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The claim that there are no simulation masters, no alien races, no omniscient AI spy satellites, no ... is certainly possible, but it seems like we're back to thinking that we humans are special and the center of the universe.

Huh?!




Perhaps the point is easier to see if you consider "no alien races" in isolation -- the lack of intelligent extraterrestrial life seems to lead directly to the notion that we humans are special (i.e., the most intelligent form of life in the entire Universe). On the other hand, the question of whether there are any intelligent civilizations within a distance such that contact could be established without both such civilizations inventing travel at relativistic speeds (if only one is near-light speed, maybe the other one ages and dies before being reached) may provide an "out". I'm not sure whether we can actually beat aging by driving toward each other at, say, 0.9c each relative to our home planets; it's been a while since I did time dilation in physics.




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