Diary of a Layman #14 (Spring): Proof That We’re Living a Life of Illusion
When I first saw The Matrix back in 1999, I instantly became fascinated with its “virtual reality world” concept. At the time, and for many years afterwards, I saw the theme as a metaphor for the illusionary material world we live in—a world of time, space, and the assumption that we are all separate individuals. My belief, in line with what I had taken from kabbalah, was that in reality, we were all one united energy force. Call it God, the light, Buddha, Allah, the universe, sentient energy, whatever. The point was that this energy created our illusionary world in order to experience itself. After all, since it was an all-knowing, all-powerful energy, existence was pretty boring. This energy wanted to experience the one thing it couldn’t know: what it was like to not be it. So, it created an imaginary world of time and space and separated itself there into different material elements that eventually evolved into human beings.
The reason The Matrix worked so well, I felt, was because its alternate reality storyline fit so perfectly with this illusionary world concept. Being connected through the world wide web in the computer world was a metaphor for how we are all part of one energy. The glitches of this simulation is just like the déjà vu we experience in our world, which, I’ve always thought of as our mind recalling pieces of our predetermined destiny. The signs and clues in the programming of this simulation are just like the clues the universe gives us to fulfill our destiny. Everything fit quite uncannily into place. A computer simulation was the perfect metaphor for the world we lived in! More recently however, I’ve got to thinking if it is actually a metaphor after all.
Besides The Matrix, there are a number of mind-expanding movies that share the “simulated world” theme: everything from Tron and Total Recall (pre-Matrix) to The Thirteenth Floor and eXistenZ (which both came out around the same time as The Matrix). These latter two films are particularly good at making us question what reality truly is. They make us wonder if it’s even possible to know whether the world we live in is actually real or not. While I first heard about it many years ago, I finally got a chance to see eXistenZ (pronounced eggs-a-stenz) in April when a co-worker lent me her copy on DVD. Funny how that always happens. Even though I was already well acquainted with the alternate reality concept (having written about it thoroughly for my book, The Myth of Lost), the film still managed to blow my mind. The reason, I think, is because it got me wondering whether the alternate-reality theme is simply a metaphor for how the universe actually works, as I had always assumed, or, if we quite literally all do live in a computer simulated world. A short time later, I got my answer. Funny how that always happens.
A friend of mine invited me to the Tribeca Film Festival and we picked out two movies to see. Unfortunately, she became sick but I went anyway. One of the films was Transcendent Man, a documentary about the beliefs of the brilliant inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil. The film presents what Kurzweil’s calls, the singularity: “a point in the near future when technology will be changing so rapidly, we will have to enhance ourselves with artificial intelligence to keep up.” One of the themes of the film is that once the singularity arrives (which Ray predicts will happen as early as 2045) in addition to our ability to live virtually forever and cure world hunger and poverty, there will be “no clear distinction between human and machine, real reality and virtual reality.” Of course, critics point out The Matrix and Terminator themes of not being able to control machines once this happens, but that’s a discussion for another day. The point I want to bring up here is the epiphany I had while watching Transcendent Man, and the question I asked Mr. Kurzweil who was at the showing.
In the film, technology is referred to as evolving exponentially because new technologies are continually used to create the next generation of technology. Looking at how much the world has changed in the last 25 years alone, there’s really no arguing this point. The film also brought up alternate reality Internet games such as Second Life. Now, since technology evolves exponentially, it is very probable to assume, as Mr. Kurzweil does, that within just a few short decades such virtual worlds will be so realistic, they will be indistinguishable from the real world. My question began my making these points and then one more. Once these alternate reality worlds get to this stage, isn’t it very likely that new alternate reality worlds will be created within these worlds. In fact, this has already happened. I’ve played many video games where there were other games within these games. (Final Fantasy VII for example had an entire arcade where you could play games within the game.)
