The age-old "brain in a vat" scenarios are often useful fodder to frame other philosophical issues within, such as realism v. anti-realism, but not much else. However, Nick Bostrom of Oxford has taken VR speculations to the next level, with his simulation argument. Nick has published multiple papers on the topic, and hosts a FAQ page on the subject at his site. Check it out.
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I read and I hid my face in my hands. That a person can make such and argument and not be laughed out of court as the tripe it is is a sad testament to the decline of Oxford.
But it puts me in mind of my undergraduate days. A chap called 'Bottle' was a colleague of mine on the Debating Society Committee. He was so-called because on his first day in halls, he suggested that we might all be brains in bottles.
The trouble with simulation theories is that it would be impossible to know. If taken seriously they would drive a man mad. Without outsiders, as in the Matrix, coming into the simulation and transcending its rules, we could never know we were in a simulation.
In summary, therefore, the whole is a waste of time and I hope the Government wasn't paying for it.
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