[jstanley]

I agree with everything you said up to "Nothing in those definitions is capable of expressing the concept of having perceptions (consciousness)".

Do you think the universe is not computable?

If you think the universe is computable, and you think that you exist in the universe, and you think that you are conscious, don't you think it follows that consciousness can exist within mathematical structures?

[gpm]

> Do you think the universe is not computable?

Yes, definitionally not, the universe isn't an abstract object let alone one in the shape of a function.

You might, in principle, be able to precisely predict the future of the universe given perfect information using a precise model of the universe. That model, a mathematical function, would be computable. It would be accurate to say that the model describes the universe, but not that the model is the universe.

The thing about mathematical structures is that they are concepts, not things, I feel confident in saying that concepts aren't conscious.

[jstanley]

But you are inside the universe. The mathematical structure of the universe can contain all of your perceptions and to you they will "feel real". Indeed, to you they are real.

If you had a perfectly accurate universe simulation, do you think the people inside the simulation would not be conscious?

If they're not conscious, it's not a perfectly accurate simulation.

And if it is possible to have a perfectly accurate simulation, then (like you said) all of the contents of the universe were "there" all along inside the giant mathematical structure. You don't need anyone to run the simulator!

All of the contents of the universe, the apparent flow of time, our thoughts and feelings, our consciousness, all lives inside this incomprehensibly large mathematical structure.

This is how I believe reality works. The universe exists inside mathematics the way 42 does. You don't need a calculator to show the number 42 in order for the number 42 to exist. Running the simulator can expose the contents of the universe to someone outside it, but everything on the inside is independent of the simulator.

You might ask "why this reality and not any other?" and I would say they all exist equally well, we just happen to notice this one because we're inside this one.