Excellent article and very well written, I also liked the bit relating to the universe and being a simulation, and this is something i’ve theorised many many times. its impossible to prove either way of course, but my hunch is that life is its own game where it just wants to be and loops over time and time again until every possible computation has been achieved. You mention some early examples of this, it was also theorised by Descartes with his evil genius theory.
But thanks for posting, very good read