Man convinced he’s in simulation bumps into doppelgänger, they even had the same glasses

There’s a popular saying: “Everyone has a twin somewhere in the world.” While this may never be definitively proven, countless people—celebrities and everyday folks alike—have shared stories of encountering their uncanny look-alikes. That’s exactly what happened to Kent State University professor Sean Douglas McArdle during a trip to Las Vegas. Known as u/Seandouglasmcardle on Reddit, McArdle became convinced he was living in a “simulation” after bumping into his doppelgänger. A photo of the two men, identical in both features and fashion, quickly went viral.

The resemblance was striking, with the two men sharing not just similar facial features and body types, but coincidentally similar outfits as well—making it hard to believe they weren’t twins. “I wasn’t convinced until now. We are definitely in a simulation. Today, I randomly swam past my doppelgänger at the Flamingo pool in Vegas,” McArdle wrote, describing the surreal moment. The encounter took place during a friend’s birthday celebration in Las Vegas, a fittingly eccentric backdrop for such a bizarre coincidence.

Despite the excitement of the meeting, McArdle, a 48-year-old father of two, didn’t get a chance to engage in a deeper conversation with his double. He shared the story in August 2022, but his Reddit post continues to fascinate social media users. As reported by TODAY, the unexpected encounter left people pondering the mysteries of chance—and, perhaps, the simulation theory.

He did, however, manage to get both of them framed together in a picture clicked at the Hotel Flamingo. Adding to the coincidence, they wore similar white hats, eyeglasses and shorts. “Everybody on the opposite side pointed at me laughing and I just got a little embarrassed,” McArdle told the outlet. The Kent State professor explained that the extraordinary encounter occurred while he was attending his friend Dan’s 40th birthday party. “I look back at my friends and they’re pointing at some other dude and laughing. I look over and it was like looking in the mirror,” he added. Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time McArdle had encountered men with similar features.

Describing the experience as nothing short of “surreal,” McArdle said, “I’ve seen guys who’ve had similarities to me, but man, this guy just looked just like me.” Intrigued, he decided to greet his doppelgänger and asked if he had any celebrity twins. The brief response from the unidentified man brought a smile to McArdle’s face. Reflecting on the encounter, McArdle recalled, “I asked him, ‘Are you Seth Rogen?’” The look-alike chuckled and confirmed that others had pointed out the resemblance before. Before sharing the moment online, McArdle spoke with his two kids about the strange meeting, recounting the surreal experience to them.

Highlighting how his youngest found the encounter amusing, the now-divorced dad joked, “I finally have something that has more views than she does from TikTok.” Meanwhile, his post garnered over 97k upvotes on the platform, including 2.3k comments. Sharing their similar experiences, u/hamdandruff recalled, “I’ve run into people far from where I first met them. Once, I got into an Uber in New Hampshire and realized I’d spoken to the driver in Maine—where we’d also discovered we both knew each other from New Jersey.” “The Brothers of Rogen either sounds like a band or a cult,” u/SirXII joked. “One of you will cease to exist as soon as the admin finds out,” u/rafedbadru added.