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Could you look at your life and everything that's taken place within it and prove it wasn't a simulation, or prove the physical existence of another country, relying on just your senses? We tend to think of ourselves as singular entities, rarely acknowledging the massive environment which our lives take place, and unaware of an existence ,or non existence of world outside our own. Determining whether we live in a simulation requires larger understanding of the world. With further analysis, it becomes transparent that without having a clear definition of a "reality" we are unable to make an accurate comparison of "our reality" to a simulation.
The closest thing that can be done is to compare our universe to the simulation which we create. Using scientific observation and an understanding of how video games function we can make a strong comparison and support the "Simulation Hypothesis", attempting to answer the question of " Do we live in a simulation?"
With a world population of 7.7 billion, as of April 2019[1], more than 2.5 billion video gamers playing some form of video game [2].
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This tells us a majority of people have a fundamental understanding of how videogames function.
Video games can be regarded as a type of simulation, or a program with the purpose of imitating a process or action[3]. Video Games processes these imitations though a game engine, the main game program which contains the game logic. The game engine is comprised of main 5 Components; a rendering engine which can be used to generate 3D animated graphics [4], an audio engine which consists of algorithms which are related to sounds [5], a physics engine to implement 'physical' laws within the system [6], and Artificial intelligence, a module designed to be used by software engineers with a specialist designation [7].
Applying the 5 components of a game engine to our world and using scientific observation to support the simulation hypothesis by comparing the functions of videogames and our world. The first element, rendering is the process involved in the generation of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image from a model by means of application programs [8]. With two categories of rendering, pre-rendering and Real-time rendering. Real-Time rendering is used when images need to be rendered at rapid pace, used in interactive graphics and gaming, real-time image creation is required[9]. Pre-rendering is used when speed is not a concern, used in animation and visual effects, used when photorealism is needed at highest standard[10]. To fit the universe into one of the two categories would be impossible. Rendering our world would likely require a combination of the two; pre-rendering for the realism, Real-time to provide smooth interaction, and possibly a third unknown category. The rendering engine would be responsible for things that make up the world such as grains of sand, people, planets, anything that we can touch, feel, smell, and see. The universe is composed of fundamental elements; atoms, and making up atoms we have protons neutrons and electrons which are made up of Quarks. When comparing this information we begin to see similarities between the universe which we live and the simulations we create. Both are composed of fundamental elements, the universe built on particles and simulations built on triangles, pixels, and bits (1s and 0s). We begin to see less difference between the two..
Videos games have what's known as Draw Distance. Draw Distance is a computer graphics term, defined as the maximum distance of objects in a three dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine [11]. The purpose of Draw Distance is to avoid an overload in system hardware and operate at a high performance level. To develop an understanding on draw distance, imagen looking into the horizon during sunset. All that can be seen is the edge where the sky and the ocean meet. That edge, or horizon is equivalent to Draw Distance in a video game. In this case, what cannot be observed beyond the horizon or cannot be proven to have a physical existence, via unaided means. Given the fastest thing is light, traveling at 186,441 miles per second[12] and providing a means of observation. It can be said that the rate at which our world renders is equal to the rate at which light travels.A rendering engine operating at that level requires a massive amount of power. On top of that, as the draw distance increases more distant polygons need to be drawn onto the screen that would regularly be clipped, or registered non-existent. This requires more computing power; the graphic quality and realism of the scene will increase as draw distance increases, but the overall performance (frames per second) will decrease[13]. The implementation of a stable Draw Distance would be crucial in preserving performance, maintaining an equilibrium in the simulation, and would provide a better alternative to rendering everything simultaneously. Implementing a Draw Distance, with a reasonable range, would be crucial in preserving performance.
To get an idea of the how our simulation rendering engine functions the following can be conducted; there is a person, Jimmy, at the Park (A). He is all alone, the only human. Jimmy has a 10ft radius observable perimeter. Everything in this perimeter exist, to Jimmy, and anything outside does not. Jimmy becomes sad and wants to go home (B), which only exist in memory, and starts walking. As Jimmy moves away from the Park, leaving Jimmy's perimeter, it begins to lose it's physical existence. Similarly, as Jimmy gets closer to home, enters the perimeter, Jimmy's home becomes existent beyond Jimmy's memory, physical. This is the basis of how Draw Distance takes place in our simulation. Now having a basic understanding of how the universe's rendering engine behaves as a simulation, and the rules within it, further evidence can be added.
