[stromgo]

We do know that the real world is richer than the simulated world, since it holds a computer that runs the simulated world. Therefore if you exist, then it's more likely that you're the result of evolution in the real world than the result of evolution in the simulated world.

Imagine the warehouse-size computer that is needed to simulate a bacterium here on Earth. Computers are dusty, and dust contains bacteria, so if you're a bacterium, then it's more likely that you're one of the billions of bacteria in the dust on the computer, than the bacterium being simulated by the computer. The same reasoning should hold for other worlds.

[BoiledCabbage]

This is faulty reasoning. The game "The Sims" has sold over 200 million copies. If the average number of characters created per game is over 40 then there have been more sims characters than people in the world. Add in a few more games and there have been more game characters than people that have ever lived. And that's with computing being in its infancy not even 80 years old yet. Give 1000 years and its not even close.

Additionally your fidelity is backwards. Thre fact that the simulation is simpler than the real world means we can fit many more people/entities in it - because the computer doesn't have to simulate at full fidelity.

[shrimpx]

This is true if you assume that the simulating world is what’s being simulated in the simulated world. That is, if bacteria exist only in the simulated world, then if you’re a bacterium there’s 100% probability that you’re simulated.

[pegasus]

That's a powerful argument against the usual anthropic argument for the world being a simulation. I haven't encountered it before but it makes total sense.

[_0w8t]

The assumption that real world is richer than simulated world is just that, an assumption. For one it assumes that both are finite.

[pegasus]

It's logically necessary, not just an assumption. The simulated world with all its richness is by definition a strict subset of the simulating world. So the latter must be richer than the former.

[mistermann]

Unless I misunderstand what your conception of a simulation is, I don't see why a virtual world is limited by the constraints of the parent world, any more than video games are limited by the constraints of our world?

I would think this would apply to the individual molecule tracking requirement above as well.