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You are suggesting that the nature of quantum mechanics is an argument for the simulation hypothesis?

oregontechninja 9y ago
I actually really like this idea. I was in Blender and thought about how mipmapping has some surface similarities with the way the world works. Detail is only apparent once you can observe it. Maybe fields and waves are faster to calculate, where finite particles are difficult. I'm just spewing nonsense, but this is the sort of stuff that makes for a great talk over a beer.
- irrational 9y ago
  Because it only makes sense when you are drunk?
52-6F-62 9y ago
I don't know enough about this to comment, but is there any reason it is critically unsound to do so? (within the confines of said theory)
- comicjk 9y ago
  Yes, it is unsound. Quantum mechanics has features which aren't observable (the imaginary components of the wavefunction, the value of position and velocity at the same time, etc). However, this does not mean less computation, because in order to simulate the system you need to represent the whole wavefunction and everything that happens to it whether it's observable or not. Quantum mechanics is elegant in many ways, but low computational load is not one of them. See Feynman on the subject: https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~christos/classics/Feynman.pdf https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~christos/classics/Feynman....
  - 52-6F-62 9y ago
    Is it weird that the complexity gets me excited? The thorough needs of this kind of nature of computation is a thrill to dream about. Thanks for the notes and the links. I've recently started to work my way through Feynman's lectures a I'm considering a return to school for physics particularly because of the excitement it brings me to be able to even just peek beneath the covers. I want to be able to rip them off the whole damned bed and leave the sleepers exposed! But I digress...
    - comicjk 9y ago
      It's not weird, I'm right there with you. I love this stuff.
altrego99 9y ago
I have always found the connection curious. In video games, for example, you do exactly this - not calculate something unless it is being observed. Who is to say the quantum effects are not actually artifacts of some optimizations in the simulation we are in?
- obstinate 9y ago
  Or who's to say that they didn't try exact simulations and find it too boring?
- comicjk 9y ago
  That's not what quantum mechanics really does. The wavefunction, which is the core of a quantum calculation, "runs" all the time whether any part of it is observed or not. A given observable property of the wavefunction may not be predictable without looking, but that doesn't make the wavefunction any easier to simulate. And without the wavefunction running, we wouldn't observe the probabilities which we observe in experiments.
  - robotresearcher 9y ago
    > The wavefunction, which is the core of a quantum calculation, "runs" all the time whether any part of it is observed or not. How can you tell?
    - comicjk 9y ago
      See the last sentence of my comment: it's not consistent with experiments. The success of quantum mechanics as a predictive tool comes from acting as if the wavefunction is always present, no matter what aspect of it is measured. There may be a whole different theory of physics which can replace quantum mechanics and doesn't have wavefunctions, and has completely different simulation requirements, but at that point you could postulate anything.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - 9y ago
wuch 9y ago
There is running joke about general relativity and quantum mechanics being a demonstration of simulation hypothesis, i.e., floating point computations used to simulate our universe break down under very small and very large scales.
- mandude 9y ago
  It's funny because it's true.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- jfoutz 9y ago
  And mass slows down time because the load increases
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - jhurliman 9y ago
    Related to this, Second Life has a concept of time dilation which is the ratio of current simulator frame rate to ideal frame rate (30fps IIRC). As more avatars, scripts, and physically simulated objects were put in a simulator the time dilation increased.
    - JetSpiegel 9y ago
      Interesting, I first heard about this regarding EVE Online.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

I actually really like this idea. I was in Blender and thought about how mipmapping has some surface similarities with the way the world works. Detail is only apparent once you can observe it. Maybe fields and waves are faster to calculate, where finite particles are difficult. I'm just spewing nonsense, but this is the sort of stuff that makes for a great talk over a beer.

irrational 9y ago
Because it only makes sense when you are drunk?

52-6F-62 9y ago

I don't know enough about this to comment, but is there any reason it is critically unsound to do so? (within the confines of said theory)

comicjk 9y ago
Yes, it is unsound. Quantum mechanics has features which aren't observable (the imaginary components of the wavefunction, the value of position and velocity at the same time, etc). However, this does not mean less computation, because in order to simulate the system you need to represent the whole wavefunction and everything that happens to it whether it's observable or not. Quantum mechanics is elegant in many ways, but low computational load is not one of them. See Feynman on the subject: https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~christos/classics/Feynman.pdf https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~christos/classics/Feynman....
- 52-6F-62 9y ago
  Is it weird that the complexity gets me excited? The thorough needs of this kind of nature of computation is a thrill to dream about. Thanks for the notes and the links. I've recently started to work my way through Feynman's lectures a I'm considering a return to school for physics particularly because of the excitement it brings me to be able to even just peek beneath the covers. I want to be able to rip them off the whole damned bed and leave the sleepers exposed! But I digress...
  - comicjk 9y ago
    It's not weird, I'm right there with you. I love this stuff.

altrego99 9y ago

I have always found the connection curious. In video games, for example, you do exactly this - not calculate something unless it is being observed. Who is to say the quantum effects are not actually artifacts of some optimizations in the simulation we are in?

obstinate 9y ago
Or who's to say that they didn't try exact simulations and find it too boring?
comicjk 9y ago
That's not what quantum mechanics really does. The wavefunction, which is the core of a quantum calculation, "runs" all the time whether any part of it is observed or not. A given observable property of the wavefunction may not be predictable without looking, but that doesn't make the wavefunction any easier to simulate. And without the wavefunction running, we wouldn't observe the probabilities which we observe in experiments.
- robotresearcher 9y ago
  > The wavefunction, which is the core of a quantum calculation, "runs" all the time whether any part of it is observed or not. How can you tell?
  - comicjk 9y ago
    See the last sentence of my comment: it's not consistent with experiments. The success of quantum mechanics as a predictive tool comes from acting as if the wavefunction is always present, no matter what aspect of it is measured. There may be a whole different theory of physics which can replace quantum mechanics and doesn't have wavefunctions, and has completely different simulation requirements, but at that point you could postulate anything.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- 9y ago

wuch 9y ago

There is running joke about general relativity and quantum mechanics being a demonstration of simulation hypothesis, i.e., floating point computations used to simulate our universe break down under very small and very large scales.

mandude 9y ago
It's funny because it's true.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
jfoutz 9y ago
And mass slows down time because the load increases
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- jhurliman 9y ago
  Related to this, Second Life has a concept of time dilation which is the ratio of current simulator frame rate to ideal frame rate (30fps IIRC). As more avatars, scripts, and physically simulated objects were put in a simulator the time dilation increased.
  - JetSpiegel 9y ago
    Interesting, I first heard about this regarding EVE Online.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]