[southwindcg]

Yes, this is exactly my problem with claims about the 'real' universe if we are, in fact, in a simulation. It might be literally, programmatically, impossible for us to infer anything about it. The analogy I like to use is Pac-Man believing that the entire universe exists within the confines of a blue-walled maze.

[hyghjiyhu]

From the ghosts perspective it is of prime importance to understand the behaviour of pacman. But it is influenced by the player's psychology which is in turn influenced by the surrounding world. Then: a sufficiently advanced model of pacman must include (at least implicitly) a description of the outside world.