Drabblecast 222 - Rules for Living in a Simulation

[StalinSays]

Feature: Rules for Living in a Simulation by Aubrey Hirsch
Drabble: Duckhunt by John Murphy



Monday, November 7, 2011
Now if we, like those characters in recent movies, discovered specific clues in the world around us suggesting that we do in fact live in a simulation, we would of course consider those clues carefully to see what they say about how we should live our lives. — Robin Hanson

Episode Sponsor You Shall Never Know Security by J.R. Hamantaschen


Geologic Podcast
Read by George Hrab
Art by Mike Dominic

[Gligstith(click)optok]

Love the concept and like the story. The only thing I would change is the length. There are so many related topics that could be covered. For example, the narrator goes on to say “In an effort to make the universe simulation less troublesome to operate and more entertaining, government budgets are being shifted from space exploration and science to the protection of copyrights and subsiding sport franchises. This will encourage the production of more entertainment products.“

It would be great if the narrator went into some individual stories. “Dick and Jane fell in love. Dick had visions of Jane as a multi limbed alien monster while in the grip of passion. He ran from the room screaming and told his story. He was quickly committed to an asylum where he mysteriously died after his privates shriveled and fell off. Apparently the concept of a woman scorned is more than universal. Should this type of vision happen to you, think of yourself as a highly paid prostitute and show the client a good time. After all they have already given you everything you have.“

The is a great story idea from a truly twisted mind and read with conviction. Nice work Aubrey and
George!

[ROU Killing Time]

Candiru reference was FTW. The first time I heard that, (while pulling out of the drive-thru of McDonald's) I did a quite expert spit-take.

Loved the drabble. A strangely classical DC piece. (listening to main story now)

"So is your mother..."

other than that, I have nothing of substance to say about this piece, nor do I wish to give any of the ideas presented in it, any undue weight.

I shall, however, endeavour to be as entertaining as possible...

... and, woot...

[tbaker2500]

Oh, heck yea! Great piece of... Fiction.
First off, great shout out. If anybody doubts the motivational powers of Norm or note-taking ability of Bo, that list of DARPers and DRIPers says otherwise.

Drabble was awesome, it speaks to my generation.

Main story was fantastic. Really solid work. I was Skeptical about the narration, since there was not even one double-blind study to show he was the best for this role. His performance certainly appeared to be the correct choice, but without proper studies we'll never know.

The twabble was a perfect cap to a great episode.

[Unblinking]

Woohoo, my name on the Drabblecast airwaves!

Ummm,, anyway, regarding the "story". Fluffy, but there's nothing wrong with fluffy. This was light and short and a lot of fun, perfect for flash material. It gives a very plausible explanation for many oddities in our world, though I stress that it does so in a speculative way, not one which, if discussed, would threaten the continuity of our existence.

Please share this episode with everyone you know, just to cover our bases!

[Kevin Anderson]

Loved the short one at the end. Casualty Friday, nice...

[ROU Killing Time]

Loved the short one at the end. Casualty Friday, nice...

Thanks. I think it was original, but you can never be sure. At the very least, it was the first time that I ever thought of it...

[Talia]

Really enjoyed this. Kinda struck me as a companion piece of sorts to this EscapePod episode (Tim Pratt's Unexpected Outcomes).

[Unblinking]

Really enjoyed this. Kinda struck me as a companion piece of sorts to this EscapePod episode (Tim Pratt's Unexpected Outcomes).

I liked this one much better.

[j-m]

Awesome piece. I really loved the idea of this piece and the way in which it put it across. Convinced me that we may just be living in a simulation! (ha ha, just kidding, we all know this was fiction! haha )

[Goldenrat]

Excellent, Excellent! Neat to hear the most excellent skeptic George Hrab narrate, what pipes he has. The story reminded me of reoccuring thoughts I had as a small kid (long before the Truman Show) that everything was planned and I was just a puppet under observation.

[lhoward]

I loved this story, the whole episode really. It came in, hit its point perfectly, and didn't linger unnecessarily. Reminds me of a more classic Drabblecast age. I hope to hear more stories & episodes put together like this in the future.

[CosmicAC]

@Goldenrat: I had sort of similar thoughts at some point....I still wonder why as a child you start thinking such stuff. It is not "obvious" to think something like this, but all of a sudden you become paranoid and start thinking such shit!

Good fiction...no one would ever consider it being the truth. Therefor I was spreading it to many other people, who, as fiction, liked it too!

[ROU Killing Time]

Excellent, Excellent! Neat to hear the most excellent skeptic George Hrab narrate, what pipes he has. The story reminded me of reoccuring thoughts I had as a small kid (long before the Truman Show) that everything was planned and I was just a puppet under observation.

Arthur Dent: "All my life I've had the feeling that something was going on behind the scenes that nobody was telling me about."

Slartibartfast: "That's just common paranoia, everyone has that."

Arthur Dent: "Everyone?"

Slartibartfast: "Yes, everyone."

[cinnamon]

Yea, this was a great story... that's right, just a great story. Nothing to see. Aheheh.

[tbaker2500]

So somebody just finished listening to backlogged episodes on a trip. Go well?

[cinnamon]

So somebody just finished listening to backlogged episodes on a trip. Go well?

It did, thank you. Not completely caught up, but getting there.