An Incompetent Argument For The Simulation Hypothesis

As technological progression continues with a great momentum behind it, it is only natural for people who would otherwise never contemplate the simulation hypothesis to consider its possibility.  This does nothing to change the fact that there is no way to verify or falsify this idea, of course.  Even so, there are those who proclaim that it is very likely that we are inhabiting a simulation, and there are those who point to the agreement of authority figures who believe this as evidence for this conclusion despite the stupidity of doing so.

The consensus of experts is meaningless because consensus itself is meaningless.  It does not matter how respected they are, nor is the quantity of the experts in agreement of any epistemic value.  How many experts, whether real or imagined (although no thoroughly competent thinker would actually endorse this argument!), approve of an idea is completely irrelevant to the truth or falsity of that idea, much less the epistemological process of examining its verification.

Nevertheless, many people are easily swayed by appeals to authority, as a conversation with the average person can quickly reveal.  This is the reason why some people use them despite their ineptitude.  They anticipate that many people will be willing to accept ideas simply by associating those ideas with an authority figure who is respected by the masses in some way.

When the claims of alleged authorities are ignored or refuted, it becomes clear that there is no evidence whatsoever, much less proof, that we are living in a computer simulation or "brain in a vat" scenario.  There is not even a basis for making a probability argument.  Either way, however, there is still an external world comprised of matter: though only a tiny minority actually understands how to prove that matter exists, its existence is capable of being verified with absolute certainty [1].

This is the grander metaphysical issue.  Although it is entirely possible that one's exact sensory perceptions correspond to a simulated environment, the fact that it can be known that there is an external world can provide great epistemological comfort.  Matter exists whether or not the simulation hypothesis is correct, and this is the truth that deserves the attention of those who consider the simulation hypothesis to be a likelihood.

[1].  See here:
 A.  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/08/misunderstanding-brain-in-vat-scenario.html
 B.  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/07/dreams-and-consciousness.html