Author: Rizwan Virk
Publisher: Bayview Books, LLC
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 414
Book Description
The Simulation Hypothesis, by best-selling author, renowned MIT computer scientist and Silicon Valley video game designer Rizwan Virk, is the first serious book to explain one of the most daring and consequential theories of our time. Riz is the Executive Director of Play Labs @ MIT, a video game startup incubator at the MIT Game Lab. Drawing from research and concepts from computer science, artificial intelligence, video games, quantum physics, and referencing both speculative fiction and ancient eastern spiritual texts, Virk shows how all of these traditions come together to point to the idea that we may be inside a simulated reality like the Matrix. The Simulation Hypothesis is the idea that our physical reality, far from being a solid physical universe, is part of an increasingly sophisticated video game-like simulation, where we all have multiple lives, consisting of pixels with its own internal clock run by some giant Artificial Intelligence. Simulation theory explains some of the biggest mysteries of quantum and relativistic physics, such as quantum indeterminacy, parallel universes, and the integral nature of the speed of light. Recently, the idea that we may be living in a giant video game has received a lot of attention: “There’s a one in a billion chance we are not living in a simulation” -Elon Musk “I find it hard to argue we are not in a simulation.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson “We are living in computer generated reality.” -Philip K. Dick Video game technology has developed from basic arcade and text adventures to MMORPGs. Video game designer Riz Virk shows how these games may continue to evolve in the future, including virtual reality, augmented reality, Artificial Intelligence, and quantum computing. This book shows how this evolution could lead us to the point of being able to develop all encompassing virtual worlds like the Oasis in Ready Player One, or the simulated reality in the Matrix. While the idea sounds like science fiction, many scientists, engineers, and professors have given the Simulation Hypothesis serious consideration. Futurist Ray Kurzweil has popularized the idea of downloading our consciousness into a silicon based device, which would mean we are just digital information after all. Some, like Oxford lecturer Nick Bostrom, goes further and thinks we may in fact be artificially intelligent consciousness inside such a simulation already! But the Simulation Hypothesis is not just a modern idea. Philosophers like Plato have been telling us that we live in a “cave” and can only see shadows of the real world. Mystics of all traditions have long contended that we are living in some kind of “illusion “and that there are other realities which we can access with our minds. While even Judeo-Christian traditions have this idea, Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Hinduism make this idea part of their core tradition — that we are inside a dream world (“Maya” or illusion, or Vishnu’s Dream), and we have “multiple lives” playing different characters when one dies, continuing to gain experience and “level up” after completing certain challenges. Sounds a lot like a video game! Whether you are a computer scientist, a fan of science fiction like the Matrix movies, a video game enthusiast, or a spiritual seeker, The Simulation Hypothesis touches on all these areas, and you will never look at the world the same way again!
