'New(ish)' indeed. The idea of reality as a simulation is quite interesting, and has been explored beyond what's mentioned in Frenkel's NYT article. It immediately reminded me of
Simulacron-3, a 1964 SciFi novel by Daniel Galouye I read under the title '
Counterfeit World', and which includes a 'reality test' based on logic similar to that used by Beane et al. I have read literally thousands of novels since, but this is one that sank deep roots.
