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A scene from the film, Abre los ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar
Some may argue, notably Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom, it is highly likely that we are in fact living in a simulation, which makes a possibility of each individual already being someone’s avatar not entirely unfeasible.
Imagine that your host is a kingpin’s daughter who lives in a society where she is only allowed to shop, have plastic surgery, attend lavish parties every night and backstab people. She is lonely, bored out of her mind and suicidal. Her only pleasure, but guilty one, is immersing herself into a computer simulation play in which she lives a simple yet somewhat thrilling life. In this lucid dream, she is you, who is allowed to have a grungy artist boyfriend, occasionally stuff herself with McDonald's, memorize quotes from Napoleon Dynamite and feel great when she gives up her seat for elderly. She starts to feel so comfortable in her simulated life that one day decides not to go back to the reality ever again.
Even if this renowned simulation hypothesis were 100% true, the question of whether we are living in a simulated reality or a 'real' world probably does not matter, since most likely we are not able to distinguish computer simulation from our own world at this point. Presumably, it is utterly hosts' will to decide whether they stay or leave their own simulation. On the other hand, from an avatar's point of view, it seems as though there are not much of options yet. Unlike in The Matrix, eXistenZ, The Thirteenth Floor or any other related films and novels, the means of logging in and out of host from avatar's end haven't been discovered yet, or some may actually have but are just not yet willing to escape the simulation. At any rate, this situation reminds me of our computers in front of us. They cannot be turned on or off by themselves unless they are severely broken or out of batteries.
A scene from the film, Abre los ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar
Some may argue, notably Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom, it is highly likely that we are in fact living in a simulation, which makes a possibility of each individual already being someone’s avatar not entirely unfeasible.
Imagine that your host is a kingpin’s daughter who lives in a society where she is only allowed to shop, have plastic surgery, attend lavish parties every night and backstab people. She is lonely, bored out of her mind and suicidal. Her only pleasure, but guilty one, is immersing herself into a computer simulation play in which she lives a simple yet somewhat thrilling life. In this lucid dream, she is you, who is allowed to have a grungy artist boyfriend, occasionally stuff herself with McDonald's, memorize quotes from Napoleon Dynamite and feel great when she gives up her seat for elderly. She starts to feel so comfortable in her simulated life that one day decides not to go back to the reality ever again.
Even if this renowned simulation hypothesis were 100% true, the question of whether we are living in a simulated reality or a 'real' world probably does not matter, since most likely we are not able to distinguish computer simulation from our own world at this point. Presumably, it is utterly hosts' will to decide whether they stay or leave their own simulation. On the other hand, from an avatar's point of view, it seems as though there are not much of options yet. Unlike in The Matrix, eXistenZ, The Thirteenth Floor or any other related films and novels, the means of logging in and out of host from avatar's end haven't been discovered yet, or some may actually have but are just not yet willing to escape the simulation. At any rate, this situation reminds me of our computers in front of us. They cannot be turned on or off by themselves unless they are severely broken or out of batteries.
English subtitled version
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