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What would that even mean though? People throw around these "universe is a computation" ideas without ever making any predictions. Do you think you're living i

What would that even mean though? People throw around these "universe is a computation" ideas without ever making any predictions. Do you think you're living in the matrix? Or do you just think that quantum mechanics can be fully simulated on a classical turing machine? Here is the almighty Scott Aaronson to set us right on the subject: http://www.closertotruth.com/series/the-cosmos-computer#video-1677 http://www.closertotruth.com/series/the-cosmos-computer#vide... http://www.closertotruth.com/series/what-does-quantum-theory-mean#video-1680 http://www.closertotruth.com/series/what-does-quantum-theory... EDIT: lets throw in this full length lecture at IBM for good measure, even though its not 100% related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7lv4-Bah5c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7lv4-Bah5c

selimthegrim 12y ago
More in the vein of Scott Aaronson about complex numbers "emerging" http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1267 http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1267 http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.4084 http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.4084
reinhardt 12y ago
Tangential to the topic but thank you for the closertotruth site reference, looks like an amazing resource.
laex 12y ago
I was watching last night. Is the Universe the Ultimate Computer?, with Seth Lloyd and others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMuFCpxnUQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMuFCpxnUQ
wyager 12y ago
>What would that even mean though? That all physical systems are governed by equations rather than, say, gnomes pulling levers. >Or do you just think that quantum mechanics can be fully simulated on a classical turing machine? This seems quite reasonable. There's no good reason this couldn't be the case, and quantization of fundamental units like Energy-time/Momentum-distance is certainly something that a programmer might reasonably do for a simulation.
- thret 12y ago
  http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html If your glass is half full, then of course we are living in a simulation. What is the halting problem for this simulation? That's the real question. IMO that should be true AI.
- kordless 12y ago
  Don't forget worrying about hackers.
  - VLM 12y ago
    Have some fun with mixing automata theory and the universe as a machine, where there's whole classes of machine that can or cannot be simulated by other machines or classes of machines and algorithms to convert from one machine to another or run one class of machine on others, and limitations and all kinds of big O notation results. Not entirely different from the idea of being able to convert from magnetic to electric field and vice versa via a collection of moving bits and bobs as discovered a century or two ago. It could be useful, in some peculiar way. Or maybe not.
    - kordless 12y ago
      > limitations and all kinds of big O notation results Or blockchains. > as discovered a century or two ago Give it up to Michael Faraday!

selimthegrim 12y ago

More in the vein of Scott Aaronson about complex numbers "emerging" http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1267 http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1267 http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.4084 http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.4084

reinhardt 12y ago

Tangential to the topic but thank you for the closertotruth site reference, looks like an amazing resource.

laex 12y ago

I was watching last night. Is the Universe the Ultimate Computer?, with Seth Lloyd and others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMuFCpxnUQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMuFCpxnUQ

wyager 12y ago

>What would that even mean though? That all physical systems are governed by equations rather than, say, gnomes pulling levers. >Or do you just think that quantum mechanics can be fully simulated on a classical turing machine? This seems quite reasonable. There's no good reason this couldn't be the case, and quantization of fundamental units like Energy-time/Momentum-distance is certainly something that a programmer might reasonably do for a simulation.

thret 12y ago
http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html If your glass is half full, then of course we are living in a simulation. What is the halting problem for this simulation? That's the real question. IMO that should be true AI.
kordless 12y ago
Don't forget worrying about hackers.
- VLM 12y ago
  Have some fun with mixing automata theory and the universe as a machine, where there's whole classes of machine that can or cannot be simulated by other machines or classes of machines and algorithms to convert from one machine to another or run one class of machine on others, and limitations and all kinds of big O notation results. Not entirely different from the idea of being able to convert from magnetic to electric field and vice versa via a collection of moving bits and bobs as discovered a century or two ago. It could be useful, in some peculiar way. Or maybe not.
  - kordless 12y ago
    > limitations and all kinds of big O notation results Or blockchains. > as discovered a century or two ago Give it up to Michael Faraday!