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MrMind comments on Open Thread May 2 - May 8, 2016 - Less Wrong
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The "simulation argument" by Bostrom is flawed. It is wrong. I don't understand why a lot of people seem to believe in it. I might do a write up of this if anyone agrees with me, but basically, you cannot reason about without our universe from within our universe. It doesn't make sense to do so. The simulation argument is about using observations from within our own reality to describe something outside our reality. For example, simulations are or will be common in this universe, therefore most agents will be simulated agents, therefore we are simulated agents. However, the observation that most agents will eventually be or already are simulated only applies in this reality/universe. If we are in a simulation, all of our logic will not be universal but instead will be a reaction to the perverted rules set up by the simulation's creators. If we're not in a simulation, we're not in a simulation. Either way, the simulation argument is flawed.
While I do not agree on the conclusion of the simulation argument, I think your rebuttal is flawed: we can safely reason about the reality outside simulation if we presume that we are inside a realistic simulation, that is a simulation whose purpose is to mimic as closely as possible the reality outside. I don't know if it's made explicit in the exposition you read, but I've always assumed the argument was about a realistic simulation. Indeed, if the law of physics are computable, you can have even have an emulation argument.