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My intuition is that the recursion shouldn't hurt getting useful results, even if the simulation was allowed to proceed past the point where such a simulation w
by anateus 14y ago
My intuition is that the recursion shouldn't hurt getting useful results, even if the simulation was allowed to proceed past the point where such a simulation was developed (which they may not have), in a manner akin to the resolution of Zeno's Paradox. Though there's likely a bound on how many layers deep we can go, but my quantum information theory isn't what it used to be so I have to hand wave my conjectures.
- philh 14y ago> Though there's likely a bound on how many layers deep we can go Yes. The universe only has so much computing power, and any universe we simulate will have less.
- pirateking 14y agoDoes this depend on the universe having a finite amount of mass or what?
- xyzzyz 14y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bekenstein_bound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bekenstein_bound
- pirateking 14y agoThanks. Any recommended books for a soft introduction to these concepts?
- anateus 14y agoProgramming the Universe by Seth Lloyd (physics professor at MIT who likes to call himself a "quantum mechanic"). Here's a relevant paper by Lloyd titled "Ultimate physical limits to computation": http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9908043v3 http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9908043v3
- wladimir 14y agoThat would apply to real-time simulations. But wouldn't every layer run successively slower? The inhabitants wouldn't notice how fast their simulation is running in the (grand)parent universe. So given infinite time the layering could be infinitely deep.