Are we in a simulation?

[Mr Moofo]

It was odd how certain protagonists just stopped posting.
Professional trolls …

[IccyV2]

Apologies, I didn't intend this to turn to a serious discussion about politics or world events, or even a navel gazing thread, my last reply was tongue-in-cheek about aliens and silly stuff, it wasn't meant as a springboard for anything.

I always understood the arguments to keep the political section and I had no real beef with it but some people cannot have an argument without holding grudges and once they start to look for you in your private life, or attacking women posters and making them feel unsafe, then it's time to call it a day. I think the right call was made.
Shame, but unless we get mods that will stamp it out immediately and ban the obvious weirdos then you just can't allow people the freedom that they would abuse.

This forum is ok now, it's getting back a sense of community without the bile and bitterness.

[MyLittleStudPony]

Well quite.
If this is a simulation, I seem to have been put in the one that has I'm-a-Celebrity-Get-Me-Out-Of-Here, comic-book Presidents, Middle-East sparring, and StudPony giving it the bigun all the time. Swizz.

To a kid looking up to me, life ain't nothing but bitches and money.

[Noggin]

If it's a simulation, then the fucker in charge of my bit could be a bit bloody nicer about life, purleeese!!

If it's not, please could whoever has my doll please stop breaking bits of it - voodoo seems to work and I'd like it to stop

I like the 'it exists nowhere else' bit.

The universe is big, like really, really big. In an infinite universe unlikely things become almost certainties, somewhere, at some time.

I guess they mean 'we haven't seen it before'.

I think the point was they understand how it works now and it's impossible to do without some method that we haven't discovered yet, and because they know how it works they know that it can't happen by accident in nature. In layman's terms I understood that it was like two bottles of milk sitting in the fridge side by side and somehow unscrewing their own tops and mixing the milk, all on their own - it's just not possible - but they can demonstrate that it happened, they just don't know who did it.

That made me laugh, in a good way! I mean, it's not possible but is it actually NOT possible or is it just that current scientists don't know how but it could be found out to be possible in the future?

Although I could totally accept aliens popping down and mixing the milk for a laugh.

But as above, they fukkers need to sort shit out cos getting bored and walking away is NOT working - globally or for my poor bones!!!

[Horse]

Well quite.
If this is a simulation, I seem to have been put in the one that has I'm-a-Celebrity-Get-Me-Out-Of-Here, comic-book Presidents, Middle-East sparring, and StudPony giving it the bigun all the time. Swizz.

To a kid looking up to me, life ain't nothing but bitches and money.

Looking up at me? Blotches and moaney

[IccyV2]

That made me laugh, in a good way! I mean, it's not possible but is it actually NOT possible or is it just that current scientists don't know how but it could be found out to be possible in the future?

Although I could totally accept aliens popping down and mixing the milk for a laugh.

They're saying it's totally possible with some outside help, but it cannot happen on it's own in nature.
But if you think about it, back throughout history lots of things couldn't be explained, until they could.

[Noggin]

That made me laugh, in a good way! I mean, it's not possible but is it actually NOT possible or is it just that current scientists don't know how but it could be found out to be possible in the future?

Although I could totally accept aliens popping down and mixing the milk for a laugh.

They're saying it's totally possible with some outside help, but it cannot happen on it's own in nature.
But if you think about it, back throughout history lots of things couldn't be explained, until they could.

That's kind of what I mean. So many things were possible until years later when they were!!

But, if some fckwit wasn't spending his spare time breaking stuff and generally being a dick, I'd quite like the idea of a simulation (I'd like to say that's the drugs talking, but it's not! Must be the boredom !! )

[Cousin Jack]

I think you need to understand what infinity means. If something is possible, no matter how unlikely, given an infinite number of attempts it WILL happen.

So infinity sort of trumps vanishingly small probability.

[Horse]

I think you need to understand what infinity means. If something is possible, no matter how unlikely, given an infinite number of attempts it WILL happen.

So infinity sort of trumps vanishingly small probability.

But under the 'rules' our World has, there's entropy to consider.

Water might freeze, but would it ever reform an ice cube?

Would a puddle of liquid with a heap of broken glass and shreds of paper reform into a full wine bottle?

[Count Steer]

I think you need to understand what infinity means. If something is possible, no matter how unlikely, given an infinite number of attempts it WILL happen.

So infinity sort of trumps vanishingly small probability.

But under the 'rules' our World has, there's entropy to consider.

Water might freeze, but would it ever reform an ice cube?

Would a puddle of liquid with a heap of broken glass and shreds of paper reform into a full wine bottle?

Hmm...someone once tried to explain to me that Brownian motion is truly random so there is a v v v small but finite probability that all the molecules of air in a given volume eg a room could, theoretically find themselves in one half of the room while you gasp for air in the other.

I can't disprove it but, somehow, I don't believe it.

[Cousin Jack]

I think you need to understand what infinity means. If something is possible, no matter how unlikely, given an infinite number of attempts it WILL happen.

So infinity sort of trumps vanishingly small probability.

But under the 'rules' our World has, there's entropy to consider.

Water might freeze, but would it ever reform an ice cube?

Would a puddle of liquid with a heap of broken glass and shreds of paper reform into a full wine bottle?

As I understand it entropy is a result of probabilities, reforming an ice cube is VERY VERY unlikely. So in finite time since the big bang it has never happened. However given infinite time the impossible not only can happen but will happen.

[Wossname]

So …. Nothing is impossible.

Including ‘nothing’.

So….’nothing’ is possible.

Am I nearly there?

[Buckaroo]

You just need to expect the unexpected in an anticipatory, expectant way and you're good to go, or not.

[Count Steer]

Just a passing thought - how could you prove that we are not in a simulation?

[MrLongbeard]

Find the exit door and push on the bar.

[mangocrazy]

I think the obvious question is 'if we are in a simulation, what is the simulation for, who is running the simulation and what are we simulating?'

So that's 3 questions, but I'm not expecting the Spanish Inquisition...

[DefTrap]

If it IS a simulation, someone/body/thing programmed it - programmers are fallible, lazy & cocky.
So just do something unexpected and the simulation will glitch - the simulation will be over, or just shutdown and reboot.
Or you could just enjoy the simulation of being a semi-sentient ape with a cool hairdo.

[Taipan]

Love Prof Frys explnation of infinity!

[IccyV2]

So that's 3 questions, but I'm not expecting the Spanish Inquisition...

Nobody expects the...oh

[Cousin Jack]

I think the obvious question is 'if we are in a simulation, what is the simulation for, who is running the simulation and what are we simulating?'

So that's 3 questions, but I'm not expecting the Spanish Inquisition...

3 questions.

3 answers

1. To see WTF happens on planet earth given some starting conditions.

2. An evil bastard alien.

3. The run-up to Armagedon.