How can we know we are NOT in a computer simulation?

[scr4]

@Thrasymachus

This is the “quantum” part of quantum mechanics. I’m not prepared to explain or defend that entire branch of science, but it’s generally accepted that energy is quantized and from there it’s possible to derive quantum lengths, masses, time intervals, and so on.

Well, I wish somebody would explain why quantum mechanics implies that all physical quantities are quantized. I understand energy is quantized in the sense that flow of energy is made up of discrete packets of energy, but the energy of each packet is not limited to integer multiples of a base unit, is it?

[dtilque]

@MacTech

motherlode

<checks bank balance> nope, no $50,000 increase in my account

so, no we can’t be living in a computer simulation, the cheatcodes don’t work

Try dropping -1 dollars, then pick it up. If you’re in a simulation, you will now have 2[sup]32[/sup]-1 dollars.

[control-z]

Well on a PC you can run operating systems like Windows inside virtual machines using software like VMWare.

The method to detect VMWare is well documented on the internet. It’s pretty easy actually, you put value 10 (0x0A) in the ECX register and you put the magic value of 0x564D5868 in the EAX register. Then you read a dword from port 0x5658.

It can only be done in assembler and it’s done like this :

mov eax, 0x564D5868
mov ecx, 10 // command for obtaining VMWare version information
mov dx, 0x5658
in eax, dx

If VMWare is installed than this code will be executed correctly and the EBX register will contain the same magic value of 0x564D5868. If VMWare is not installed than on Linux and Windows NT an exception will occur because these operating systems don’t allow direct port access. In DOS and Windows the read will succeed but EBX will remain unchanged.
So if you do something like this in the real world, we can find out whether we’re inside a simulation. I’ll leave the exact details on how to accomplish this to you guys. I think it might involve something about leaving something in a mayonaise jar on the front steps of Funk & Wagnalls.

[LilShieste]

@MacTech

… so, no we can’t be living in a computer simulation, the cheatcodes don’t work

Up+Up+Down+Down+Left+Right+Left+Right+B+A+Start.

Woah, my post count just shot up to 983!

LilShieste

[BlinkingDuck]

Couldn’t we test strain the hardware of the simulating ‘computer’?

If we were to set up millions of our own simulations, and those within simulated more…I would think this would strain the simulation.

Ahhhh, I don’t know.

What I do know is that if we are NOT in a simulation, that seems to mean something…just like I find it weird to be alive only 6000 years or so from the beginning of human civilization.

My head hurts.

[begbert2]

@control-z

So if you do something like this in the real world, we can find out whether we’re inside a simulation. I’ll leave the exact details on how to accomplish this to you guys. I think it might involve something about leaving something in a mayonaise jar on the front steps of Funk & Wagnalls.

Easy:

1. take a magnet.
2. place it on the front of your (metal) refridgerator.
3. observe how it defies gravity!