this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2025
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[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 71 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Counter question; would it make any difference?

[–] Perspectivist@feddit.uk 33 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That's the point - it wouldn't. People seem to expect that things would be different or meaningless if we did but I've never understood that logic. Even if we do live in the base reality it could just as well be a simulation and nothing would need to change.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Exactly. Even if it was definitely proven that this is all a simulation, there is exactly zero chance humans could ever break out of it or hack or exploit or even begin to understand the machine the simulation is running on. We have still not even figured out the rules for our universe and understanding what the real universe where this is a simulation is way beyond the scope of human understanding. We could not affect it in any meaningful way except maybe some laboratory tests or cause some hideous corruption. Yet we think and feel and experience living in the only way we know. Hence, I'd argue it would not matter.

[–] QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

This is quite literally how many religions view their divine beings. They are so massive that they are beyond your comprehension and we would be powerless to impact them.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Including the Abrahamic religions except people are simple and have rewritten the mindboggling idea "can not comprehend" to punishable dogma "must not mention by name, gaze upon, depict".

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[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Except then the same gods are really worried about what you eat, or do with your specific meat-based mammalian reproductive anatomy.

A remote, totally amoral deity a la Lovecraft is at least consistent with facts. Nobody wants to believe in that one, though. You could go polytheist to avoid immediate falsification, too.

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[–] khannie@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] gilokee@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

Then he got wacked by Tony Soprano.

[–] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

A simulation could be hacked, and that's really fun to think about

[–] garbagebagel@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

If we are in a simulation, I'm pretty sure it's already been hacked or infected by a bad virus at least.

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[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 29 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] Lembot_0004@discuss.online 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

50?! You're crazy! 0.5 at best!

[–] Una@europe.pub 5 points 3 days ago

Nah, at least 0,50

[–] BiggestPiggest@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Just because we do t know something doesn’t masks it 50%

I don’t know if there’s a gorilla in my upstairs bath at the moment but the odds aren’t 50/50

On the question of god or a simulation, they aren’t 50/50 either

[–] midribbon_action@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 3 days ago (5 children)

Belief in a simulation implies intelligent design of some sort, so this is, in my opinion, just a 21st century way of asking the age old question, does God exist?

[–] Perspectivist@feddit.uk 8 points 3 days ago (6 children)

God is a loaded term though. Yes there would be a creator but it could be a completely passive observer.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Why would being in a simulation require that those who create or maintain it only observe?

Edit: I misread, merely observing is certainly a possibility.

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[–] frankenswine@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

God damn you love ness monster!

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[–] Pudutr0n@feddit.cl 13 points 3 days ago

well, you're asking this question in a platform which has the sole purpose of presenting a digital representation of social interaction, so I'd say pretty fucking high.

You don't need the matrix plugging needles into the back of people's heads for the world to be a simulation. smartphones and computer screens are more than enough.

[–] MTK@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (9 children)

Same as the odds that a higher being (a god) exists.

Can't prove it, can't disprove it. All arguments for it speculative and subjective.

People claim that it is the most likely option because eventually tech will be so advanced that we could make a world simulation, and then we would make multiples, and therefore the probability of this not being a simulation is low.

This claim assumes that computers CAN get that complex (no indication that they could) it also assumes that if they could, we would create world simulators (Why? Parts of it sure, but all of it?) And it assumes that sentient beings inside the simulation could never know it (Why?)

It is as pointless as arguing about god.

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[–] bitcrafter@programming.dev 9 points 2 days ago (5 children)

I figure that we are all definitely living in a simulation because, even if the world has real physical existence, consciousness is essentially a simulation created our brain to make sense of the world.

[–] davepleasebehave@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] bitcrafter@programming.dev 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

There is no connection because consciousness is not fundamentally tied to society (although obviously its contents can be heavily influenced by it).

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[–] fluxion@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

A simulation wouldn't be this stupid

[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 days ago

That's just what the agents want us to think, man!

[–] invertedspear@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago

You telling me you never did absolutely stupid things in sim games?

[–] Una@europe.pub 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

I mean is there any proof we don't live in a simulation? Like I am not arguing for simulation, neither am I arguing against it just, personally, I don't see simulation theory as something life changing and important. Odds would probably be 50/50, but don't see how it changes anything. If I live in simulation, I live in a simulation and someone is either controlling me or someone predestined me to do what I do, and it would be their fault for bad things happening. That would actually raise question why didn't they gave us more clear understandings of morals so we don't do bad things to each others, also why did they make us kill, and get sick...

If simulation is not real, then that doesn't change anything we still have questions about who or what made us, who or what was before our universe even existed.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You can't prove a negative.

The positive assertion is "we live in a simulation". All that can be done is gather evidence to support this assertion.

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Greater than zero.

You wanna tweak your melon a bit? Look up "Last Thursdayism." It's a thing — due to the way short term and long term memory work, the theory goes that anything before "last Thursday" is a lie. It's an arbitrary day of the week. The movie Dark City played off of this, when the — I forget what they were called — did their tuning and rearranged things and swapped peoples' memories around.

[–] callyral@pawb.social 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

it depends, can simulations run simulations inside themselves? because if so, i think this would increase the odds. if we were able to model reality, down to the subatomic level, with perfect accuracy, then maybe there's another world simulating us. unless we're in a pretty bad or locked-down simulation that doesn't allow recursion.

[–] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 3 points 2 days ago

Did you really interrupt my minecraft game to make me read that?

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[–] BiggestPiggest@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

In reality, simulations would outnumber reality. So that’s the ratio and therefore the chances.

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[–] FishFace@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

There is no sensible definition of probability that makes that question answerable.

[–] brachypelmide@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Well, until we see people randomly floating or chunks of the world disappearing, the answer will probably remain "who knows"

[–] Perspectivist@feddit.uk 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

People floating would go against the laws of physics of this simulation.

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[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If we are I want a word with the dev team. This shit needs a rebalance ASAP. Gravity wells are too OP, black hole mergers should not warp the fabric of spacetime.

And don't even get me started on Gamma Ray Bursts or Vacuum Decay.

[–] ricdeh@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Those probably are the intern's doing

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[–] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago

I don't know.

[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago

What are the odds that we are all in a simulation?

What are the odds that every bullshit that you ever heard is actually true?

[–] individual@toast.ooo 4 points 2 days ago
[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 days ago

I hope so

Also, can somebody please turn it off? I think we took this one as far as it's worth

[–] Gork@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 days ago

I want access to the dev console then.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Either 100% or 0% so pascal's wager 50/50.

Just like the lottery, I either win or I lose, its a 50/50.

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[–] IntriguedIceberg@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

So I guess it depends on what you understand by "simulation". What is really simulated as opossed to being "real". Our reality is just an interpretation given by our senses, so in a sense it's also a simulation of the real thing. Where's the line that makes something really "real"?

[–] Cattail@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I have no idea of the odds. Whatever reality is we could simulate it then conclude that a simulation like that could be running out reality. What could we observe about our reality that would make it simulation proof?

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