Sorry, nerds!
Smackdown Simulation
Simulation theory, or the idea that all of our reality is made as part of an experiment or even a video game built by a civilization far more advanced than ours, is a fun thought experiment. But this falls squarely in the field of pseudoscience, explains physicist Sabine Hossenfelder.
Hossenfelder, author and theoretical physicist at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, argues in a new youtube video and blog post that belief in simulation theory requires exactly that – belief – and as such cannot be distinguished from faith in a theistic religion. No matter how many prominent figures in science and technology, including Elon Musk and Neil deGrasse Tyson, support simulation theory, she says the idea is always backed up by acts of faith rather than evidence. real.
Blue Pill
The problem with simulation theory, according to Hossenfelder, is that it is essentially a matter of religious faith disguised as scientific inquiry. In his video – transcribed here – it separates the arguments behind the simulation theory to reveal how, at its core, the idea is just a bunch of unfounded assumptions stacked on top of each other like children in trench coats.
“Those who believe in it are, perhaps unknowingly, making very big assumptions about natural laws that can be reproduced with computer simulations, and they don’t explain how that is supposed to work,” Hossenfelder explained.
Fun and games
It is possible that you, as someone who likes to entertain the idea of simulation theory, will find this all to be a terrible buzzkill.
“Maybe you’re rolling your eyes now because, come on, let the nerds have fun, right?” Hossenfelder said in his video.
But she adds that the hypothesis is not purely innocent, in her opinion, as it dangerously mixes this kind of faith-based thinking with people’s scientific understanding of how the universe works – a combination that risks being dangerous. use the former to overwrite and alter the latter.
READ MORE: The simulation hypothesis is a pseudoscience [BackReaction]
Learn more about simulation theory: Mathematician: Here’s why simulation theory is stupid
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