Scientist asks the “Matrix question”, programmer doesn’t reply

What is the “Matrix question”? Imagine a world that isn’t really a world, where you think and feel and perceive everything is real, but in fact is only a construct. The question is, “What if that was our world? What if life is a dream?”

It’s a question posed by philosophers everywhere, and now that same question will be asked by one of the world’s top scientists. Professor Sir Martin Rees, Royal Society professor of Astronomy at Cambridge, mentions that computers complex enough to build an entire virtual universe are possible, with the “people” in it living real, “virtual” lives.

Now, some of us might think of MMOs and say, “STFU noob. We do that with MMOs,” but the idea he is referring to is on an entirely different scale.

The professor will be part of a British TV documentary called “What We Don’t Know” next month, and according to a report by The Times, he could very well say the exact same words they’ve listed on their article:

Over a few decades, computers have evolved from being able to simulate only very simple patterns to being able to create virtual worlds with a lot of detail. If that trend were to continue, then we can imagine computers which will be able to simulate worlds perhaps even as complicated as the one we think weÂ’re living in. This raises the philosophical question: could we ourselves be in such a simulation and could what we think is the universe be some sort of vault of heaven rather than the real thing. In a sense we could be ourselves the creations within this simulation.

See, it’s the Matrix question being asked by scientists. Imagine if your avatar in WoW ran off one day and asked another wandering soul, “Do you ever feel like life is some sort of silly game? It’s like I can’t control my life anymore.” Needless to say, if you ever find yourself asking a question like that, you might just hate it if the programmer of our virtual world decided to reply.

What is the “Matrix question”? Imagine a world that isn’t really a world, where you think and feel and perceive everything is real, but in fact is only a construct. The question is, “What if that was our world? What if life is a dream?”

It’s a question posed by philosophers everywhere, and now that same question will be asked by one of the world’s top scientists. Professor Sir Martin Rees, Royal Society professor of Astronomy at Cambridge, mentions that computers complex enough to build an entire virtual universe are possible, with the “people” in it living real, “virtual” lives.

Now, some of us might think of MMOs and say, “STFU noob. We do that with MMOs,” but the idea he is referring to is on an entirely different scale.

The professor will be part of a British TV documentary called “What We Don’t Know” next month, and according to a report by The Times, he could very well say the exact same words they’ve listed on their article:

Over a few decades, computers have evolved from being able to simulate only very simple patterns to being able to create virtual worlds with a lot of detail. If that trend were to continue, then we can imagine computers which will be able to simulate worlds perhaps even as complicated as the one we think weÂ’re living in. This raises the philosophical question: could we ourselves be in such a simulation and could what we think is the universe be some sort of vault of heaven rather than the real thing. In a sense we could be ourselves the creations within this simulation.

See, it’s the Matrix question being asked by scientists. Imagine if your avatar in WoW ran off one day and asked another wandering soul, “Do you ever feel like life is some sort of silly game? It’s like I can’t control my life anymore.” Needless to say, if you ever find yourself asking a question like that, you might just hate it if the programmer of our virtual world decided to reply.