The subject of Trump may seem off topic in this thread, but in some respects it really isn't. Let me try to explain. As a solipsist I've often wondered about the nature of reality. Is it completely natural, governed solely by the laws of physics? Is it purely mental, the inevitable byproduct of a conscious mind? Is it the handiwork of a divine creator? Or is it, as some have suggested, actually a computer simulation?
Physics Revelation Could Mean We're All Living in a Simulation
Now such theories are interesting, but as a solipsist I approached the question from a different perspective. If we're actually living in a simulation would the behavior of the people in it inadvertently betray the fact that it's a simulation. For example, the creator of the simulation would probably have a storyline that they need the characters in the simulation to stick to, if everyone could just go rambling off doing whatever they wanted to, then keeping the simulation on track for any significant period of time would be nigh on impossible.
This need to control the storyline should lead to two things.
- The majority of characters in the simulation would need to be NPC's. (Non-player characters)
- These NPC's would occasionally appear to act irrationally.
The NPC's are necessary to assure that the simulation stays on track, and in so doing they may not always do what would seem like the reasonable thing to do, like not following Adolf Hitler, or Hamas, or not wasting hundreds of thousands of lives invading Ukraine, or not voting for Donald Trump... twice.
Now if one views reality with this hypothetical simulation scenario in mind, do certain behaviors make more sense? Are people really that incapable of living peaceful, productive lives that killing and mistreating their fellow man is accepted as normal? If you were living in 'Grand Theft Auto' would all the shooting and killing seem perfectly natural?
It's an intriguing, if unanswerable question, does the behavior of the world around you seem rational? If not, then perhaps it's because it's a simulation. The purposes of which may be manyfold... entertainment, education, rehabilitation, experimentation, procreation.
I'm not advocating for a simulated reality, I'm just wondering... it's what I do. But to be completely honest, I find the whole '
simulated reality scenario' to be far more likely than the '
omnipotent God scenario'.