Sim
Original: Sim on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Woman (red hair): I think the universe is probably a simulation. If you can build simulations, then more minds are in simulation than not.
Man (dark hair): Nah.
Panel 2:
Woman: Let's be conservative and say a typical experiential universe contains 1,000,000 simulations. Each of those simulations must also contain simulations too. That means there are a trillion sims or sims... but only a million sims.
Man: It follows that there are quintillions of sims of sims of sims, and sextillions of sims of sims of sims of sims...
Panel 3:
Woman: If we make your initial assumption, it follows that the most likely reality to be in is an infinitely-nested sim, which is of course logically absurd.
Man: Ah, but it's not infinite, because each sim is lower fidelity than the universe it's nested in. Eventually you can't build a sim.
Panel 4:
Woman: Not so! A universe could make a higher-fidelity sim than itself, just by spending. You'd just have to run one hour for every one second of the sim!
Man: Okay, but if you assume there are time limits on universes, then eventually the simulated universes must be lower fidelity.
Panel 5:
Woman: That just makes my argument stronger!
Panel 6:
Woman: If we keep getting lower fidelity, then most simulations are too simple to support conscious minds. That means the vast, vast majority of all universes are not like this one!
Man: So, to make the simulation argument, you have to simultaneously assume our universe is a typical one and vanishingly unlikely!
Panel 7 (final):
Man: I admit your reasoning is superior.
Woman (lounging on a red couch): Boom! I love this game!
Votey: (none)
Woman (red hair): I think the universe is probably a simulation. If you can build simulations, then more minds are in simulation than not.
Man (dark hair): Nah.
Panel 2:
Woman: Let's be conservative and say a typical experiential universe contains 1,000,000 simulations. Each of those simulations must also contain simulations too. That means there are a trillion sims or sims... but only a million sims.
Man: It follows that there are quintillions of sims of sims of sims, and sextillions of sims of sims of sims of sims...
Panel 3:
Woman: If we make your initial assumption, it follows that the most likely reality to be in is an infinitely-nested sim, which is of course logically absurd.
Man: Ah, but it's not infinite, because each sim is lower fidelity than the universe it's nested in. Eventually you can't build a sim.
Panel 4:
Woman: Not so! A universe could make a higher-fidelity sim than itself, just by spending. You'd just have to run one hour for every one second of the sim!
Man: Okay, but if you assume there are time limits on universes, then eventually the simulated universes must be lower fidelity.
Panel 5:
Woman: That just makes my argument stronger!
Panel 6:
Woman: If we keep getting lower fidelity, then most simulations are too simple to support conscious minds. That means the vast, vast majority of all universes are not like this one!
Man: So, to make the simulation argument, you have to simultaneously assume our universe is a typical one and vanishingly unlikely!
Panel 7 (final):
Man: I admit your reasoning is superior.
Woman (lounging on a red couch): Boom! I love this game!
Votey: (none)
Alt text
A seven-panel comic showing a debate between a woman with red hair and a man with dark hair, drawn as talking heads. The woman argues the universe is probably a simulation because if you can build simulations, more minds end up simulated than not. The man counters with escalating tallies of nested sims (sims of sims of sims). She says his assumption implies we most likely live in an infinitely-nested simulation, which is logically absurd. He replies that nesting isn't infinite because each sim is lower fidelity than its parent, so eventually you can't build one. She fires back that a universe could build a higher-fidelity sim just by spending more compute time (one hour per simulated second). He says if universes have time limits, simulated universes must be lower fidelity. She declares 'That just makes my argument stronger!' and explains that with ever-lower fidelity, most simulations are too simple for conscious minds, so the vast majority of universes are not like ours. He concludes you must simultaneously assume our universe is both typical and vanishingly unlikely. In the final panel the man admits 'Your reasoning is superior,' and the woman, now sprawled triumphantly on a red couch, throws up her arms and shouts 'Boom! I love this game!' There is no votey panel.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.