Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

Re:Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out by grenoire on Sunday August 11, 2019 @03:36AM (#20666900)

Monte Carlo simulations' goal is to randomise the inputs, not the process. In this hypothetical simulation of life, it is the process that seems deterministic, and not the inputs.

For Monte Carlo simulations, we want to be sure that we're not imparting the biases we have on the model into the execution of the process itself.

As for quantum mechanics, it is only with out current understanding that we believe the process is non-deterministic. We'll see if that holds in a century.

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Re:Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out by astrophysician on Sunday August 11, 2019 @09:12AM (#20668018)

Monte Carlo can be used to simulate any stochastic part of a process, not just inputs.

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Re:Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out by lanstin on Sunday August 11, 2019 @12:37PM (#20668919)

Monte Carlo can also be used to estimate completely deterministic quantities - e.g. hyper volumes under high dimension curves where it’s too expensive to numerically integrate but you only need a few sig figs of accuracy.

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