With me so far? Good, because here was the kicker. Since technology evolves exponentially, and alternate reality games will eventually create other realities inside of themselves, isn’t it highly unlikely that the reality we live in is the very first, original world? Isn’t it much more probable that The Matrix got it right and that we too live in a simulation? Isn’t it a bit egocentric to believe that we are the very first reality in existence in the history of creation? Seems like the same odds of us being the only planet with intelligent life out of the billions upon billions of galaxies that exist out there, each one with billions of planets. Kurzweil agreed with my point about the virtual reality worlds becoming indistinguishable from reality, but stopped short of agreeing that our world was already a simulation.
Several days later however, someone on my Myth of Lost Facebook page serendipitously directed me to a website by someone who wrote an entire book (The Universe Solved) filled with tons of evidence supporting the very same conclusion I’d just reached. (Funny how that always happens.) I contacted the author of the book, Jim Elvidge, and he replied with the following: “Your argument is exactly the argument that philosopher Nick Bostrom made in his paper “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?”
Considering that his paper was presented to the department of philosophy at Oxford, I felt like I was in good company. Still, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, possibly because I noticed it contains formulas like this:
Now, I’m not saying that these endorsements from two very smart guys (Jim got his masters in electrical engineering from Cornell) prove anything, but it does give the theory a lot of weight. The question I had next however, is that assuming we are actually all in a simulation, why are we here? I whittled the possibilities down to the three that made the most sense.
- Through pollution, war, or overpopulation, the first generation of humans made the planet they were living too unbearable for any decent standard of living. Their solution was to create a simulated world filled with characters created in their own image and to plug themselves into it and live their lives within this realm.
- The humans that exist in the outside world live in a very advanced society. Those who do not fit within it, either because they have committed crimes or simply can’t cope, are hooked up to a correctional simulation program designed to help rehabilitate them to re-enter society.
- Much like The Matrix, humans have been put into the simulation program against their will either by our own machines uprising against us, aliens, or a sect of humans who overpowered the rest of us.
While I’m sure all this sounds completely fantastical and close to impossible, if you really start to think about it, you realize that the world we believe ourselves to live in is no less improbable. I don’t know about you, but I have absolutely noticed bizarre serendipitous occurrences in my life that lead me on my path. This includes everything from getting messages from the radio and strangers on the street to chance meetings and “coincidences” with such impossible odds of occurring you have to laugh. After noticing these occurrences in your own life, ask yourself which is more likely: that we are all part of an artificial reality, programmed to direct us on a certain path, or, that everything we see around us happened either completely by accident or was created by an almighty being who micro-manages the lives of every creature in the universe. I’m going with simulation.
The other cool thing about the simulation theory of our world, is that it plugs so neatly into the beliefs of most world religions. The Judeo-Christian idea that God created us in His own image is just that the creators of this program made us look just like them. The Hindu concept of reincarnation translates to dying as one computer character and then coming back as another. The Buddhist concept of us all being connected just means that we are all literally plugged in to the game. Most religions believe in destiny, which simply relates to the programming code of the simulation we are in. Even the beliefs of quantum physicists come into play since they believe time is an illusion. Yes, because everything that has happened, is happening or could happen is already programmed, existing all in one moment (think of a computer game that takes months for you to clear all existing on a CD-Rom or DVD that you can hold in your hand.) Then there are concepts that exist within the real world or our mythology that have similar metaphors in the virtual world. Viruses that make us sick and computer viruses are almost the exact same thing. An avatar is a god that takes some form in our world, not unlike an avatar that represents you in the online world. And coming soon, just as we update our computer files, we’ll probably be able to plug into something that’ll update us. Imagine being able to update your brain’s memory or processing speed. This is all part of the singularity that Ray Kurzweil is talking about.
