The Basement: Rizwan Virk | The Simulation Hypothesis, Quantum Physics & Mysticism
5/18/20263 hr 5 min
Rizwan Virk built games downloaded millions of times, invested early in Discord, and taught at MIT. Then he put on a VR headset in Sausalito and nearly fell over reaching for a table that didn't exist.
That five-second moment sent him down a rabbit hole connecting quantum physics, Eastern mysticism, and video game design — and he's not sure he's found the bottom yet.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Speaker 20:25
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AJ Gentile· Host0:42
Today, we're sitting down with Rizwan Virk, MIT computer scientist, Stanford MBA, video game pioneer, and one of the early investors in Discord.
Hecklefish· Host0:50
An early investor in Discord, huh? Uh, so he's the reason my guppies are up a tree and screaming at strangers in Fortnite. Uh, I have questions for this man.
AJ Gentile· Host1:00
His book, The Simulation Hypothesis, is now out in a fully revised second edition. It argues that quantum physics, ancient Eastern mysticism, and the architecture of video games are all pointing at the same unsettling truth: that what we call reality may not be reality at all.
Hecklefish· Host1:17
Hang on, hang on, hang on. I say reality isn't real, and people call me crazy. This guy says it and gets a book deal?
AJ Gentile· Host1:24
Oh, well, he lays out a better case than you do.
Hecklefish· Host1:27
Well, does he say how to lizard people run the simulation?