Thank you, you have illustrated my point that the test to even consider the mugger seriously, let alone take his claims at face value is easy to devise, but hard to pass, unless one is indeed an expert in simulating living things very convincingly.
But there is nonzero probability that the genuine being outside the matrix would not be able to provide satisfactory demonstration due to e.g. limited bandwidth channel it may have to our universe (suppose that someone else is in charge of our universe).
(If that being is omnipotent in our universe you can just ask it to show the flaming text in front of your eyes, no need to simulate amoebas. But if it can demonstrate this, then it is straightforwardly a God and there’s no paradox or question of any kind)
Say, I were to make a flaming text appear right in the middle of your visual field, moving with your head as you turn it around, like right as you’re reading this sentence.
Most likely explanation would be that you are hallucinating, at which point you can just as well give up and lie still for some hours hoping for image to go away.
Thank you, you have illustrated my point that the test to even consider the mugger seriously, let alone take his claims at face value is easy to devise, but hard to pass, unless one is indeed an expert in simulating living things very convincingly.
But there is nonzero probability that the genuine being outside the matrix would not be able to provide satisfactory demonstration due to e.g. limited bandwidth channel it may have to our universe (suppose that someone else is in charge of our universe).
(If that being is omnipotent in our universe you can just ask it to show the flaming text in front of your eyes, no need to simulate amoebas. But if it can demonstrate this, then it is straightforwardly a God and there’s no paradox or question of any kind)
Or a capable trickster. Which one do you think is more likely?
Say, I were to make a flaming text appear right in the middle of your visual field, moving with your head as you turn it around, like right as you’re reading this sentence.
Most likely explanation would be that you are hallucinating, at which point you can just as well give up and lie still for some hours hoping for image to go away.