So, there is definitely a lot of evidence that we may be living in a simulation. Now, once you accept that, there’s another question which may pop up and nag at you so ruthlessly that it forces you to write a 2,000 page book called The Layman’s Answers to Everything which you are hoping to one day get out into the world. Or maybe it’s just me. Anyway, this question originally hit me in regards to the illusionary nature of the world more so than it specifically being a computer simulation, but it works either way. The question is, if our world is an illusion/simulation, is it more like The Matrix, and we’re all in it together in an interactive game so to speak, or, is it more like The Truman Show, and you are actually the only real being and everything else is simply part of the illusion designed to help you on your path? In other words, are we all playing together on the Internet, or solo at home…by ourselves…with no one else in existence at all? The sad truth is that there is actually no way to prove whether or not you are the only real consciousness within this simulated world. Imagine if after you die you find out that YOU were God and you just created this illusion because you were lonely. So if you think that the world sucks, really, you have no one to blame but yourself.
So, what’s to be made of all this? Does any of it matter? Whether this world is real or not, it seems pretty real to us so we might as well make the best of it. Yet, if we knew that it wasn’t real, perhaps we could take advantage of that fact. Perhaps we could use our minds to impact our characters’ realities. Maybe we could take advantage of some kind of glitch and win the lottery or in Las Vegas. Or, maybe we could find a hidden Easter Egg or secret cheat code that enables us to make this world our bitch and do whatever we please with it—time travel, reading minds, turning invisible, flying. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to be on the lookout for that secret cheat code. According to The Thirteenth Floor, the first place to look is the last place you’d ever go. Hmmm, perhaps there is an accountant’s convention coming up…in Mongolia. I might have to look into that.
May your inner spark grow to light your way,
Marc
PS: For those of you who would like more information about what’s going on with The Myth of Lost book and why I always seem so busy even though I’m done writing, editing, and creating it and mostly done publicizing it, I invite you to explore any or all of the links below that have occurred since the last update (March 16th, 2009).
The Myth of Lost page on Amazon.com (includes new review from Aimee Noto of The Lost Initiative podcast!)
The Myth of Lost Facebook Page (updated notes and discussion board):
“What LOST Is Telling Us About the World Today…And Tomorrow” presentation highlights on You Tube (Presentation & Book Signing at East West Book 3/8/09):
The Myth of Lost Prizes for Jay and Jack Lost Podcast Contest (Mentioned in Lost Podcast (AAC): Ep. 4.33 “The Ee-Saw”from May 18th, 2009 @ 1:09:03 (about five minutes from the end).
Marc Oromaner’s “Lost in Myth” weekly columns posted on Doc Arzt& Friends’ Lost Blog
Marc Oromaner’s “Lost in Myth” weekly columns posted on When Falls the Coliseum blog
JOpinionated Interviews Marc on “Get Lost” blog (May 3, 2009)
The Myth of Lost posted on Authors Press Releases
Lazlo Interviews Marc on 96.5 FM The Buzz (This is one of the interviews I did weekly, commenting about each episode after it aired.)
“The Mythology of LOST and Other TV Shows & Movies” presentation for the 6th Annual Rutherford Multicultural Festival on May 16th, 2009.
“The Mythology of LOST and Other TV Shows & Movies” presentation highlights on YouTube (Presentation & Book Signing in connection with GainVille Cafe 5/16/09)
*New Friends:
If you aren’t familiar with the story, here’s a brief synopsis:
The Layman’s Answers To Everything is a spiritual comedy (or spiromedy) about an unlucky guy who believes he’s meant to do something amazing, but has no idea what it is. After experiencing many challenges and meeting a bizarre cast of characters, he stumbles upon secret messages hidden in TV, movies, and music that are aimed at guiding humanity. Using these messages, he starts a new religion which changes his life, and ultimately, the world. This is so much more than just a story though, because throughout the journey, we learn how to discover and fulfill our own destiny using the clues of the universe that are all around us.
I truly feel this book is going to make a real impact on the world, and set into motion a spiritual domino effect that’ll help change it for the better. And judging from the way the world is heading, I’m thinking that changing the way we’re heading would be a good thing, no? If you don’t agree, or would just prefer not to get any further emails from me, just let me know, and I’ll take you off the list—no hard feelings. Of course, I can’t promise that my book won’t track you down and find you anyway, but you have a while yet to worry about that.