The Simulation Hypothesis
Author: Rizwan Virk
Publisher: Bayview Books, LLC
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 414
Book Description
The Simulation Hypothesis, by best-selling author, renowned MIT computer scientist and Silicon Valley video game designer Rizwan Virk, is the first serious book to explain one of the most daring and consequential theories of our time. Riz is the Executive Director of Play Labs @ MIT, a video game startup incubator at the MIT Game Lab. Drawing from research and concepts from computer science, artificial intelligence, video games, quantum physics, and referencing both speculative fiction and ancient eastern spiritual texts, Virk shows how all of these traditions come together to point to the idea that we may be inside a simulated reality like the Matrix. The Simulation Hypothesis is the idea that our physical reality, far from being a solid physical universe, is part of an increasingly sophisticated video game-like simulation, where we all have multiple lives, consisting of pixels with its own internal clock run by some giant Artificial Intelligence. Simulation theory explains some of the biggest mysteries of quantum and relativistic physics, such as quantum indeterminacy, parallel universes, and the integral nature of the speed of light. Recently, the idea that we may be living in a giant video game has received a lot of attention: “There’s a one in a billion chance we are not living in a simulation” -Elon Musk “I find it hard to argue we are not in a simulation.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson “We are living in computer generated reality.” -Philip K. Dick Video game technology has developed from basic arcade and text adventures to MMORPGs. Video game designer Riz Virk shows how these games may continue to evolve in the future, including virtual reality, augmented reality, Artificial Intelligence, and quantum computing. This book shows how this evolution could lead us to the point of being able to develop all encompassing virtual worlds like the Oasis in Ready Player One, or the simulated reality in the Matrix. While the idea sounds like science fiction, many scientists, engineers, and professors have given the Simulation Hypothesis serious consideration. Futurist Ray Kurzweil has popularized the idea of downloading our consciousness into a silicon based device, which would mean we are just digital information after all. Some, like Oxford lecturer Nick Bostrom, goes further and thinks we may in fact be artificially intelligent consciousness inside such a simulation already! But the Simulation Hypothesis is not just a modern idea. Philosophers like Plato have been telling us that we live in a “cave” and can only see shadows of the real world. Mystics of all traditions have long contended that we are living in some kind of “illusion “and that there are other realities which we can access with our minds. While even Judeo-Christian traditions have this idea, Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Hinduism make this idea part of their core tradition — that we are inside a dream world (“Maya” or illusion, or Vishnu’s Dream), and we have “multiple lives” playing different characters when one dies, continuing to gain experience and “level up” after completing certain challenges. Sounds a lot like a video game! Whether you are a computer scientist, a fan of science fiction like the Matrix movies, a video game enthusiast, or a spiritual seeker, The Simulation Hypothesis touches on all these areas, and you will never look at the world the same way again!
Publisher: Bayview Books, LLC
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 414
Book Description
The Simulation Hypothesis, by best-selling author, renowned MIT computer scientist and Silicon Valley video game designer Rizwan Virk, is the first serious book to explain one of the most daring and consequential theories of our time. Riz is the Executive Director of Play Labs @ MIT, a video game startup incubator at the MIT Game Lab. Drawing from research and concepts from computer science, artificial intelligence, video games, quantum physics, and referencing both speculative fiction and ancient eastern spiritual texts, Virk shows how all of these traditions come together to point to the idea that we may be inside a simulated reality like the Matrix. The Simulation Hypothesis is the idea that our physical reality, far from being a solid physical universe, is part of an increasingly sophisticated video game-like simulation, where we all have multiple lives, consisting of pixels with its own internal clock run by some giant Artificial Intelligence. Simulation theory explains some of the biggest mysteries of quantum and relativistic physics, such as quantum indeterminacy, parallel universes, and the integral nature of the speed of light. Recently, the idea that we may be living in a giant video game has received a lot of attention: “There’s a one in a billion chance we are not living in a simulation” -Elon Musk “I find it hard to argue we are not in a simulation.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson “We are living in computer generated reality.” -Philip K. Dick Video game technology has developed from basic arcade and text adventures to MMORPGs. Video game designer Riz Virk shows how these games may continue to evolve in the future, including virtual reality, augmented reality, Artificial Intelligence, and quantum computing. This book shows how this evolution could lead us to the point of being able to develop all encompassing virtual worlds like the Oasis in Ready Player One, or the simulated reality in the Matrix. While the idea sounds like science fiction, many scientists, engineers, and professors have given the Simulation Hypothesis serious consideration. Futurist Ray Kurzweil has popularized the idea of downloading our consciousness into a silicon based device, which would mean we are just digital information after all. Some, like Oxford lecturer Nick Bostrom, goes further and thinks we may in fact be artificially intelligent consciousness inside such a simulation already! But the Simulation Hypothesis is not just a modern idea. Philosophers like Plato have been telling us that we live in a “cave” and can only see shadows of the real world. Mystics of all traditions have long contended that we are living in some kind of “illusion “and that there are other realities which we can access with our minds. While even Judeo-Christian traditions have this idea, Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Hinduism make this idea part of their core tradition — that we are inside a dream world (“Maya” or illusion, or Vishnu’s Dream), and we have “multiple lives” playing different characters when one dies, continuing to gain experience and “level up” after completing certain challenges. Sounds a lot like a video game! Whether you are a computer scientist, a fan of science fiction like the Matrix movies, a video game enthusiast, or a spiritual seeker, The Simulation Hypothesis touches on all these areas, and you will never look at the world the same way again!
