially. A computer with the processing power to simulate another computer would need not only the resources (i.e. RAM, CPU clock, HDD/SSD space) to run it's own operating system, but double; to run the computer inside the computer.

Trying to create a computer that could simulate a universe within a simulation of a universe (two levels down the virtual hole) you'd need somewhere around the same amount of metal mass (for the pathways and busses) as an aircraft carrier. To go to the third level, you'd hypothetically need two aircraft carrier's worth of metal in the computer's pathways.

this brings up the 10-dollor question: Why in the name of machine ovahlawd would any race of super-intelligent beings want to do something like this? Spend the rescources and time and labor to build a computer who's sole purpose is to run the simulation of a universe (?)-fold? On top of that, the supercomputer would need to be turned off at some point for maintenance or repairs.

Someone tell me that they've never experienced, either on their computer or someone else's, a situation where the computer MUST turn off; someone trips over the cord, there's a blackout, the fans get too dusty and it overheats and shuts itself off.

A bit far fetched.

[PinkFloyd]

This is deep.

haha deep xD (no but really)

[Magus]

Someone tell me that they've never experienced, either on their computer or someone else's, a situation where the computer MUST turn off; someone trips over the cord, there's a blackout, the fans get too dusty and it overheats and shuts itself off.

Why do you presume that these higher tier intelligent beings have the same knowledge and technology that we have?

They probably have different laws of physics and logic than what we have here in this world.

They could be simulating this world out of crystal slabs that is hung in space that can go on for an infinity.

I did run TinyCore on Virtual Box. Fun stuff :P

[Drew5]

If we're in a matrix, then why'd they make a movie about the matrix?

To hide in plain sight!

Muaaaahaaaa

[IAMWILL]

Good thing our Matrix doesn't run on Windows.
yX8yrOAjfKM

[The Mockingjay]

No, the beginning of the end was 1945.

When the Nazis were defeated, stopping the extermination of entire races and the decline of Western Democracy? :what:

But yeah, the idea of us all being a computer simulation is one that has occurred to me before. In school the other day me and some friends were thinking about what would happen if we're all just part of a massive game of the Sims and there's someone controlling all of us... It's certainly very creepy.

[Mob Boss]

If that is true, I hope I'm one of the sims that lives in a mansion with all my monies and a bunch of cats. :lol:

[Magus]

When the Nazis were defeated, stopping the extermination of entire races and the decline of Western Democracy? :what:That kid is a NAZI. He thinks Hitler was the savior of the world or whatever.

I'd agree that Hitler would have been in the right path if he focused on building up a grand civilization instead of building the Aryan race. The guy was a Jew/Moor for god's sake!

But yeah, the idea of us all being a computer simulation is one that has occurred to me before. In school the other day me and some friends were thinking about what would happen if we're all just part of a massive game of the Sims and there's someone controlling all of us... It's certainly very creepy.

To add up the scary factor. The simulation gives an illusion that you are in control. If you have the will to do it, you think you are doing it, but actually someone else who is doing it.

But comparing to Sim is plain wrong, man. What if it is a simulation where we do have freedom of will because of the random number system embedded in it? Did that make any sense?