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**The LOST book is called, The Myth of LOST: Solving the Mysteries and Understanding the Wisdom. It not only reveals a solution that explains all the mysteries of the show, it also explains how the show’s wisdom can be applied to our real lives.
23 Responses Leave a comment
Hi Marc,
By a rather amazing coincidence I was sent the link to this article of yours just hours after reading an article called ‘Are We Living in The Matrix? – The Simulation Argument’ by Nick Bostrom.
In that article he discusses the multi tier virtual reality worlds theory which you mention him discussing in his academic paper.
The chances of encountering this man and his theory twice in one day seem ridiculous and as such I am rather convinced it was programmed into my experience by the post-humans running the show.
As it happens I am also in the middle of writing an article on Artificial Intelligence (a contact asked me if I would do so) which I started on yesterday before reading the article.
I do hope that other people are real and that it is not just me whom is real in the program, though at times I am unsure.
Kind regards
Bruce Fenton Dip. B.I.T.
Hey Bruce,
You might also find this website a good resource: http://theuniversesolved.com/
As I’m sure you’d agree, there are no coincidences! Just out of curiosity though, who forwarded you this link?
Good luck with your article!
Marc
funny stop slapping me with knowledge…that article was so good it must be fattning..lol
Hopefully, only to your brain.
Thanks again for this. Once more I see we’ve been thinking along the same lines but I wish to add that i feel paradox is the answer to the conundrum. apply non duality to find the answer. in other words reality is BOTH like The Matrix, and we’re all in it together and paradoxically it is ALSO like The Truman Show, and we are totally solo.
this makes no sense to the mind, as with all paradox, but (spoiler alert)… is why the character in Tron that was the mind (Clue) could not transcend and in LOST, why Jack was BOTH the only person on the island AND not alone in the church at the end. Those others in the church are him and ALSO paradoxically “other” people
we are the dream and the dreamer
the code and the coder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcCm7V312eQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7G714V2Jo4
J
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jordan. I would agree that reality is both like “The Matrix” (we’re all in it together) and “The Truman Show” (just one person’s experience). I actually went into much more depth about this in the Layman trilogy of books I wrote that I hope to get back to someday so they can get published. (http://www.orowriter.com/the_layman_trilogy.html)
I believe both perspectives can actually work without the paradox. The idea is that, yes, we are all in this world together but each person has an individual experience that only he/she has had. Assuming time is an illusion, and every possibility already exists right now, we leap into various “realities” depending upon what we focus on. While everyone you know will also be in these new realities, they will all be a bit different than the ones you left behind, based on the new realm. So only you have been through the exact sequence of events that you have experienced. Within each of us is an infinite level of possibilities that branch off to others with their own set of possibilities. So in fact, your whole world has revolved around you, and my whole world has revolved around me.
As for the reason Clu could not transcend, I saw that myth fitting with the material/spiritual theme. So Clu, looking for “perfection” and being in the illusionary game grid, could not transcend because his focus was only on the physical. This interpretation can also work for individual mind/collective consciousness theme too, especially since Flynn said that Clu’s knowledge only contained what he knew when he created him, and he’d since expanded that. I’m not seeing it having as much to do with a paradox of reality there, but if you did, great.
As for the LOST comparison, remember, Jack actually wasn’t the only person left on the island. Hurley, Ben, Rose, Bernard, and Desmond were all there when he died. However, your explanation fits better (in my opinion) in the idea of whether what we saw in the sideways world including the church was just Jack’s perspective, or everyones. I think it could’ve been just Jack’s AND each character could’ve had their own (so in Kate’s sideways universe, HER father speaks to her in the end, in Locke’s it’s his dad, and he leaves in the church with Helen,etc).
Thanks again for your insight!
UPDATE: “Has James Gates Discovered Computer Code in String Theory Equations? Welcome to The Matrix!” Posted here: http://www.transcend.ws/?p=3020 This is exactly the kind of theoretical proof I’ve been waiting for! Now, to find those Easter eggs, hidden codes, and secret passageways!