Simulacra and Simulation
Author: Jean Baudrillard
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472065219
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
Develops a theory of contemporary culture that relies on displacing economic notions of cultural production with notions of cultural expenditure. This book represents an effort to rethink cultural theory from the perspective of a concept of cultural materialism, one that radically redefines postmodern formulations of the body.
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472065219
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
Develops a theory of contemporary culture that relies on displacing economic notions of cultural production with notions of cultural expenditure. This book represents an effort to rethink cultural theory from the perspective of a concept of cultural materialism, one that radically redefines postmodern formulations of the body.
Simulation and Its Discontents
Author: Sherry Turkle
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262012707
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
How the simulation and visualization technologies so pervasive in science, engineering, and design have changed our way of seeing the world. Over the past twenty years, the technologies of simulation and visualization have changed our ways of looking at the world. In Simulation and Its Discontents, Sherry Turkle examines the now dominant medium of our working lives and finds that simulation has become its own sensibility. We hear it in Turkle's description of architecture students who no longer design with a pencil, of science and engineering students who admit that computer models seem more “real” than experiments in physical laboratories. Echoing architect Louis Kahn's famous question, “What does a brick want?”, Turkle asks, “What does simulation want?” Simulations want, even demand, immersion, and the benefits are clear. Architects create buildings unimaginable before virtual design; scientists determine the structure of molecules by manipulating them in virtual space; physicians practice anatomy on digitized humans. But immersed in simulation, we are vulnerable. There are losses as well as gains. Older scientists describe a younger generation as “drunk with code.” Young scientists, engineers, and designers, full citizens of the virtual, scramble to capture their mentors' tacit knowledge of buildings and bodies. From both sides of a generational divide, there is anxiety that in simulation, something important is slipping away. Turkle's examination of simulation over the past twenty years is followed by four in-depth investigations of contemporary simulation culture: space exploration, oceanography, architecture, and biology.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262012707
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
How the simulation and visualization technologies so pervasive in science, engineering, and design have changed our way of seeing the world. Over the past twenty years, the technologies of simulation and visualization have changed our ways of looking at the world. In Simulation and Its Discontents, Sherry Turkle examines the now dominant medium of our working lives and finds that simulation has become its own sensibility. We hear it in Turkle's description of architecture students who no longer design with a pencil, of science and engineering students who admit that computer models seem more “real” than experiments in physical laboratories. Echoing architect Louis Kahn's famous question, “What does a brick want?”, Turkle asks, “What does simulation want?” Simulations want, even demand, immersion, and the benefits are clear. Architects create buildings unimaginable before virtual design; scientists determine the structure of molecules by manipulating them in virtual space; physicians practice anatomy on digitized humans. But immersed in simulation, we are vulnerable. There are losses as well as gains. Older scientists describe a younger generation as “drunk with code.” Young scientists, engineers, and designers, full citizens of the virtual, scramble to capture their mentors' tacit knowledge of buildings and bodies. From both sides of a generational divide, there is anxiety that in simulation, something important is slipping away. Turkle's examination of simulation over the past twenty years is followed by four in-depth investigations of contemporary simulation culture: space exploration, oceanography, architecture, and biology.
