Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Although I have carefully considered the simulation hypothesis, "The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are In a Video Game" (what a long-winded title) breaks no new ground. I congratulate Rizwan Virk for getting the attention of NPR, FOX, and dozens of websites to promote his book. I am glad he is passion and sincerity about the topic. However, it reads like a college freshman's term paper. He spends too much time previewing and summarizing, and basically every topic is broken up with headers (probably to dumb things down for readers, but it was insulting to me- I have seen this trend recently). The ideas feel like it's from a college buddy who stayed up past his bedtime: no evidence, all speculation. An A for enthusiasm, but a C- for the grade. Quantum woo. A misunderstanding of karma (it's not a point system). Very shallow, elementary views of all religions in general. Summaries of quantum mechanics, philosophy, and technology which we have already heard from blogs, magazines, podcasts, documentaries, and other books. Yes, it's the same old anecdotes we've already heard about Einstein, Plato, Dick, Bohr, Hawking, Newton, Wolfgang, and Schrodinger's cat. Nor is there any new interpretation of The Matrix. The book was building and building, but once we get to the last chapter, it turns out it's just a summary of everything else. Ultimately, Virk is unintentionally making a case that in 2019 we can see that a video game is a good analogy of reality. In the past, people thought pottery or watches were good analogies of reality. Now it's video games. It still misses the secret of the universe though. I'll let you discover that one on your own. :-) I'd recommend this book for newbies. If you want to go to the NEXT level of speculative world-shattering views, try Robert Lanza's "Biocentrism". Check out Clifford Pickover's "Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves" if you want a grown up version of The Simulation Hypothesis.