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That is awesome. Yes, I've heard of him, but unfortunately not as familiar as it looks like I should be with his writing.
You sound like a programmer-philosopher! I love it. I have a friend who's a professor of philosophy and talking to him makes me wish I perhaps taken a riskier path in college...
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It's never too late to increase your exposure to philosophy ... and, there are so many free resources on the web ... videos, e-books.
The "classic" novel by Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," is an entrancing, wonderful, way to meet Plato's, Aristotle's, and other ancient Greeks, ideas: [^], [^]
For me, at age 75, I find the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius [^] as relevant to my life as morning coffee  But, I think I wasn't ready for his teachings until age 60 
«Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?» T. S. Elliot
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Thanks for the recommendations. I read "Zen..." many years ago, but I think I was far to young (and naive) to understand what it was really about. I need to find my copy and read it again.
I have a stack of philosophy books to read, but I don't think Marcus Aurelius is among them. I will check him out too, thanks!
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video version -- Computing a Universe Simulation -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GLgZvTCbaA
Caveat Emptor.
"Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
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BillWoodruff wrote: Or, we could be in the equivalent of tv-dramas like Dynasty, The Sopranos ?
We're not sufficiently well dressed to be in Dynasty. We're not sufficiently well written to be in The Sopranos.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
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BillWoodruff wrote: Would a scientifically valid proof that our reality is a simulation make a difference ?
I suppose it depends... Do you want to take the red pill or the blue one?
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Nelek wrote: Do you want to take the red pill or the blue one?
I'll go ask Goddess when she's ten feet tall. [^]
«Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?» T. S. Elliot
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Yes it matters if we know.
The Bannister Effect. Once the 4 minute mile was achieved, breaking a belief that it could not be, MANY people did it.
So, we have people leading people for years (Carnegie, etc). Tony Robbins. Teaching you to walk on hot coals without getting burned.
It would have a transformative power on those that master it. Ala the Matrix.
Now here is the sick part...
What happens if our simulation is controlled from a simulation, and we discover the technique that those who wrote us use to detect their simulation? (ie, can the machine out think their Gods?)...
And what happens if that cascades to destroy the whole thing to start again? BOOM!
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Don't drink too much Kool Aid... it's actually bad for your health...
...else we will
kill -9 $YOU
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This would certainly go a long way to explaining the socialists around the world and the democrats in the U.S. in particular.
Nancy Pelosi has GOT to be a program bug. 
You should only be able to get out of life an amount equal to what you contribute to the common good.
Appearances count for nothing performance counts for everything. If this law were enforced (whether we're a simulation or not), the fashion designers, artists, politicians, etc. would not exist.
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Wow. A world without art. Boy would that suck. I'm glad that rule isn't enforced!
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It's way easier: Pi. Pi is infinite, OR IS IT? If the universe is simulated, it's not. That said, I doubt that such a discovery would change anything practical. Emphasis on "practical", I can imagine a lot of outcry, suicides, sects and similar nonsense proliferating once people find out that we aren't real afterall.
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In my house, that would be known as "being recklessly brave" 
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Study has shown that men who talk about women's larger rear ends tend to live considerably shorter 
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And we surely know why!
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Interestingly, in some communities having a larger rear end is a desirable trait!
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It is not about the fact or the desire - it is all about the talking about it part  ...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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125.1 Stay behind when she's back (3)
sure is quiet around here...
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Repost! 
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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LAG
(Just like the train I got back home on, an hour late)
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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