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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation hypothesis | 6/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:10:30.034179+00:00 | kb-cron |
== In popular culture == The simulation hypothesis and related themes like simulated reality have been explored in literature, film and theatre. Simulacron-3 (1964) by Daniel F. Galouye is an early exploration of a computer-simulated city and inspired screen adaptations including World on a Wire (1973) and, later, The Thirteenth Floor (1999). The Matrix (1999) popularized the idea of humanity unknowingly living inside a machine-generated virtual reality. In Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1983/1984), the protagonist undergoes compulsory “doppling” therapy that transfers his consciousness, and—after a mishap—his mind is kept inside the corporation's central computer. Theatre has also treated the topic. Jay Scheib’s 2012 play World of Wires was explicitly inspired by Bostrom’s simulation argument and by Fassbinder’s World on a Wire. Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” (1966)—about implanted memories and unstable realities—formed the basis for Total Recall (1990) and its 2012 remake. In 2025, Italian creative director and producer Giorgio Fazio released the two-track project Nothing But Simulation, thematically tied to the simulation hypothesis and paired with a generative web experience.
== See also == Artificial life Artificial society Boltzmann brain Brain in a vat Digital physics Interface theory Fine-tuned universe Holographic principle Matrix defense Metaverse Mind uploading Subjective idealism Virtual reality
== References ==
== Further reading == Copleston, Frederick (1993) [1946]. "XIX Theory of Knowledge". A History of Philosophy, Volume I: Greece and Rome. New York: Image Books (Doubleday). p. 160. ISBN 978-0-385-46843-5. Copleston, Frederick (1994) [1960]. "II Descartes (I)". A History of Philosophy, Volume IV: Modern Philosophy. New York: Image Books (Doubleday). p. 86. ISBN 978-0-385-47041-4. Deutsch, David (1997). The Fabric of Reality. London: Penguin Science (Allen Lane). ISBN 978-0-14-014690-5. Lloyd, Seth (2006). Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos. Knopf. ISBN 978-1-4000-4092-6. Tipler, Frank (1994). The Physics of Immortality. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-46799-5. Lem, Stanislaw (1964). Summa Technologiae. Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-37178-7. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) "Are We Living in a Simulation?" BBC Focus magazine, March 2013, pp. 43–45. Interview with physicist Silas Beane of the University of Bonn discussing a proposed test for simulated reality evidence. Three pages, three photos, including one of Beane and a computer-generated scene from the film The Matrix. Publisher: Immediate Media Company, Bristol, UK. Conitzer, Vincent. "A Puzzle About Further Facts". Open access version of article in Erkenntnis. Lev, Gid'on. Life in the Matrix. Haaretz Magazine, April 25, 2019, p. 6. Merali, Zeeya. "Do We Live in the Matrix?" Discover, December 2013, pp. 24–25. Subtitle: "Physicists have proposed tests to reveal whether we are part of a giant computer simulation". Grupp, Jeff (2021-09-01). "The Implantation Argument: Simulation Theory is Proof that God Exists". Metaphysica. 22 (2): 189–221. doi:10.1515/mp-2020-0014. S2CID 237494519. Laszlo, Fazekas (2026). Simulated Reality: Brain–Machine Interfaces and Transhumanism. Amazon. ISBN 979-8244192735.
== External links == Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?—Nick Bostrom's Simulation Argument webpage