In one of Stephen Hawking's books," The Grand Design" he discusses an experiment that was reattempted in 1999 by a team of physicist in Austria Called the "Two Slit"(check name of experiment) experiment. Hawking describes the experiment as the physicists using "soccer ball shaped molecules" made of six carbon atoms, which he refers to as 'Bucky balls'. Which were used as ammunition to be fired at a barrier. The barrier was made with two slits in which the 'buckyballs' could pass through. The physicists would adjust the width of the slits to test for various results and to their surprise the buck balls did not behave as expected. They seem to not follow what was hypothesized. The molecules ending up in varying locations, instead of being parallel to the slits. Hawking continues to explaining the findings of the original 'Two Slit" Experiment, done by Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer, experimental physicists at Bell Labs, in 1927[14]. Davisson and Germer carried out the experiment in order to study how a beam of electrons interacts with a crystal made of nickel [15], which sat behind the slits. As the experiment was conducted they discovered an odd behavior being displayed by the elections. When the first part of the experiment was executed, which was to observe and measure the election, the electrons behaved as expected. Traveling through the slits, as light shines through a hole, interacting with the nickel parallel the slits. Another attempt was make, this time without observation or measurement. Upon examination it was discovered that the beam had touch the entire surface. When the electrons weren't being observed they became waves, behaving like water, rippling through the slits and rejoining on the other side covering the barrier behind the slits. The findings of this experiment would serve as a foundation for the field of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics being rules for the behavior of the universes fundamental building blocks. Just as our universe has rules governing is components the same can be said for simulations. Our universals laws could in fact be a game engine managing checks and balances, making sure the laws aren't broken.
Another physicist by the name of Erwin Schrodinger in 1935[16] imaged an experiment, which supports the simulation hypothesis, knows as Schrodinger's cat. The experiment was as follows; a Cat would be placed in a box that could not be seen in or out, opaque, along with a device that would release a poison when a random unpredictable event occurred, such as the decay of a radioactive atom.
Unable to predict the release of the poison and the state of the cat. The Cat is both alive and dead until the box is opened, or the inside is observed. In the experiment, a person is observing the box, holding a cat. Until the box is observed, the cat does not exist therefore is neither dead nor alive, until observed.
For a modern approach a thought experiment can be done as follows; imagine you are in a soundproof, opaque box. In this box you are isolated for the universe, unable to take any input from the outside. While in this box you are unable to prove the physical existence of the outside, except by memory (which is temporary given time). This thought experiment helps support the idea of, what can be observed exists and what cannot, does not. Knowing some the basic functions of the universe and simulations, we can compare the two. Reviewing the findings of Davisson and Germer 2 slit experiment, Erwin Schrodinger's Cat, and the functions of a game engine we begin to see that similar circumstances governing both Simulations and the universe. For example, comparing both electron behavior and the functions of draw distance. When electrons are observed they behave as light, when not in observation they behave as waves. When something is not being observed our in a simulation it is not rendered, and allocates resources. For our universe to be a simulation it would have to behave as a mix, if not already. When something is not being observed is becomes waves and loses is physical existence. by converting it to waves, to keep performance high. Furthermore when something is being observed it is converted to particles, making up what is seen. An existence based on observations.
While what isn't be observed holds no physical existence, it holds existence in memory, whether that be the System's memory or held in our memory (also held on the system). It is the illusion among many other factors that make that simulation hypothesis much more difficult to prove. Just as you can attempt to prove the simulation hypothesis as fact, the same can be said as an attempt to prove our simulation is a universe, not a simulation. With everything being a matter of perspective and there being 7.7 billion[1] of them, reaching a conclusion is nearly impossible. Until the simulation hypothesis can be repeatedly proven by scientific means, it will remain a sci-fi discussion. With the idea on the rise in the media(TV shows, movies, books,etc) the world is becoming more and more aware, and more discoveries continue to be made about our universe, and as technology advancements are made the answer of, "Do we live in a simulation?" will become closer to grasp.
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[14] [15] "Stephen Hawking-The Grand Design"
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Could You Look at Your Life. (2019, Nov 26). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/could-you-look-at-your-life-and-everything-that-s-taken-place-within-example-essay
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