Silly Matrix-esque idea

[padren]

First, I am going to work out some funky variables that should be similar to how Drake's equation works, but for a completely different topic. Then I'll fail to even attempt the math, but its just an interesting idea I have....

 

 

basically, it works like this:

 

1) Post singularity, it would be possible to create not only synthetic consciousness, but by default, entire simulated environments

 

2) As part of a technology advancing technique, running simulations of near-singularity cultures can develop unexplored branches and tangents

 

 

If 1 and 2 are fair assertions, then if we could take Drake's equation as a start, modify it to determine both how many near-singularity and how many post-singularity worlds "may" be out there, then multiply the number of post-singularity worlds by the number of simulations any given world is likely to run (maybe its .5, maybe its 20), and compare that by the near-singularity count, we could derive a ratio likelihood that any given consciousness within a near-singularity world would actually be a simulation and not in a real physical world.

 

I am not actually suggesting we live in a simulation, but its an interesting idea.

[the tree]

Hmm, would a post-singularity world be able to simulate another more recently post-singularity world? And could that one be making simulations of it's own, and on like that? How many simulations deep would you need to be before singularity just can't happen?

[insane_alien]

Hmm, would a post-singularity world be able to simulate another more recently post-singularity world? And could that one be making simulations of it's own, and on like that? How many simulations deep would you need to be before singularity just can't happen?

 

nyah my brain is melting.

 

could maybe be just like looking in a mirror with another mirror behind you, except every layer(best word i can think of just now) is different and it fades off into the distance.

[padren]

Hmm, would a post-singularity world be able to simulate another more recently post-singularity world? And could that one be making simulations of it's own, and on like that? How many simulations deep would you need to be before singularity just can't happen?

 

I would suspect "yes" to the first question, but of course half the fun of saying "post-singularity" is saying a technological level spike beyond our ability to predict what is and is not possible within it.

 

 

I suppose you could have simulations within simulations, but if the main engineers only make the main simulation for the purpose of probing alternative developmental branches, I don't know if they would benefit from sims in sims, and therefore may not permit it, as it would be burning their real processing resources to run the sim's sim.

 

So I would say you could have as many sims in sims as it is deemed worthwhile and benefitial to the real society running the toplevel sim.

[padren]

If anyone was to dare to speculate, how likely is it that any given consciousness in a near-singularity culture would actually be part of a simulation and not part of the physical universe?

 

Or is the premise itself likely to be faulty?

[bascule]

It's taken a lot of computation to go from a lifeless planet to a near Singularity culture. A lot of computation. An incomprehensible amount of computation. Too much for a simulation, I would say, at least for the conceivable near term before consciousness consumes the universe.

[Edtharan]

It's taken a lot of computation to go from a lifeless planet to a near Singularity culture. A lot of computation. An incomprehensible amount of computation. Too much for a simulation, I would say, at least for the conceivable near term before consciousness consumes the universe.

If they used a procedual generation of the "world data" in the simulation (ie the simulation calculates what the data should be according to a set of rules if and as needed) then any internal entity when interacting with something would cause the simulation to calculate the needed data only during the interaction and run a more basic simulation when they are not interaction. This may be a stochastic (?spelling?) algorithm.

 

This would free up a lot of processing as the universe is mostly enpty space (but if we looked at that enpty space then the simulation would generate the data needed to simulate it at a higher level of detail).