That simulated rain doesn't get anyone wet is an old saw. But it's a straw man, no one would claim otherwise. Simulated rain on a computer is just bits of elect

That simulated rain doesn't get anyone wet is an old saw. But it's a straw man, no one would claim otherwise. Simulated rain on a computer is just bits of electricity coursing through wires, where rain is droplets of H20 free falling and slamming into our physical bodies. But now imagine a virtual human sharing a simulation with that simulated rain. He would get wet, he would feel the rain as much as he can feel anything. So does he feel anything? Consider Bostrom's simulation hypothesis[1]. If our universe is a simulation, would that suddenly mean that we aren't conscious, that we don't feel our rain when it hits us? Our own perceived consciousness does not prove our universe is real. It is not sufficient to say "I feel therefore I am real". A detailed simulated brain would be exactly as conscious as ours is, which is not proof either is actually conscious, but proof they are equivalent. The confusion is the simulated brain would be part of it's world not our world. We can tie the two together with sensors and actuators, giving the virtual brain a physical presence in our world. Then it could feel our rain. Or the reverse, we could feel a simulated rain if we had a device that stimulated our skin in just the right way. Imagine the extreme opposite of an embodied brains, a little black cube that contains a detailed virtual human with no input or output to the real world. Does it feel? Do the same experiment in reverse, imagine our world is a simulation but no one is watching it, no one is interacting, no one cares. If a virtual human stubs his toe and no one is watching, does it hurt? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis