Simulation´s end

 

"Meta Rising" is an interesting YouTube channel, but I have to disagree with them/him here. The idea that we live inside a Matrix-like computer simulation is so obviously connected to the Western quasi-religion of Progress, that it´s highly unlikely to be true. The *real* appeal of the argument isn´t that we live inside somebody else´s simulation, but rather that *we* can create such simulations ourselves with the help of highly advanced IT technology, and hence cheat death, both our own and that of the entire cosmos. And, just as an afterthought, prove that IT geeks and science nerds based in California (US forever) really are the pinnacle of world civilization (and, I suppose, all life on Earth). Indeed, in Meta Rising´s clip, he explicitly mentions a version of the simulation argument in which it is *us* who are projecting our own consciousness into the simulation, while simultaneously forgetting our true identity (a secular techno freak version of the Hindu view of Shiva´s cosmic dance). So we are either Christ Almighty or Shiva Nataraja, OK, do you understand why I´m a bit skeptical to this entire line of reasoning? 

Fermi´s paradox does have a rather obvious solution: while intelligent life *is* common in the vastness of the universe, it is not *our* kind of intelligent life. We could speculate that an entire species of intelligent whale-like creatures live in the oceans of some distant planet, completely uninterested in solving mathematical equations about their supposed rendez vous with a "destiny in the stars", indeed completely oblivious to any notion of technology at all, instead preferring to chill and socialize in the hot water for 100 million years sharp... The idea that all civilizations in the universe must be interested in, say, building Matrix-like simulations of 2021 California seems conceited in the extreme!

Meta Rising says that we live in a unique period in human (and Earth?) history. Here´s another take: no, we don´t, that´s just another conceit, the idea that all civilizations in the vast expanse of the cosmos go through a "great filter" which looks suspiciously similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 (AD). Instead, we are simply dealing with another cycle of overshoot, decline and fall. Sure, maybe the fall will be harder this time, but life on Earth survived even the mega-scale Permian extinction event, so chances are it will survive again. In the bigger scheme of things, the rise and eventual disappearence of a somewhat intelligent species of bipedal apes isn´t really *that* important (except, of course, to that species itself) in the bigger scheme of things. Indeed, it could just as well be argued that a *really* intelligent species of simulation-creating demi-gods might be more interested in some other aspect of Earth history, the emergence of blue-green algae for instance. Why simulate some shitty event in 2021? Unless, of course, we are once again assuming that the demi-gods are really *us* in the Tomorrowland future. 

To sum up, the Simulation is really an attempt by New Atheists to both have their cake and eat it, too. They can discard God, yet create another God in their own image. The similarity between the Simulation and Intelligent Design (or even pop Hinduism) probably isn´t a co-incidence...