marginalium noun

the notes one makes in the margins.

A short note on

are we in a simulation (pdf)

July 18, 2024

source: jc.gatspress.com

by Dorian Minors

I did brain science at Cambridge. Now I'm a behaviour science professor. Read my shit.

Are we in a simulation (pdf)? A head-pounding philosophy paper:

as far as I can tell, the basic thrust of the simulation argument has real philosophical force and interest—especially when interpreted in the Type 2 manner I’ve argued for here (that is, as not resting on the likelihood of any particular set of empirical claims). Perhaps it does not, ultimately, work—but I don’t think its failures are at all obvious

And whether we buy simulation arguments or not, they are a reminder that the world we see and take for granted is only a part of the world; and that in principle, our overall existential situation could in fact be many different ways, not all of which we are accustomed to considering

If you don’t do the thinking, the thinking will be done for you.

Join the Armchair Collective. Once a month, a brain scientist’s musings on patterns of human behaviour, so you can choose the ones you keep.
More where this came from. Subscribe.