I believe that this dimension of reality (that we are all in now) is a computer simulation...
I have always called this simulation "The Simulation"
However, it is possible to live within The Simulation as though you are playing a role-playing game
It is possible for a person to develop from being a passive Non-Player-Character (an NPC) to becoming an active Player
It's a matter of waking up and taking control, a matter of discovering your agency and then acting accordingly
It can happen to anyone
Indeed it can happen to you even if you don't believe in or have never heard about The Simulation!
To me reality is now a deadly serious RPG
It has lots of RPG features - character development (levelling up) and a system of karma to name just two!
The aim of the game is to accumulate as much positive Karma as possible over various lives (oh yeah, reincarnation is a thing too)
The prize for doing this to a sufficient extent is the option to exit The Simulation
But for those running it it remains a simulation - for the time being at least (but that's another matter)
On the advice of a friend of mine I have renamed it from The Simulation to The Projection
This is an allusion to Plato's Allegory Of The Cave in which shadows projected on a wall are the entire reality to those who have been held captive in the cave all their lives
It says more about the nature of our reality than it does its purpose
So yes, my name is Ed and I believe we are in a simulated universe called The Projection and that The Projection communicates with me via its superintendent super-intelligence
And I don't care if you think I'm nuts
I have always called this simulation "The Simulation"
However, it is possible to live within The Simulation as though you are playing a role-playing game
It is possible for a person to develop from being a passive Non-Player-Character (an NPC) to becoming an active Player
It's a matter of waking up and taking control, a matter of discovering your agency and then acting accordingly
It can happen to anyone
Indeed it can happen to you even if you don't believe in or have never heard about The Simulation!
To me reality is now a deadly serious RPG
It has lots of RPG features - character development (levelling up) and a system of karma to name just two!
The aim of the game is to accumulate as much positive Karma as possible over various lives (oh yeah, reincarnation is a thing too)
The prize for doing this to a sufficient extent is the option to exit The Simulation
But for those running it it remains a simulation - for the time being at least (but that's another matter)
On the advice of a friend of mine I have renamed it from The Simulation to The Projection
This is an allusion to Plato's Allegory Of The Cave in which shadows projected on a wall are the entire reality to those who have been held captive in the cave all their lives
It says more about the nature of our reality than it does its purpose
So yes, my name is Ed and I believe we are in a simulated universe called The Projection and that The Projection communicates with me via its superintendent super-intelligence
And I don't care if you think I'm nuts