From: jnh@huron.eel.ufl.edu (Jordan Hazen)
Subject: Re: PHIL: Will ever VR be like reality?
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 93 06:05:25 GMT
Organization: UF Electrical Engineering


In article <1kv81pINN39u@shelley.u.washington.edu>, epperson@adobe.com
(Mark Epperson) writes:

|> >> What about the idea that you could fully simulate a little bit of it?
|> >
|> >This is ok... it is actually the idea of the Final Simulation which
|> >frightens me. Don't expect me to explain it too much: it is a feeling,
|> >not the result of great reasoning...
|> 
|> Has anyone thought that the limitations of quantum physics (that the wave 
|> function does not collapse unless there is a classical observer) would be an
|> ideal rule for optimizing such a simulation?

Yes, the provisions of quantum theory (along with chaos mathematics,
etc.) should allow for enough "loopholes" to eliminate the necessity
of keeping track of all physical parameters in a large-scale virtual
world.  Atomic-level structures could be extrapolated from generalized
object descriptors whenever necessary, and this type of information
need only be stored when there is a good reason to do so (e.g. if a
user decides to inscribe some text at the sub-micron level on a
crystal using a "virtual" laser, or something like that).  Classical
physics, combined with lots of empirical data on the proper behavior
of various objects, substances, energy forms, etc. (and a good
random-number generator) should be all that is required for normal
interaction with the virtual space.  A lot of the more complex
adventure-type games use similar schemes for keeping track of objects,
and many do a surprisingly good job of it.

It's interesting to speculate about the necessity of physical
limitations on access to data in the "real" universe (uncertainty
principle, finite speeds of data transfer bounded by the speed of
light, etc.)  Perhaps what we see as absolute reality is, in fact,
only a massive-scale simulation running on some supercomputing device
or parallel processing network existing on a higher level of reality,
and we're actually bumping into limitations on floating-point
precision, signal propagation speed, storage cap acity, etc.
Extending this supposition, unexplained "supernatural" phenomena could
result when someone manages to hack into the simulation, or to uncover
a bug or glitch...  Of course, then we'd have to propose some
explanation of the true nature of this higher state of existence--
perhaps it too is only another simulation, more complex by several
orders of magnitude.  

If our own virtual reality systems ever become advanced enough to
simulate a small, self-consistent, physically well-defined universe
(wit hout requiring any of the "kludges" I mentioned above), could not
another simulation mechanism be set up within this virtual system,
hierarchially dependent on all layers above it?  Given sufficiently
developed computational hardware, could sentient and conscious
lifeforms eventually evolve within such virtual spaces, existing
within a bounded subset of our own universe yet perceiving their
simulated environment to be the "absolute reality"?  How many layers
of depth could such hierarchies develop, I wonder?

Sorry about the tangental rambling, but this is a "PHILosphy" subject
chain... It seems to be that this theory, improbable as it may be,
could be adapted to fit almost any religious or philosophical
perspective-- we might consider our God or gods to be simply
individual(s) existing one or more levels up on the simulation
hierarchy, with absolute power over everything that goes on in their
machines (system administrators, if you will).

Comments?