this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2026
756 points (97.2% liked)

Science Memes

19355 readers
1835 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I don't think reasonable is even it for me, it's just a helpful assumption.

If they are doing a perfect job at a Truman show type situation, there's nothing you can do, so you might as well assume they're not and play your role.

[–] cynar@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's more reasonable via Occam's razor (more complexity is less reasonable, when everything else is equal). However it is still just a belief axiom. You have to assume 1 holds.

[–] Digit@lemmy.wtf -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Too many cut themselves on Occam's razor, incorrectly presuming all else equal.

[–] cynar@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

If things are not all equal, then we can slice off a section of the axiom, and start dissecting it, via science. The axiom only applies if things are exactly equal.

E.g. Gravity wave detectors have found oddities, just above the noise floor. These are likely equipment artifacts. They are also consistent with us being in a simulation, and us touching close to the resolution limit. If true (quite unlikely) then it would prove the axiom false.