The Simulated Multiverse
Author: Rizwan Virk
Publisher: Bayview Books, LLC
ISBN: 1954872011
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 484
Book Description
Do multiple versions of ourselves exist in parallel universes living out their lives in different timelines? In this follow up to his bestseller, The Simulation Hypothesis, MIT Computer Scientist and Silicon Valley Game Pioneer Rizwan Virk explores these topics from a new lens: that of simulation theory. If we are living in a digital universe, then many of the complexities and baffling characteristics of our reality start to make more sense. Quantum computing lets us simulate complex phenomena in parallel, allowing the simulation to explore many realities at once to find the most "optimum" path forward. Could this explain not only the enigmatic Mandela Effect but provide us with a new understanding of time and space? Bringing his unique trademark style of combining video games, computer science, quantum physics and computing with lots of philosophy and science fiction, Virk gives us a new way to think about not just our universe, but all possible realities!
Publisher: Bayview Books, LLC
ISBN: 1954872011
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 484
Book Description
Do multiple versions of ourselves exist in parallel universes living out their lives in different timelines? In this follow up to his bestseller, The Simulation Hypothesis, MIT Computer Scientist and Silicon Valley Game Pioneer Rizwan Virk explores these topics from a new lens: that of simulation theory. If we are living in a digital universe, then many of the complexities and baffling characteristics of our reality start to make more sense. Quantum computing lets us simulate complex phenomena in parallel, allowing the simulation to explore many realities at once to find the most "optimum" path forward. Could this explain not only the enigmatic Mandela Effect but provide us with a new understanding of time and space? Bringing his unique trademark style of combining video games, computer science, quantum physics and computing with lots of philosophy and science fiction, Virk gives us a new way to think about not just our universe, but all possible realities!
Clinical Simulation
Author: Gilles Chiniara
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128156589
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 994
Book Description
Clinical Simulation: Education, Operations and Engineering, Second Edition, offers readers a restructured, comprehensive and updated approach to learn about simulation practices and techniques in a clinical setting. Featuring new and revised chapters from the industry's top researchers and educators, this release gives readers the most updated data through modern pedagogy. This new edition has been restructured to highlight five major components of simulation education, including simulation scenarios as tools, student learning, faculty teaching, necessary subject matter, and the learning environment. With clear and efficient organization throughout the book, users will find this to be an ideal text for students and professionals alike. - Edited by a leading educator, consultant and practitioner in the clinical simulation field - Redesigned structure emphasizes the five components of simulation pedagogy - Contains over 30 new chapters that feature the most up-to-date industry information and practices
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128156589
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 994
Book Description
Clinical Simulation: Education, Operations and Engineering, Second Edition, offers readers a restructured, comprehensive and updated approach to learn about simulation practices and techniques in a clinical setting. Featuring new and revised chapters from the industry's top researchers and educators, this release gives readers the most updated data through modern pedagogy. This new edition has been restructured to highlight five major components of simulation education, including simulation scenarios as tools, student learning, faculty teaching, necessary subject matter, and the learning environment. With clear and efficient organization throughout the book, users will find this to be an ideal text for students and professionals alike. - Edited by a leading educator, consultant and practitioner in the clinical simulation field - Redesigned structure emphasizes the five components of simulation pedagogy - Contains over 30 new chapters that feature the most up-to-date industry information and practices
Continuous System Simulation
Author: François E. Cellier
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387302603
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 659
Book Description
Highly computer-oriented text, introducing numerical methods and algorithms along with the applications and conceptual tools. Includes homework problems, suggestions for research projects, and open-ended questions at the end of each chapter. Written by our successful author who also wrote Continuous System Modeling, a best-selling Springer book first published in the 1991 (sold about 1500 copies).
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387302603
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 659
Book Description
Highly computer-oriented text, introducing numerical methods and algorithms along with the applications and conceptual tools. Includes homework problems, suggestions for research projects, and open-ended questions at the end of each chapter. Written by our successful author who also wrote Continuous System Modeling, a best-selling Springer book first published in the 1991 (sold about 1500 copies).
