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Socialist

17 (33.3%)

Green

8 (15.7%)

Peace and Freedom

2 (3.9%)

Democratic

1 (2%)

Transhumanist

11 (21.6%)

Libertarian

8 (15.7%)

Republican

2 (3.9%)

Constitution

2 (3.9%)

Total Members Voted: 50

[Darvi]

Wasn't the whole thing about being in a perfectly realistic simulation or something? Even if you can prove it's not real, pinching definitely won't be the solution.

[Cheeetar]

I got "Anti-Skeptic".

[Cthulhu]

Wasn't the whole thing about being in a perfectly realistic simulation or something? Even if you can prove it's not real, pinching definitely won't be the solution.

Which is why it doesn't matter.  It has no effect on my life and can't be determined, so it's irrelevant.

[Darvi]

Ya, I misread your previous post <_<

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It's annoying that there is no middle ground between sketpic and hero. There isn't a 'We may or may not be living in the matrix, and we may or may not one day show that we are in the matrix.'

That doesn't say anything about anything, however. You'd be answering "Maybe, maybe not" on both "Is it possible to tell if we're living in the Matrix." and "Does living in the Matrix mean the reality within it is a lie?".

[Virex]

I found it interesting that the test insisted that plugging someone out of the matrix would be irrefutable evidence of the existence of the matrix, while there are a multitude of possible ways to achieve the same effect without the matrix existing (including, amusingly, plugging someone into the matrix). It also seemed to ignore the opposite possibility; that the one I am communicating is inside the matrix and I am outside while his or her experiences were being fooled. When you start shaking someone's foundation, you'd better be on solid ground yourself or you're going to find your own reasons has cut the ground from under your feet.

[Fayrik]

I found it interesting that the test insisted that plugging someone out of the matrix would be irrefutable evidence of the existence of the matrix, while there are a multitude of possible ways to achieve the same effect without the matrix existing (including, amusingly, plugging someone into the matrix). It also seemed to ignore the opposite possibility; that the one I am communicating is inside the matrix and I am outside while his or her experiences were being fooled. When you start shaking someone's foundation, you'd better be on solid ground yourself or you're going to find your own reasons has cut the ground from under your feet.

Or, if that's TL;DR, you could say:
You can't shake the ground you're standing on.
Oh, how I enjoy making up quotes and analogies.

[Grimlocke]

One more to anti-sceptic. I dont bother much with red herrings, spagetthi monsters, matrixes or gods for that matter.

And again my result is the most common one. I feel generic.

Though a generic bay12-er might still not be so generic...

[alway]

Anti. For all we know, it could be not one, but a near infinite number of simulated universes nested within each other with any number of laws of physics. Not only would it be highly unwise to 'shut it down' or try to escape, it would be a downright bad idea. For all we know, the next level up could have cyclical entropy or some other law physically incompatible with our minds. Similar to the obvious silliness with bringing computer programs out of a computer in Tron. Assuming there is even some sort of this universe to that universe converter, you would be really lucky to end up as anything other than a pile of mush. That is assuming of course we are simulated entities within said universe.

If it is a simulation for some sort of analog outside the universe, you run into the problem that your mind may itself still be at least in part simulated. Even that would have some pretty nasty side effects on who you are as a person when you are instantly given the equivalent of a partial lobotomy upon re-entering your analogous form in the next level up.

Even if we are to assume neither of the above 2 scenarios, that still leaves you with one obvious fact: someone/something put you in there for a reason and then wiped all memory of not being in there. You then have a question of whether it was benevolent or malicious. For all you know, you are in there because of a catastrophic event rendering the next universe up entirely devoid of the environment required to sustain life. Even the Matrix itself I would classify as semi-benevolent. After all, if the AI couldn't stick all the pesky humans in there, they would probably be extinct years before the movie even took place. Pretty much all but the classic sci-fi "keep you in until your body starves to death outside" would qualify as a benevolent reason for putting you in there. Being inside in most scenarios is actually better than whatever horrible fate awaits outside.

As I previously stated, we still couldn't be sure a universe above this one would be the top level. The simulated universes could go as deep as to make Inception look as shallow as a drop of water. Similar to virtual machines running other virtual machines. Although in this case the virtual machines may have entirely different laws of physics governing them.

[ECrownofFire]

Near infinite number of nested simulated universes? Say, that reminds me of a story.

[alway]

Near infinite number of nested simulated universes? Say, that reminds me of a story.

Very good story representation, yes. However, with known laws of our universe, not in that sort of way since infinite computing power can't be done. Going up a few levels, perhaps there could be, but not in ours. Thus that sort of infinite recursion could not occur. Ever more simplistic simulations could occur below ours, but nothing reaching or surpassing the total computing power of our universe. A rather simple example of this is the 8 bit computer someone built a while back in Dwarf Fortress. You could build a dwarf fortress computer which, theoretically, if you had enough knowledge of the software, would then be capable of running Dwarf Fortress on it, albeit much more slowly. In a universe with a finite amount of energy available for computation, this results in less total available computations at each level. As you go deeper, the available computation ability decreases as it approaches and reaches 0.

Go up above our level, and you could theoretically reach some sort of odd universe in which causality wasn't as strict, "time" flowed in loops under certain circumstances, or even stranger laws were in place which may lead to the ability for infinite computational power. In that case, such recursion would be possible, if not entirely probable.

That of course assumes the fully simulated version of universes, rather than the storage universe built to fool a single person or group of people into thinking it either is a universe simulated from the beginning or top level universe.

[Nivim]

Near infinite number of nested simulated universes? Say, that reminds me of a story.

Aha, a demonstration that infinity breaks things far more than people joke dividing by zero does. Although, it appears the comments on that page have covered just about all the story has to offer.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Can we know if we're in the Matrix?
"Skeptic"- We will never know, but if we are, then our reality is a lie.
 6 (10.9%)
"Heroic"- We will find a way to know, and if we are, then our reality is a lie.
 12 (21.8%)
"Anti-Skeptic"- Knowing or not knowing is meaningless, what we experience constitutes reality.
 37 (67.3%)
Total Members Voted: 55

Alright, time to make this thread live in the most macabre manner possible. What kind of Serial Killer are you? (Disclaimer: Do not become a serial killer to confirm the results of this quiz. This is for fun, nothing more.)

Spoiler: Disorganized and Gain-Oriented (click to show/hide)

You'd be an impulsive killer. You'll murder when the oppourtunity arises, then leave the body where you killed it. You'll evade capture not through intelligence, but through constant movement. You won't kill for the person, you'll kill for material gain. Your goal is finance, not a psychopathic compulsion- but you have absolutely no problem killing as many people as necessary to get what you want.

[Darvi]

My room is described as "Chaos Central"

/fixed. Literally.

Your Result: Disorganized Visionary

You'd   be an impulsive killer. You'll murder when the oppourtunity arises,   then leave the body where you killed it. You'll evade capture not   through intelligence, but through constant movement.  The reason for your killing is simple: you're delusional. You'll go   absolutely bonkers and in your insane fantasies, you'll come up with a   reason why someone must die. This is good, though. Visionary serial   killers wind up in mental institutions.

Organized and hedonistic come out lowest. Naturally.

[Taricus]

Disorganized and gain orientated