UPDATE 2: “Whoa, Dude, Are We Inside A Computer Right Now? This NASA Scientist Thinks We Could Be.” Posted here: http://www.vice.com/read/whoa-dude-are-we-inside-a-computer-right-now-0000329-v19n9 The scientists are coming out of the woodwork now! It’s been over three years since I posted this piece but now lots of scientists are beginning to come to the conclusion that we may indeed be living inside a simulation. This NASA scientist, Rich Terrile, has some pretty neat ideas. I really like how he describes video game worlds as a “million times larger” than his Playstation 3 and that you only see what you need to see, when you need to see it. And how this is just like quantum mechanics, where particles don’t have a definite state unless they’re being observed. He also brings up how the universe behind our own is also likely a simulation which I’ve brought up before, and so on and so on. So, whenever you mess up in your life is there some nerdy 13-year-old someplace cursing into some simulation headset? They say the meek shall inherit the earth, perhaps they already have. (Thanks to Scott Mooney for bringing this article to my attention)
UPDATE 3: Physicists are testing to see if our universe is a simulation…
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/12/physicists-universe-simulation-test-university-of-washington-matrix_n_2282745.html
UPDATE #4: Physicists may have evidence that universe is a computer simulation:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/11/physicists-may-have-evide_n_1957777.html
UPDATE #5: Another article, this time from the US about the planned simulation test physicists are working on:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/whoa-physicists-testing-see-universe-computer-simulation-224525825.html
Thanks for all the links – my next personal mission (after 2012 fizzled) is to try and find the proof that we are in a simulation. Hopefully there’s an Easter egg somewhere…
Why are those the only 3 possibilities for a simulation ? I see that a lot as to what people think the simulation is for. But it makes no sense.
(Through pollution, war, or overpopulation, the first generation of humans made the planet they were living too unbearable for any decent standard of living. Their solution was to create a simulated world filled with characters created in their own image and to plug themselves into it and live their lives within this realm.)
With the technology to make a computer that is able to simulate the universe we could fix pollution, and overpopulation by leaving the planet. Also how does reproducing work ? A automated system making baby’s ? and placing them into a tube like in the matrix ? Our population has been growing and would fill up all the space on the planet at some point.
(The humans that exist in the outside world live in a very advanced society. Those who do not fit within it, either because they have committed crimes or simply can’t cope, are hooked up to a correctional simulation program designed to help rehabilitate them to re-enter society)
I just cant see this being true. The population has been growing if this is a correctional simulation its not working. And if so the future humans must be some kind of north Korea type of government. Being forced to simulate a life as a lesson imo is worse than death.
(Much like The Matrix, humans have been put into the simulation program against their will either by our own machines uprising against us, aliens, or a sect of humans who overpowered the rest of us.)
All of that effort and they cant just kill us ? Machines ? why would they let our population get so out of control? I mean it could be i guess but there would be so many problems with it. Why would they keep us ? and let us reproduce ? This is not like the matrix movie. The machines could leave earth if they wanted. They would not need us for power.
Aliens ? This could be a simulation run by aliens that found the remains of a advanced civ and are doing a study on how we evolved. But as far as i know they would not have a accurate picture of us because they would not know our history and could not make us do the same things. I assume we have free will. Also if they wanted to study us they could just watch from the sky.
Other humans who over powered us ? really ? Humans have no problem killing each other…
I am not sure what my theory is on why we would be in a simulation. It would probably have to do with science. Some kind of study on evolution, civilizations and culture, The universe in general. Does that make us AI ? Or is this just some kind of game? Not only that but how do we know that this is just not how the Universe is ? Its real but the way it is simulare to how a computer simulation would be ? We don’t know everything about the universe and how it works and the answer to this question will not come anytime soon.
Thanks for your comment Michael. I didn’t write that these were the only three possibilities, but that they were the three that made the most sense among many possibilities. I think it would be much easier and affordable to plug the world into a simulation than to physically move everyone to a new, habitable planet which might be thousands or millions of light years away or create a giant ark big enough to hold billions of people. Reproducing could be done outside the simulation or automatically extracting sperm and egg test tube style. We can already do that today. Baby is born and gets plugged in a la The Matrix. When set up in close quarters or upwards like in The Matrix, the planet could support many, many more than we think we have space for today.
