Hi there, Some Guy. I'm not sure how I found you but you are perhaps one of ~5 people on the Internet that seems to be putting in effort towards imagining a world where we figured out the right direction to push, and then pushing in that right direction. I've spent the last two years doing the equivalent of an independent PhD that is in the ballpark of your political vision. I'm a former VC backed Founder and Econ Professor and have financially set myself up to execute on a rational political plan be the only focus I have for the rest of my life.
Starting Friday, I'm going to be off the Internet for the next few months but either before that or when I am back, would love to hop on a Zoom and introduce myself. Email is operationalizingyarvin@gmail.com
You got me so far! I understand that! I thought I understood most of it actually, with this clarification, particularly with your line “a closed system to your inputs” and that last paragraph. Which leads me to ask, then, what’s the overall point? I’ll review the article again to see if I can get it. But I think the point is it’s either a unique universe or a parallel simulation... You can’t have a “simulation” if you modify it. Then what’s the overall point of that?
There’s a lot of people who don’t think the world is real and because of that don’t think anything they do matters. I think it’s a kind of intellectual contagion, a symptom of people believing things are true because it makes them feel badly, but it’s not true.
So this piece is primarily to lift anyone who is existentially depressed by this stuff out of their despair. A perfect representation which is indistinguishable from another thing *is* that thing. There’s no reason to believe a perfectly simulated universe is not real. There’s no good definition of real that would make those two things significantly different.
Basically, let’s say you were playing Zelda on two different gaming systems. The same gameplay, the same level, everything identical. You have Link do all the exact same moves at the exact same time. From a certain perspective, you have the exact same game of Zelda on those two systems. Link is doing all the same stuff in the same exact world just on two different consoles.
Now shut off one of the consoles.
Link is still in existence. In fact, he is the exact same Link as on the other system because they were both identical at the start.
Now mix it up a little bit.
Have one console run at half the speed of the other. Isn’t that still the same Link, though? Inside of the video game, if Link could sense the passage of time, he wouldn’t notice a difference because relative to his surroundings he’s still going at the same speed as ever.
Now just play the exact same game slightly later after the first game is done on one of the other consoles.
What matters here most is that the games are the same game.
So if you were to “simulate” an entire universe, meaning you created some start state and put it through a consistent series of transformations, you’re in the same situations as above BUT part of what the consistent transformation means is that there’s no game controller. The universe is a closed system to your inputs. You can look at it. You can search every part of it, but you can’t really change it, or rather the kinds of changes you could make just mean that you’re choosing to simulate an entirely different universe. It has a separate unique existence, the same way that the number seven can’t be used up by two seven year olds having their seventh birthday on the seventh of July.
Ok I went back... I don’t normally think in the same patterns as you, but I find this a bit interesting and arriving in similar places. So it seems.
You defined reality(I know this is part 2 of posts but whatever). Excellent. Agreed.
You defined free will. Excellent, Agreed! Although I’d like to ponder here how a God or Gods fit - which maybe are essentially “rules”?
You played out the multiverse and edit scenarios. Implausible as some may be, you conclude that our reality (prime or not whatever) cannot truly be tampered with because of these primary definitions.
Largely yes. Also that the appearance of tampering isn’t really tampering even if it feels that way to someone “simulating” another universe.
This gets a bit more complicated when I talk about Free Will because not all realities are possible, meaning not all of them could be implemented with a chain of cause and effect because I think there are some things that intelligent beings like us would never do.
I take God to mean the existence of goodness and morality in an intellectual sense. So when I explain how all of this works that is how interpret God.
My own personal sense is that God is a being with thoughts, feelings, etc. He doesn’t intervene directly in the world but he cares about what happens in it. Also what happens in our world matters. I had a religious experience in my mid twenties but I understand that isn’t evidence to everyone.
I like to think of us living in a universe thats rules of reality are our "Gods". I adapt this from when a Pantheon of Gods was worshipped. But that diverts us! Thank you for your intellect, kindness and time! Much appreciation.
