Part 2/9:
The notion of the universe as a simulation is not entirely new. Philosophical ideas resembling this concept can be traced back to ancient cultures. However, the modern framework for simulation theory gained traction through philosopher Nick Bostrom, who published a pivotal paper in 2003. Bostrom's simulation trilemma posits that at least one of the following must be true:
Civilizations tend to self-destroy before they can create advanced simulations.
Civilizations are capable of creating simulations but choose not to do so.
We are almost certainly living in a simulation.
Each scenario proposed by Bostrom holds equal probability, suggesting a profound possibility that we might be living in a simulated environment.