A Computational Perspective of Religion

[Rayaan]

[Anomalocaris]

Rayaan, has it ever occurred to you that everything and anything qualifies as analogue computer in the process of simulating itself? So there is no implicit information content in the statement that the universe is a computer.

[Minimalist]

The idea that the universe is a giant, evolving computer that is processing information is something that I find very likely to be true.

Allah will punish you for even suggesting that!

[Tiberius]

Can we get a TL;DR? Also, is this copyrighted anywhere, or are we free to host it?

I'm assuming you didn't write the whole thing. If you did, I am most impressed. I shall have to read it all when I have the time!

[Rayaan]

Yeah, I wrote the whole thing. It took me a few weeks, but I've been typing it slowly, taking my own time. So, this was posted here for the first time.

And there is no external link for this. But, I'll put hide tags on it, if you want me to do that.

Chuck, the reason why I am explaining how the universe itself is a computer (or a quantum computer, more precisely, as I mentioned earlier) is to mainly show the connections that exist between theoretical concepts such as information theory and Islam. To you, there is probably no implicit information in knowing that the universe is a computer, but other members may not agree with such an idea, so that's another reason I wanted to explain it in my post along with links to support them. The point is, the computational view of reality is something that makes sense to me, and it stands as a scientific framework behind my religious beliefs. And that's what I basically tried to show in my OP. It's quite a long post indeed, but it's a very interesting subject for me, and maybe you can learn something, too.

[KichigaiNeko]

[The Grand Nudger]

I think your islamic friends are correct, what you're expressing here is neither islam, nor factually accurate.
(it's also just a little bit more than completely infuriating by the time you get to the "life as a game" bit)

[Rayaan]

I think your islamic friends are correct, what you're expressing here is neither islam, nor factually accurate.

These ideas are more theoretical to me than factual. So yeah, they don't have to be factually correct (although they could be). Also, yes, the Muslims that I have told this to feel that this is a wrong way to look at Islam, and that all these ideas may very well be causing further misinterpretations of the Quran, although there are a few who did find them interesting. But, ultimately, no one is sure about them and neither am I.

(it's also just a little bit more than completely infuriating by the time you get to the "life as a game" bit)

[The Grand Nudger]

Rayaan, it isn't impossible to be "sure" about the ideas expressed in this post.

"Like" a computer does not equal "is". It's a reversal of objects to begin with. Computers are information systems that work "like" many other systems we find in nature because they are made of natural materials, exploiting natural laws. A safety pin is "like" an analog computer. It has an input, an output, a reset line, and two bits of memory.

The Qu'ran makes no prophecy, nor is any prophecy fulfilled in your subjective opinion of it's "eloquence" as prose.

AI does not equal "God", let alone "Allah".

You keep mentioning "possibility" but I fail to see what metrics you could have leveraged to assign any possibility whatsoever to any of this. "Whatever can be imagined is possible". It seems possible to imagine, but where do we go from there?

You don't get to claim pagan gods for Allah, nice try, see it often, but there are too many contradictory claims. You could wave this away by invoking "human interference"...and clearly you have. Sadly, that's all you're doing, waving your hands.

You may "think" that this or that has been revealed, but I bet you aren't prepared/willing to demonstrate that this is so. When did "believe" become such a dirty word btw?

When the authors say trumpet..they mean trumpet. As in a trumpet, not a black hole, a trumpet. Since we're on this subject anyway, black holes, computational theory, evolutionary processes? I think you're worshipping at the altar of science on this one my friend. Similarly, when the authors wrote of your actions being recorded in a book, they meant it. That's supposed to scare the living shit out of you. Some cosmic boogeyman that records your every action or thought, mull it over awhile. Apparently the authors figured that they might be able to "scare us straight". At what point do you think that the lord of the cosmos required your services as an interpreter in the first place?

Now, Rayaan, we're on to the gaming bit. I don't even know where to begin. The level of callousness required to simply brush off the suffering of others (both the demonstrable suffering in this life, and the claimed fucking torture in the next) as part and parcel of a sidescrolling RPG.......how about you go down to the nearest children's hospital and explain to the parents there how this is all just a game. Maybe my daughter will score points with your boogeyman for "completing the game at a more difficult stage" due to the paralysis in her right arm? Kiss my ass.

This is not Islam, this is not reasonable, this is pure human folly, drawing connections where none exist. A particularly horrid attempt to salvage a dated belief system.
(was there any point in your writing this that you realized that the majority of your analogies were centered on man-made objects btw? Computers, games, etc. Why does it seem so easy to draw a comparison between these things we've created and God, do you figure?)

[fuckass365]

Didn't read all that I will admit but here's my take. This isn't a new idea to anyone here at all. God only exists metaphorically as the Universe (assuming it's not a Multiverse). We are a node of the Universe that has become conscious, for whatever reason, and now we're seeking to learn more about ourselves (the Universe).