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WT Sharpe · 07-08-2010, 08:36 AM

.....This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a "posthuman" stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.
..........— Nick Bostrom (born Niklas Boström) (1973 - ), Swedish philosopher, Professor of Applied Ethics at Oxford University, Director of the Oxford Future of Humanity Institute. From "Are You Living In A Computer Simulation?", published in Philosophical Quarterly (2003), Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. The entire paper can be found in PDF format at http://www.simulation-argument.com. Nick Bostrom's homepage is http://www.nickbostrom.com/.

.....All things considered, Bostrom says, the probability that you're living in a simulation is "close to unity". "I think the argument is watertight," he says.
..........— New Scientist, 27 July 2002, "Life's a sim and then you're deleted", located at http://www.newscientist.com/article/...e-deleted.html.

07-08-2010, 08:36 AM	#186
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	You are probably a Sim, according to this philosopher. .....This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a "posthuman" stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. ..........— Nick Bostrom (born Niklas Boström) (1973 - ), Swedish philosopher, Professor of Applied Ethics at Oxford University, Director of the Oxford Future of Humanity Institute. From "Are You Living In A Computer Simulation?", published in Philosophical Quarterly (2003), Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. The entire paper can be found in PDF format at http://www.simulation-argument.com. Nick Bostrom's homepage is http://www.nickbostrom.com/. .....All things considered, Bostrom says, the probability that you're living in a simulation is "close to unity". "I think the argument is watertight," he says. ..........— New Scientist, 27 July 2002, "Life's a sim and then you're deleted", located at http://www.newscientist.com/article/...e-deleted.html.