Freewrite February 23, 2009

Question 2: Are we already immersed in simulation?

I think we are immersed in a different kind of simulation-- one that is at once fake and real.

In my opinion, what is "real" is what goes on in our brains. It does not matter, in my mind (no pun intended), if the physical presence of something is what we encounter. Physical presence can change the meaning of some things, but really, all activity happens in our brains.

Take a computer, for instance. Is it fake? What does fake even mean? It is made up of Earth's materials. It is, constructorily (is this even a real word?) man made, yes, but the Earth made us. When we log onto the computer, we take in new information to our brains. We do interact with other people. The internet is our thoughts from our brains on pixels. The internet is our ideas widely spread and easily accessible. Whenever I log onto the internet, I am exposed to so many brains that I have no excuse not to hold a lot of knowledge in my own.

I see why web 2.0 can be said to be just a simulation and not real life, but it gets my brain to think, analyze, make ideas of my own... it is part of my life.