Hi there, Some Guy. I'm not sure how I found you but you are perhaps one of ~5 people on the Internet that seems to be putting in effort towards imagining a world where we figured out the right direction to push, and then pushing in that right direction. I've spent the last two years doing the equivalent of an independent PhD that is in the ballpark of your political vision. I'm a former VC backed Founder and Econ Professor and have financially set myself up to execute on a rational political plan be the only focus I have for the rest of my life.
Starting Friday, I'm going to be off the Internet for the next few months but either before that or when I am back, would love to hop on a Zoom and introduce myself. Email is operationalizingyarvin@gmail.com
Cheers!
Sure, I’ll join your cult. ;)
Let me shoot you an email. Might need to talk early in the am as I’m usually slammed from about 6am PST onward.
You got me so far! I understand that! I thought I understood most of it actually, with this clarification, particularly with your line “a closed system to your inputs” and that last paragraph. Which leads me to ask, then, what’s the overall point? I’ll review the article again to see if I can get it. But I think the point is it’s either a unique universe or a parallel simulation... You can’t have a “simulation” if you modify it. Then what’s the overall point of that?
There’s a lot of people who don’t think the world is real and because of that don’t think anything they do matters. I think it’s a kind of intellectual contagion, a symptom of people believing things are true because it makes them feel badly, but it’s not true.
So this piece is primarily to lift anyone who is existentially depressed by this stuff out of their despair. A perfect representation which is indistinguishable from another thing *is* that thing. There’s no reason to believe a perfectly simulated universe is not real. There’s no good definition of real that would make those two things significantly different.
It’s morning, I had my coffee and walked around a bit... still cannot grasp all this concept....
Basically, let’s say you were playing Zelda on two different gaming systems. The same gameplay, the same level, everything identical. You have Link do all the exact same moves at the exact same time. From a certain perspective, you have the exact same game of Zelda on those two systems. Link is doing all the same stuff in the same exact world just on two different consoles.
Now shut off one of the consoles.
Link is still in existence. In fact, he is the exact same Link as on the other system because they were both identical at the start.
Now mix it up a little bit.
Have one console run at half the speed of the other. Isn’t that still the same Link, though? Inside of the video game, if Link could sense the passage of time, he wouldn’t notice a difference because relative to his surroundings he’s still going at the same speed as ever.
Now just play the exact same game slightly later after the first game is done on one of the other consoles.
What matters here most is that the games are the same game.
So if you were to “simulate” an entire universe, meaning you created some start state and put it through a consistent series of transformations, you’re in the same situations as above BUT part of what the consistent transformation means is that there’s no game controller. The universe is a closed system to your inputs. You can look at it. You can search every part of it, but you can’t really change it, or rather the kinds of changes you could make just mean that you’re choosing to simulate an entirely different universe. It has a separate unique existence, the same way that the number seven can’t be used up by two seven year olds having their seventh birthday on the seventh of July.
Ok I went back... I don’t normally think in the same patterns as you, but I find this a bit interesting and arriving in similar places. So it seems.
You defined reality(I know this is part 2 of posts but whatever). Excellent. Agreed.
You defined free will. Excellent, Agreed! Although I’d like to ponder here how a God or Gods fit - which maybe are essentially “rules”?
You played out the multiverse and edit scenarios. Implausible as some may be, you conclude that our reality (prime or not whatever) cannot truly be tampered with because of these primary definitions.
Have I grasped your meaning?
Largely yes. Also that the appearance of tampering isn’t really tampering even if it feels that way to someone “simulating” another universe.
This gets a bit more complicated when I talk about Free Will because not all realities are possible, meaning not all of them could be implemented with a chain of cause and effect because I think there are some things that intelligent beings like us would never do.
I take God to mean the existence of goodness and morality in an intellectual sense. So when I explain how all of this works that is how interpret God.
My own personal sense is that God is a being with thoughts, feelings, etc. He doesn’t intervene directly in the world but he cares about what happens in it. Also what happens in our world matters. I had a religious experience in my mid twenties but I understand that isn’t evidence to everyone.
I like to think of us living in a universe thats rules of reality are our "Gods". I adapt this from when a Pantheon of Gods was worshipped. But that diverts us! Thank you for your intellect, kindness and time! Much appreciation.