Simulation
Author: Sheldon M. Ross
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0124158250
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
"In formulating a stochastic model to describe a real phenomenon, it used to be that one compromised between choosing a model that is a realistic replica of the actual situation and choosing one whose mathematical analysis is tractable. That is, there did not seem to be any payoff in choosing a model that faithfully conformed to the phenomenon under study if it were not possible to mathematically analyze that model. Similar considerations have led to the concentration on asymptotic or steady-state results as opposed to the more useful ones on transient time. However, the relatively recent advent of fast and inexpensive computational power has opened up another approach--namely, to try to model the phenomenon as faithfully as possible and then to rely on a simulation study to analyze it"--
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0124158250
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 326
Book Description
"In formulating a stochastic model to describe a real phenomenon, it used to be that one compromised between choosing a model that is a realistic replica of the actual situation and choosing one whose mathematical analysis is tractable. That is, there did not seem to be any payoff in choosing a model that faithfully conformed to the phenomenon under study if it were not possible to mathematically analyze that model. Similar considerations have led to the concentration on asymptotic or steady-state results as opposed to the more useful ones on transient time. However, the relatively recent advent of fast and inexpensive computational power has opened up another approach--namely, to try to model the phenomenon as faithfully as possible and then to rely on a simulation study to analyze it"--
Respiratory Care Exam Review - E-Book
Author: Gary Persing
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
ISBN: 1437716954
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
This title includes additional digital media when purchased in print format. For this digital book edition, media content is not included. Respiratory Care Exam Review: Review for the Entry Level and Advanced Exams, 3rd Edition, readies students with review materials for both the CRT and RRT exams! The material is presented in an outline format for efficient studying, with special boxes included in the chapter to highlight important information that is often included in the exam. New content has been added to the 3rd edition, including the latest updates to the NBRC content outlines implemented in 2009 and 2010. Be fully prepared with this comprehensive text! Respiratory Therapy exam review designed to provide students with a complete, hands-on review for both the NBRC Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) and the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credentialing exams. The material is presented in a detailed outline format, and each chapter includes a pre-test and post-chapter questions. Answers and rationales for both pre- and post-testing are located in the back of the book. Book includes two practice exams. One practice exam for each exam (CRT & RRT) is located in the back of the book. Answer keys with rationales for correct and incorrect answers are available on the Evolve Web site. The NBRC complexity levels of each question are indicated in the answer key to help the student better prepare for the actual exam. Every chapter has been thoroughly revised to incorporate the newest (2009) NBRC Examination content outlines that were implemented in 2009 (CRT) and 2010 (RRT). Unique! Exam Notes highlight special notes or instructions specific to either the entry level (CRT) or advanced exam (RRT) to help students use their study time more effectively. Other key information relevant to the respiratory therapist is featured in specially shaded boxes. Completely updated to reflect the newest NBRC Examination content outlines, with new information on: stress testing, oxygen titration with exercise, aterial line insertion, influenza vaccines and ventilator-associated pneumonia protocols. Additional practice test questions with rationales added to both entry level and advanced practice exams provide rationales and detailed explanation for every question on the exam.
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
ISBN: 1437716954
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
This title includes additional digital media when purchased in print format. For this digital book edition, media content is not included. Respiratory Care Exam Review: Review for the Entry Level and Advanced Exams, 3rd Edition, readies students with review materials for both the CRT and RRT exams! The material is presented in an outline format for efficient studying, with special boxes included in the chapter to highlight important information that is often included in the exam. New content has been added to the 3rd edition, including the latest updates to the NBRC content outlines implemented in 2009 and 2010. Be fully prepared with this comprehensive text! Respiratory Therapy exam review designed to provide students with a complete, hands-on review for both the NBRC Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) and the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credentialing exams. The material is presented in a detailed outline format, and each chapter includes a pre-test and post-chapter questions. Answers and rationales for both pre- and post-testing are located in the back of the book. Book includes two practice exams. One practice exam for each exam (CRT & RRT) is located in the back of the book. Answer keys with rationales for correct and incorrect answers are available on the Evolve Web site. The NBRC complexity levels of each question are indicated in the answer key to help the student better prepare for the actual exam. Every chapter has been thoroughly revised to incorporate the newest (2009) NBRC Examination content outlines that were implemented in 2009 (CRT) and 2010 (RRT). Unique! Exam Notes highlight special notes or instructions specific to either the entry level (CRT) or advanced exam (RRT) to help students use their study time more effectively. Other key information relevant to the respiratory therapist is featured in specially shaded boxes. Completely updated to reflect the newest NBRC Examination content outlines, with new information on: stress testing, oxygen titration with exercise, aterial line insertion, influenza vaccines and ventilator-associated pneumonia protocols. Additional practice test questions with rationales added to both entry level and advanced practice exams provide rationales and detailed explanation for every question on the exam.
