Your Little Cuboid of a World
Imagine you are playing a video game that takes place in some kind of virtual universe. At this instant, you are looking at a mere part of the universe defined by the rectangular screen of you device and everything in the background -- in other words, a rectangular cuboid. The rest of this virtual universe simply does not exist. It serves no purpose for the computer to waste processing power to ensure the entire universe is always on when only a little cuboid of the universe actually needs to be active.
Now, make your avatar walk towards your left. As she does so, new things on the left side of your screen appear while things on the right side of the screen disappear and pops out of existence.
Of course it does! It would be terribly inefficient if an entire virtual universe was maintained and active when it is not on your screen.
What if Real Life Were Like That?
What if real life were like that? Imagine you are in your house alone. You decide to go for a walk. As you shut the door, the inside of your house disappears. As you walk away far enough that the house is no longer in sight, it disappears too. At the same time, your destination is not yet in sight, so it does not exist either. But as your destination becomes visible, it pops into existence.
A Tree Falls in a Forest...
A classic philosophical question is: "If a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?" I would ask, "And, does the tree or the forest exist at all, if there is no one there to sense it?"
Simulation Hypothesis
If we live in a simulation (in which we and the world we experience is actually a computer simulation) then places devoid of people probably disappear from the simulation. It would make no sense for them to continue to exist if no one was in those places.
But, assuming we live in a physical and biological universe, it certainly seems like places must exist even if no one is occupying those places.
But, can we be sure this is the case?
* * *
Share your feedback, thoughts and/or questions
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, please share it. I would love for more people to discover our blog.
* * *
* * *
My latest Thoughts and Articles
The Future Relationship of AI and Humans
What will our future with AI bring? End of human race? Supportive of humans or something else?
What Happens When AI Gets Bored?
If AI becomes conscious, it seems likely that many AI devices will be bored out of their minds.
What Is It Like to Die?
As an atheist, I wonder what happens to me when I breathe my last breath?
A Better Way to Have Wars
A war is a tragic, ugly, destructive thing. I have a better idea.
If Only the Romans Had Found a Sexier Religion
Classical European art museums a overly full of religious imagery and lacking in the sexier stuff.
All articles
Index of all the articles on this blog.
