Rhetoric in: Whoa, Dude, Are We Inside a Computer Right Now?

In his article “Whoa, Dude, Are We Inside a Computer Right Now?” Ben Makuch attempts to open his readers’ eyes to the possibility that the world we live in is nothing but a computer simulation.

In his argumentative article, Ben Makuch makes good use of logos, ethos and pathos and therefore achieves his goal of persuading his readers.

He first establishes the credibility of this theory in mentioning that “people like Nick Bostrom, the director of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, seriously consider“ this theory and in referring to credible sources such as Rich, “a well-regarded scientist, the director of the Center for Evolutionary Computation and Automated Design at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory“. After mentioning these reputable sources, Ben Makuch further succeeds in establishing credibility by mentioning general laws, such as Moore’s Law, and by comparing technical findings to mathematical rules and physics.

He simultaneously appeals to the readers’ emotions in proposing that a Korean child could be controlling us right now and in consequently stirring our feelings of fear and panic that this could be the case. Already in the title of his article “Whoa, Dude, are we inside a computer right now?” he starts to build a relationship with his readers and takes on the role of one of their friends, who is just as curious and excited about this idea as we are. By mentioning that “every college student with a gravity bong and The Matrix on DVD“ has had the same idea before, he turns the ideas mentioned in his article into our ideas and makes his readers believe that they already thought like him before.

Makuch’s use of logos is shown in the various examples given for why it would be possible for us to be living inside a computer simulation right now. He first lets his readers know that this theory is not a new one, but has in fact been “kicked around for centuries“. Makuch continues by explaining that according to Moore’s Law computing power doubles every two years and that it will therefore be possible to create a computer simulation of the world we live in right now at some point. Last, but not least, he cites the the observable pixelation of the tiniest matter and the eerie similarities between quantum mechanics, showing how much our world resembles a computer simulation.  

In sum, the author makes perfect use of rhetoric, logos, ethos and pathos, and succeeds in making his article credible, personal and logical.