As for your issues with the second possibility, getting put into the correctional system could be optional or come with incentives. And if the population in the outside world is growing, you’d expect it to grow here too. Perhaps the population there is growing much faster than here, so it is a successful program.
As for the Matrix explanation, why kill us when they can use our energy? The machines let our population get out of control because they weren’t sentient when it was initially happening, so there was nothing they could do. You say they wouldn’t need us for power and could just leave Earth. Why leave your home when you can just eliminate what’s unpleasant about it? And if they’re keeping us alive, they need us for something.
As for aliens, we could’ve been seeded by the very aliens now controlling us. Or, they could know our history from distant observation–they were waiting until we were ready. They may use us for energy as well, or food. They keep us fresh until the simulation has run its course then eat us.
Humans continually kill each other but if you really want to control a population without killing, say, women and children, just put everyone in a simulation.
I’m open to other possibilities. In fact, I’m currently of the belief that we volunteer for the simulation in order to help us grow. Challenges make us stronger. Our life is customized to fit what we need.
If you’re looking for more scientific evidence, I provided it in another post here: https://thelaymansanswerstoeverything.com/2013/01/23/scientific-proof-we-live-in-a-simulation/
Thanks again for sharing your views!
Great stuff, Marc! I particularly like the way you look at the modern film directors as our moden shamans. After seeing Source Code, Matrix, Groundhog Day and Truman Show in particular I’ve been left with the perception gates flung open and my intuition clearly shouting… “That’s how it is!”
Thanks for the props! Yeah, I find the shaman thing really fits, and definitely feel a resonance with the films you mentioned.
Keep listening to that intuition. The more you listen, the louder it gets!
When I first read about the computer simulation theory two years ago it was the most exciting thing I read in decades. For thousands of years mystics have been telling us that the world is an illusion. Now science is getting on board. I am hopeful that the theory is correct as it answers so many questions.
But simulation or not, it still seems real. And I still don’t have access to the code to tweak some of the insanity out of this world. So until someone figures out how to tweak the code, it’s just another interesting theory.
Someone has located the code Vic! Have you read this? https://thelaymansanswerstoeverything.com/2013/01/scientific-proof-we-live-in-a-simulation/
Also, absolutely NOTHING you experience in this world is actually real. It’s all your brain’s interpretation of reality. What you actually experienced occurred a few hundredths of a millisecond prior to your brain processing it. So there is a lag between what you perceive as reality and actual reality.
One way to tweak the code is to focus on only what you wish to experience. So if you give energy to a world of insanity, that’s what you’l manifest. Before going to sleep and before waking up, focus on how grateful you are for a perfect, beautiful, fair world where there is peace, joy, and love all around us continually.
I much prefer inirvmatfoe articles like this to that high brow literature.
Great to hear from you, Tine. Most people usually start in a yoga studio class, so good for you for starting at home first! Practicing the yoga postures slowly, mindfully, with deep and even breathing brings so many benefits, such as you mentioned. Blessings, Lori
1. To me it seems highly probable that we live in a simulation. Things from pixilation, non-locality, like code in string theory, a beginning exists, cosmic ray spectra….. to me seem to indicate that. My MS is Operations Research/Systems Analysis with a subspeciality of advanced modeling, so I naturally wonder by who and why. There are many reasons to create a model/simulation.
2. It can crash and/or be turned off. The “universal constants” appear ‘tuned’ for matter, space, and life. Run after run with variants may have been tried until the “right mix” was found.
3. So it seems to be a simulation that started and stopped. Combined with the “why” this leads me to the “will the Universe be turned off when ‘why’ is satisfied?” How soon (in sequential time)?
I just read this article out of boredom… and DANG!!! What an eye-opener! Great writing with an even greater sentiment! Kids are truly our teachers, sometimes, aren’t they?!? You made my day!!! Thanks!
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