OK, so the idea of us living inside a computer simulation is not new. It's been around for some time, and movies such as The Matrix have popularized it. But it's science fiction right? The idea that we owe our existence to a computer simulation is generally viewed as science fiction. Recently however, some well respected scientists have started to look into this as a serious prospect. Some are even thinking about what experiments could potentially be devised to prove it.
One of these scientists is Rich Terrile, and he has been interviewed about this by VICE. The interview can be found here,
http://www.vice.com/read/whoa-dude-are-we-inside-a-computer-right-now-0000329-v19n9
You can also view a TEDx talk by Nobel prize winning astrophysicist George Smoot at this link
If you ask people to consider this idea as a serious view of reality, many are freaked out by it. I think this comes mainly from the Matrix movies, and their obviously negative take on it. By why would it have to be negative? A simulated reality would not necessarily have to be of "The Matrix" type, there are a many other possibilities. A second reason for the apprehension is that they react by saying something like, "OMG, then nothing is real?!". At which point I am seriously tempted to slap their face to remind them how solidly real they are. Why would a simulated reality be any less real than any other type?
A simulated reality would have rules(laws) that are behind its dynamics and evolution. At a fundamental level that isn't any different than a universe filled with quarks, other nuclear particles and atoms that are influenced by the physical laws we know. If you think the latter view makes more sense, just take a good look at quantum mechanics.
The other big implication that seems to come up from the simulated reality view, is the concern that everything is predetermined and there is no free will.I'm not going to get into the age old debate about free will. I just want to point out that computer simulations are run now that have a non-deterministic outcome. I would imagine that a simulation such as we may be living in could do the same. So the idea of free will or no free will is not a problem unique to a simulated reality.
I'm not sure if our existence is a simulated one or not, I tend to lend my support behind theories that have accumulated a good body of evidence. But if future evidence shows it to be true, I say COOL!