Understanding Molecular Simulation
Author: Daan Frenkel
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080519989
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 661
Book Description
Understanding Molecular Simulation: From Algorithms to Applications explains the physics behind the "recipes" of molecular simulation for materials science. Computer simulators are continuously confronted with questions concerning the choice of a particular technique for a given application. A wide variety of tools exist, so the choice of technique requires a good understanding of the basic principles. More importantly, such understanding may greatly improve the efficiency of a simulation program. The implementation of simulation methods is illustrated in pseudocodes and their practical use in the case studies used in the text. Since the first edition only five years ago, the simulation world has changed significantly -- current techniques have matured and new ones have appeared. This new edition deals with these new developments; in particular, there are sections on: - Transition path sampling and diffusive barrier crossing to simulaterare events - Dissipative particle dynamic as a course-grained simulation technique - Novel schemes to compute the long-ranged forces - Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian dynamics in the context constant-temperature and constant-pressure molecular dynamics simulations - Multiple-time step algorithms as an alternative for constraints - Defects in solids - The pruned-enriched Rosenbluth sampling, recoil-growth, and concerted rotations for complex molecules - Parallel tempering for glassy Hamiltonians Examples are included that highlight current applications and the codes of case studies are available on the World Wide Web. Several new examples have been added since the first edition to illustrate recent applications. Questions are included in this new edition. No prior knowledge of computer simulation is assumed.
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080519989
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 661
Book Description
Understanding Molecular Simulation: From Algorithms to Applications explains the physics behind the "recipes" of molecular simulation for materials science. Computer simulators are continuously confronted with questions concerning the choice of a particular technique for a given application. A wide variety of tools exist, so the choice of technique requires a good understanding of the basic principles. More importantly, such understanding may greatly improve the efficiency of a simulation program. The implementation of simulation methods is illustrated in pseudocodes and their practical use in the case studies used in the text. Since the first edition only five years ago, the simulation world has changed significantly -- current techniques have matured and new ones have appeared. This new edition deals with these new developments; in particular, there are sections on: - Transition path sampling and diffusive barrier crossing to simulaterare events - Dissipative particle dynamic as a course-grained simulation technique - Novel schemes to compute the long-ranged forces - Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian dynamics in the context constant-temperature and constant-pressure molecular dynamics simulations - Multiple-time step algorithms as an alternative for constraints - Defects in solids - The pruned-enriched Rosenbluth sampling, recoil-growth, and concerted rotations for complex molecules - Parallel tempering for glassy Hamiltonians Examples are included that highlight current applications and the codes of case studies are available on the World Wide Web. Several new examples have been added since the first edition to illustrate recent applications. Questions are included in this new edition. No prior knowledge of computer simulation is assumed.
Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy
Author: David J. Chalmers
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635813
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 544
Book Description
A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already. Along the way, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there’s an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed by Chalmers’ mind-bending analysis. Studded with illustrations that bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a major statement that will shape discussion of philosophy, science, and technology for years to come.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635813
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 544
Book Description
A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already. Along the way, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there’s an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed by Chalmers’ mind-bending analysis. Studded with illustrations that bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a major statement that will shape discussion of philosophy, science, and technology for years to come.