2019-09-15 Bostrom on Joe Rogan

In his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience Bostrom explains the Simulation Argument to Rogan. At first Rogan pretends to understand the argument, but later backtracks and challenges Bostrom by asking “But given that we don’t have any evidence that a simulated universe is possible, why can’t we assume that probably we are not in a simulation?” Bostrom spends about twenty minutes trying to rephrase his argument in a way that Rogan can understand. He then makes the regretable choice of pivoting to a thought experiment where he argues that Rogan’s mind might not be embedded in a biological brain like he thinks it is, but rather it might be just a random occurrence in a primordial intergalactic gas cloud embedded in a infinite universe. What followed was this delightful exchange:

Bostrom: By taking the path you want to take with the Simulation Argument, I wonder if you would then be comited to thinking that you are, in effect, a Boltzmann brain in a gas cloud super early in the universe

Rogan: I still don’t understand what you’re saying.