virtual reality (VR)
[My Big TOE Explanation]
A VR is a computed reality structure that represents the possibilities and constraints of an interactive multiplayer “game” (environment, rules, and individual characteristics and abilities of the game elements and pieces). VRs are constructs of data.
The VR metaphor is at the core of the MBT model of reality.
To understand why our physical reality (PMR) can best be described as a VR that only exists in our minds, it is helpful to go through several analytical steps, comparing it to traditional board games, multiplayer online games and other types of human-created VRs.
Board game analogy
The VR represents the game board (environment), game rules of interaction, and the game pieces (avatars) played by the players (conscious beings).
Example of a human-programmed VR: multiplayer online game
With a massive multiplayer online game such as “World of Warcraft”, thousands of players from all over the world connect to the game server via the Internet. Both the players and the server are part of the physical reality. The “World of Warcraft” game reality, however, has no physical existence – it is merely displayed on the players’ computer screens as 2D pixels which the players interpret as the 3D game environment. The game reality exists only in the minds of the players – it is virtual.
This can be illustrated as follows:
Generic attributes of virtual realities
All VRs fundamentally work the same way, whether they’re multiplayer online games, flight simulators used to train pilots, or VR headsets enabling the users to watch a 360-degree immersive video. The following statements are true for every VR:
(1) A VR is computed.
(2) It is defined by a data stream and exists only in the minds of the players.
(3) A VR cannot compute itself – its source must lie in an underlying reality frame outside the VR.
(4) That underlying reality contains both the VR server and the players – the server is of the same “stuff” as the players.
(5) The VR is computed for the players: it exists for a reason, and the players participate for a purpose.
(6) The players make choices for their avatars.
(7) From the viewpoint of the avatars, the VR game environment appears to be “physical” whereas the computer and the players seem “nonphysical”.
(8) The creator of the VR is likely to be somewhat like the players but more knowledgeable or advanced.
This generic relationship between a VR and the underlying reality frame can be illustrated in the following way:
The My Big TOE model of our physical universe as an evolving virtual reality simulation
In My Big TOE, “our VR” refers to the VR we call our physical universe (Physical Matter Reality – PMR). Our “physical” body in PMR is a virtual character or game piece called an avatar. The players playing the avatars in PMR are Individuated Units of Consciousness (IUOCs). (They’re more accurately described as a Free Will Awareness Unit, which is a subset of an IUOC, but for the sake of simplicity we’ll just speak of IUOCs here.)
Our VR (physical universe) is a simulation that has been evolving according to the initial conditions and the ruleset. The VR defines the constraints placed on the data streams being sent to each IUOC player. Each IUOC interprets its data stream as its own unique subjective VR experience in terms of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. (IUOCs playing animals such as bats receive additional sense data for perception via echolocation, for example.)
Consciousness, in the form of the Larger Consciousness system (LCS), is the creator of the VR. The LCS is also the creator of the IUOCs, since they’re a part of the LCS.
Thus, consciousness functions as both the creator/server and the players of the VR. Consciousness is the fundamental reality frame from which our virtual universe is derived.
Consciousness (the LCS) is a digital information system – it contains data, content, memory, processing ability, and the purpose to continue evolving. IUOCs are subsets of consciousness. The LCS creates rules, processes and protocols to define how data may be exchanged between IUOCs as they function within VRs. These rules, processes and protocols (ruleset) define a VR that enables interaction between IUOCs and thus creates individual IUOC choice (decision space) and experience.
In order for an IUOC to make free-will choices, gain experience and evolve, it must be a “player” in a VR and interact with other IUOCs and the VR game environment. Players receive data streams from the VR server – called The Big Computer (TBC) or the Virtual Reality Rendering Engine (VRRE) – that enable them to interpret their interaction with the VR environment and other players.
This can be illustrated as follows:
To summarize:
You are an Individuated Unit of Consciousness (IUOC) within the Larger Consciousness System (LCS) – a player in the VR game called Physical Matter Reality (PMR). You’re playing an avatar (a virtual human body) that looks and feels “physical” to you. As an IUOC, you receive a data stream that defines your PMR experience. That data stream is computed by TBC to match the subjective viewpoint and the constraints and capabilities of your avatar, while ensuring logical consistency with the data streams generated for all the other players of human and animal avatars in PMR. As consciousness, you make free-will choices for your avatar – you choose from among the possibilities that lie within your personal decision space.
There is no fundamental experiential reality frame
An IUOC may define its own set of rules and create a VR of its own. Thus, VRs may be nested one within another.
The only thing that is fundamentally real within the bounds of our knowing is consciousness. All else is virtual. All experiential reality frames are virtual. There is no fundamental experiential reality frame – all have their own server within the LCS and a specific purpose. All of these VRs with specific purposes, along with their IUOC players, contribute to the system-level purpose of continuing the evolution (survival) of the LCS.
No single VR is more real than any other – however, VRs can “feel” very different from one another because they may have very different rulesets.
