The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos

by Brian Greene

Is it reasonable to believe that we occupy a rarefied place in the history of scientific-technological development—that we have become the very first creators of sentient simulations? We may have—but if we’re keen to go with the odds, we must consider alternative explanations that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t require us to be so extraordinary. And there is a ready-made explanation that fits the bill. Once our own work convinces us that sentient simulations are possible, the guiding principle of “garden variety,” discussed in Chapter 7, suggests that there’s not just one such simulation out there but a swarming ocean of simulations, which constitute a Simulated Multiverse. While the simulation we’ve created might be a landmark feat in the limited domain to which we have access, within the context of the entire Simulated Multiverse it’s nothing special, having been achieved a gazillion times over. Once we accept that idea, we’re led to consider that we too may be in a simulation, since that’s the status of the vast majority of sentient beings in a Simulated Multiverse.