This documentary purports to answer the question of whether the physical universe exists, or is it a virtual reality being run through an information processing system. This is an interesting idea which this film, unfortunately, fails to properly address. The major problem the film has is over-reach. It promises not just to explore this idea but to definitively answer it using "the latest scientific ideas about the fundamental nature of reality." Unsurprisingly, it fails to do either very well.
Taking its starting point as the philosophical dispute between materialism and idealism in classical Greece it then jumps forward to the theoretical controversies raised in the 20th century by the discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics. If you are not at all familiar with the history of quantum mechanics then this part of the documentary may serve as a useful primer to you. If you know most or all of this already then it only serves to slow the film down from delivering the "evidence" of simulation theory that it promises at the outset and which this particular viewer was keen to appraise. In addition, this section ends with an explanation of the development of the variations of the famous double-slit experiment which appears to intentionally misrepresent what is meant by an "observer" in these experiments. This film makes it appear as though the "observer" has to be a conscious human who is causing the wave-particle duality collapse by opening their eyes. The accompanying claim that this is evidence of humans "hacking the universe" is laughable nonsense.
While some valid scientific principles are peppered throughout, in an apparent attempt to give the threadbare argument intellectual heft, these are cherry-picked and often poorly reasoned. The essential argument is further undermined by the continued and intrusive use of extended sequences of Sim City characters and clips from popular films, such as The Wizard of Oz and The Matrix. The final blow to this documentary's pretensions comes at its conclusion where the film makers' intent is finally revealed to be a cheap attempt to give "intelligent design" a scientific makeover.
To sum up, the chance to explore the legitimate arguments for the simulation hypothesis ended up being hamstrung by its hubris, its frequent distracting diversions into pop culture, its poorly understood and reasoned central premise, and it's quasi-religious conclusion.
Taking its starting point as the philosophical dispute between materialism and idealism in classical Greece it then jumps forward to the theoretical controversies raised in the 20th century by the discoveries in the field of quantum mechanics. If you are not at all familiar with the history of quantum mechanics then this part of the documentary may serve as a useful primer to you. If you know most or all of this already then it only serves to slow the film down from delivering the "evidence" of simulation theory that it promises at the outset and which this particular viewer was keen to appraise. In addition, this section ends with an explanation of the development of the variations of the famous double-slit experiment which appears to intentionally misrepresent what is meant by an "observer" in these experiments. This film makes it appear as though the "observer" has to be a conscious human who is causing the wave-particle duality collapse by opening their eyes. The accompanying claim that this is evidence of humans "hacking the universe" is laughable nonsense.
While some valid scientific principles are peppered throughout, in an apparent attempt to give the threadbare argument intellectual heft, these are cherry-picked and often poorly reasoned. The essential argument is further undermined by the continued and intrusive use of extended sequences of Sim City characters and clips from popular films, such as The Wizard of Oz and The Matrix. The final blow to this documentary's pretensions comes at its conclusion where the film makers' intent is finally revealed to be a cheap attempt to give "intelligent design" a scientific makeover.
To sum up, the chance to explore the legitimate arguments for the simulation hypothesis ended up being hamstrung by its hubris, its frequent distracting diversions into pop culture, its poorly understood and reasoned central premise, and it's quasi-religious conclusion.
