Real world Quote by Yuval Noah Harari
““According to current scientific dogma, everything I experience is the result of electrical activity in my brain, and it should therefore be theoretically feasible to simulate an entire virtual world that I could not possibly distinguish from the ‘real’ world. Some brain scientists believe that in the not too distant future, we shall actually do such things. Well, maybe it has already been done – to you? For all you know, the year might be 2216 and you are a bored teenager immersed inside a ‘virtual world’ game that simulates the primitive and exciting world of the early twenty-first century. Once you acknowledge the mere feasibility of this scenario, mathematics leads you to a very scary conclusion: since there is only one real world, whereas the number of potential virtual worlds is infinite, the probability that you happen to inhabit the sole real world is almost zero.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Future of Humanity Talk, 2023
If consciousness is brain activity, a perfect simulation could be indistinguishable from reality, making our existence likely a simulation among infinite possibilities.
In simple terms: We might be living in a simulated world.
Key Takeaway
Question reality; consider simulation limits.
Themes
philosophy
technology
existential
Mood
curious
thoughtful
skeptical
Type
philosophical
speculative
When to use this quote
- gaming
- philosophical thought experiments
- future tech
- personal identity
Key Concepts
simulation theory
brain activity
probability
Questions to Reflect On
- Is there any evidence we are not simulated?
- How would knowing we are simulated change our values?
A Different Perspective
Even if simulation is possible, we cannot prove we are not already in one.
![“[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world... Land, labor, and capital are extremely heterogeneous aggregates, not much better than earth, air, fire, and water.” quote by Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/47e/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_air_in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-ch_12383.jpg)
