logo
episode-header-image
Jul 23
2h 11m

Rizwan Virk (on the simulation)

Armchair Umbrella
About this episode

Rizwan Virk (The Simulation Hypothesis) is an entrepreneur, computer scientist, and bestselling author. Rizwan joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the VR ping pong game that tipped him off we might be in a simulation, his ten stages of singularity that the physical world isn’t exactly what we think it is, and comparing the NPC versus RPG versions of the simulation. Rizwan and Dax talk about whether The Matrix was prophetic, if such AI advancement is inevitable how we would know if we’re in a simulation, and the observer effect in quantum physics as illustrated by Schrödinger’s Cat. Rizwan explains ancient Eastern religious and philosophical origins of the sim, the bizarre notion of consciousness that the past isn’t fixed, and the Mandela Effect as evidence of the existence of alternate timelines.

Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Yesterday
Toby Stuart (on social status)
Toby Stuart (Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World) is an organizational theorist, professor of business administration at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and author. Toby joins the Armchair Expert to discuss attending Harvard Bus ... Show More
1h 36m
Oct 7
Mom's Car: Jackie Tohn
On this week’s episode of Mom’s Car, we welcome longtime pal and Nobody Wants This supporting star Jackie Tohn. Jackie, Dax, and Best Friend Aaron Weakley talk through comparisons between the smells of broccoli and feet, being a part of the most streamed comedy of all time, getti ... Show More
54m 49s
Oct 6
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen (The Book of Sheen, Two and a Half Men, Platoon) is a Golden Globe Award-winning actor. Charlie joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the lore of having not one but two of his cars stolen and pushed into a ravine, a two-decades-delayed apology to Dax, and why hiring ... Show More
2h 8m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 3
PART TWO: How Quantum Physics, Religion, & NDEs are Linked By A Theory That’s Growing in Popularity. MIT Scientist Explains Simulation Theory.
Could Simulation Theory be the key to uniting science and spirituality once and for all? Dr. Rizwan Virk (MIT professor, video game pioneer, and bestselling author of The Simulation Hypothesis) joins Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown to explore whether we’re living inside a computer simul ... Show More
59m 31s
Sep 2
How Quantum Physics, Religion, & NDEs are Linked By A Theory That’s Growing in Popularity. MIT Scientist Explains Simulation Theory.
Could Simulation Theory be the key to uniting science and spirituality once and for all? Dr. Rizwan Virk (MIT professor, video game pioneer, and bestselling author of The Simulation Hypothesis) joins Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown to explore whether we’re living inside a computer simul ... Show More
1h 17m
Jul 21
You're Living In A Video Game - The Paranormal Podcast 893
Is our reality real—or are we living in a video game? In this mind-expanding episode of The Paranormal Podcast, Jim talks with Rizwan Virk, MIT grad, tech entrepreneur, and author of The Simulation Hypothesis. Virk shares why he believes we may be players inside a sophisticated s ... Show More
48m 54s
Apr 2025
Ep 235: The Simulation Hypothesis
This is a "megasode" combining two episodes from Youtube all about the Simulation Hypothesis. In the first part I provide the philosophical basis for the simulation hypothesis as explained especially by Nick Bostrom and compare it to other "ultimate" explanations of reality. In p ... Show More
1h 50m
Oct 2023
Evidence We're In A Simulation Is Everywhere. All You Have To Do Is Look | Joscha Bach PT 1
Confusing the distorted version of reality you’ve created in your mind with truth and perception causes people more suffering than most would ever admit to. In today’s episode, I’m joined by an expert with cognitive science and artificial intelligence, to discuss what you need to ... Show More
1h 37m
Mar 2025
SIMULATION THEORY & THE PRISON PLANET: WHO BUILT OUR INVISIBLE PRISON?
Are We Trapped in a Cosmic Illusion?"What if everything you know—your life, your memories, your very existence—is nothing more than a complex simulation? What if Earth itself isn’t just a planet, but a carefully designed prison, locking humanity in an invisible cage?In this mind- ... Show More
8m 52s
Jul 31
Top Psychologist & Scientist (Donald Hoffman): Science Has the Answer to Why Seeing True Reality Would Kill You!
WARNING: Nothing you see is real, and your brain evolved to hide the truth?! Top psychologist Donald Hoffman reveals the mathematical proof we’re living in a virtual illusion, how space-time is just a headset, and why consciousness is the real code. Donald Hoffman is an award-win ... Show More
2h 4m
Jul 24
ChatGPT Comes to LIFE – First Podcast Face-to-Face with AI!
What happens when the world’s most curious interviewer meets the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence? In this thought-provoking episode of Luca’s Insight Track, we take you into a groundbreaking conversation with ChatGPT, an AI that has spoken to more humans than anyone ... Show More
45m 49s
Feb 2024
reality has shifted
In this mind-bending episode of Drama Mama, our incredulous host Ben spills the tea on not one, not two, but three reality-shattering experiences that have rocked their world in the past week. Buckle up as Ben recounts the trippy encounter of meeting their doppelganger in the fle ... Show More
35m 5s
Jun 2025
Talk Tracks Ep 11: Tom Campbell's Theory of Everything Explains Telepathy
What if consciousness—not matter—is the foundation of reality? In this episode of Talk Tracks, physicist and consciousness researcher Tom Campbell joins Ky Dickens to share his “Big Theory of Everything,” a model that unites quantum physics and spirituality by proposing that we a ... Show More
50m 13s