> The Matrix is an implausible just-so story with quasi-religious undertones Actually, no. The question is simple: Can a universe with a least a few intelligen

> The Matrix is an implausible just-so story with quasi-religious undertones Actually, no. The question is simple: Can a universe with a least a few intelligent individuals be simulated? (Grand Auto Theft also does not simulate the whole city but only a selected "view"). The answer to this is probably "yes". But then you have another problem: If a universe can be simulated, it is mathematically FAR FAR more likely that you live in a computer simulation than not since billions of worlds with trillions of individuals are getting simulated. > and it's a concept that exhibits quite a few glaring holes the closer you look at its practical implications Be my guest and elaborate. > holes which seem like they are in disagreement with > daily observation and hence should lend themselves to > falsification. Actually, you are right and wrong here. First, I don't see "disagreement" with daily observations since there is only one known idea how to test the hypothesis. And then you are right, this thesis can be tested:"To avoid stacking (i.e. simulations within simulations), the termination of these simulations is likely to be the point in history when the technology to create them first became widely available, (estimated to be 2050)." Actually, there is a movie preceding "The Matrix" that is much much better: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070904/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070904/