Nick Bostrom: 4 ideas worth knowing

4 ideas from Nick Bostrom, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

One of three unlikely-sounding claims about reality has to be true
Philosopher Nick Bostrom argued that at least one of three things must hold: almost all civilisations go extinct before they can simulate their own history in detail, or those that…
— Nick Bostrom, Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?
A stranger threatens infinite harm for five dollars — do the math anyway
Nick Bostrom's thought experiment: a mugger claims he'll harm an astronomical number of people unless you hand over five dollars, and swears he has the power to do it. The odds of …
— Nick Bostrom, Pascal's Mugging: Tiny Probabilities of Vast Utilities
If civilizations ever build perfect simulations, simple logic says you're probably in one
Philosopher Nick Bostrom argued at least one of three things must be true: almost no civilizations reach the technology to simulate conscious minds, those that can decline to run s…
— Nick Bostrom, Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?
A philosopher argued at least one of three unlikely things about reality must be true
In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom argued at least one of three propositions must be true: almost all civilizations go extinct before they can simulate conscious minds; those that s…
— Nick Bostrom, Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?

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