Re:Your yearly dose of is-the-universe-a-simulation
by frobozz on Wednesday March 22, 2017 @06:27AM
(#13929778)
No, at most you can say it requires a way to introduce those chemicals into the bloodstream in the brain.
Actually, all you need is a way to stimulate the same receptors that are stimulated by those chemicals.
Just as with unit testing, you don't actually need to hook up your SUT to a real environment, you just need to hook it up to something that will exercise the same interface as a real environment.
Re:Your yearly dose of is-the-universe-a-simulation
by Ntrails on Wednesday March 22, 2017 @10:53AM
(#13931398)
Indeed. I over-simplified - but whatever the mechanism people refer to it's mockable.
Re:Your yearly dose of is-the-universe-a-simulation
by TelmoMenezes on Wednesday March 22, 2017 @06:05AM
(#13929670)
Yes, but it doesn't follow that the computation necessary to generate the mind is infinite or impossible to isolate.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/06/gut-bacte...
So the brain in a jar model where the only interface with the real world is through nerves is most probably wrong; now your jar also needs a stomach with a fully developed microbial ecosystem. And that's just one recent mechanism that was investigated; there are probably many others.