I always thought about it after seeing the Hollywood blockbuster, Matrix, and its sequels. More so after reading this page, The Matrix – Our Future, from self procliamed cyborg, Kevin Warwick.
Now, I have a very simple point (or question) to put forward:
How can we assure each other that we are not already in a Matrix?
The main theme of the movie is the assertion, being inside a matrix means that you don’t exist physically (but as a thought, a feeling a dream or whatever you want to call it). And although the machines have put all humans to the virtual world, nobody recognises it, and all are happy to be inside that virtual world.
The fact according to the movie is, that humans inside the Matrix are fed a storyline into their brain by the Matrix, that makes them believe the Matrix to be the actual physical world.
Now here again, how can we be sure that we are not already being fed by that storyline, and the Matrix is making us to believe that it is real.
(I just hope Smith is not an RSS subscriber to my portal 
)
Certainly we r not sure… just our assumption and hope is tht the Machines are in the shape of our Gods…
But yes I myself believe we are in some kind of Matrix… and that to be aware of it and think of what and why kind of makes me feel dumb…
I agree, it’s possible …. im not sure to want going out of this, how to be sure of what we are outside ? If it’s true i think they have some big maintenance problems hehehe.
God is the architect :O
one day we will find out if we are in a matrix or not when we create our own version of it
then sadly we will be playing with the lives / minds of other creatures or human beings….
if indeed we are already in one and we one day are able to get out of this “matrix”, it could be WORSE, much worse, but…… it would be the truth, and we should always aim for that TRUTH no matter what…
i just hope human race is able to see that day and not become extinct by its own hand and greed.
See also: http://www.simulation-argument.com/
We are for sure not in a “Matrix”.
If we would be, do you think, the owners of this Matrix would allow anyone to make a movie like Matrix? 🙂
Of course it could be a very intelligent trick…
Seriously: what change would it make? For a lot of people some kind of intelligence created this world and us. Where is the difference whether this intelligence makes us believe this world is real or just some machines? 🙂
And the main question to me is: Why should anyone make something soo complicated like the matrix? Wouldn’t it be easyier to just kill us? (-> Terminator)
The reason in the movie is, that the machines needed energy. But I can’t really believe that. Machines that are so advanced would have more efficient and easier wasy to gain power, wouldn’t they?
Greetings
I now see your point: you don’t mean, that this digital word will be created with intent, but accidentally. In fact that sounds possible and I agree with you, that we already are on our way to create it.
I also agree to your argument, that human dont need rational reasons to behave in a certain way. Manipulating the people in order to control them for sure already is fact. And is a good reason to control a matrix.
But I do not agree to your interpretation of intelligence as the sum of our experience. Intelligence is more that just experience. Otherwise it would mean that I would be as intelligent as any other man on this planet, if I shared his/her experience. Meaning that I would be as intelligent as Einstein, Mozart, Newton, and so on…
I think, intelligent is influenceable, but it is not completely in our hand.
But again:
Why create a matrix?
Machines (till today) behave rational – they can’t feel. As long as this doesn’t change there must be a rational reason to create a matrix. Otherwise it would be easier and more rational to eliminate the unforeseeable risk human.
Regarding the energy aspect: I’m really no expert considering energy or inner human processes but I just can’t believe that we are so good in producing energy. All the energy we produce we first need to consume (food). And I would be really suprised if we were able to make 2 Killowatt out of 1 🙂
That would be spectacular.
Human could create a matrix but again there must be a reason. The main reason for manipulating us is money and force. But to gain this it is important, that we live. That we work, consume,… In a digital world I dont see the benefit of controlling the people.
They can’t do anything real. All they do is digital.
Of course there still remains this unrational aspect of only having fun by controlling them – like playing god. But I think it would only make fun, if the people would knew, that they are under my control. Humankind is very vain. When we do something we want others to
know that we did it.
Just playing god for would get borring after a while I think.
But of course there are so many aspects that I for sure overlook millions…
Greetings from germany to india
Quite a distance but our topics don’t seem so far away from each other 🙂
I believe the makers of that movie had allegory in mind throughout. I think they were keen to impress upon us the power of perception and how it can determine the reality in which we live.
Even today people of different classes particularly the uppermost and lower classes, live through an entirely different existance. It’s clear to a lot of folk that the upper classes in this world work hard to create the reality that those lower tiers experience, for their own ends. A basic tool they use would be tv, the amount of people whose opinions are subconsciously planted into them by this box is incredible. They don’t need a huge computer system to achieve this – just very old techniques and sciences that have been employed as far back as our known history goes.
Give this guy a listen if you find some time:
http://www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com
PS. Thanks for your amazon product advertising post, very useful!
Hi Raoul – I came to your website for your Drupal table tutorial and saw this interesting post. My conclusion from my own personal experience is that we are indeed in a matrix, that comes from experience with altered states of consciousness. The matrix appears to me to be the illusion that our consciousness is confined to a single threaded narrow logical attention span when our true selves are not limited to a single body, space or time. This clamp down or filter on our experience gives the illusion of our life in time and space, limited to a single body, with beta-wave logical thouight dominating. At least for Western Civ people, that seems to be the case. Having some tastes in expanded consciousness, it’s kind of a sad small little matrix we are all stuck in and it’s very isolated.
We’re all living in a layered universe. The social layer is an obvious one …
I must admit the Matrix is my favourite movie of all time. As a Christian I can’t help but think the parallels with the concept of the Matrix and the biblical principle of being born under the Curse of Sin.
The process of taking the Red Pill is like being “Born Again” and how after that you need a re-orientation to everything in your world. How you even train your brain to think differenlty about the natural(physical) laws, how dwellers can easily become possesed by foriegn higher power … I can go on and on.
One interesting thing to notice is how things with in the matrix (the world) is dectated by what’s happening in the real world (spiritual world). Once you understand that then what you can do in the Matrix is totally changed. Of course the parallels between Neo and Jesus are striking as well, in the end both give up their lives for the sake of others.
I love the movie and, for me, it shades much needed light that we are already in a Matrix, a world destined for destruction, a world of systems, Economic, Social, Spiritual … but there is hope of being saved by the special one, an anomely, one who’s willing to risk it all for those he loves. Not to mention the final showdown, where there is going to be only two camps, no sitting on the fence, and one must triumph over the other.
I know who’s going to win, DO YOU? Enjoy!
The Matrix is created by Hollywood… and so is the matrix conspiracy… Dont know if you ever heard about David Icke, he talked about something similar. Now how do I know this is bunk… because David Icke = Richard Brandson… He is an actor. So if he is an actor… I believe we should doubt, if not ignore, what he has to say. Everything is created by our minds… Our minds are influenced from external factors… but the impulses are created only by our own interpretations of what we think that is happening. We are not fed a story line, we are only fed a story line by TV, by fake news and fake events.
This is a very interesting question Rahul 🙂
Here is my thought. Interestingly enough you posted this question in 2010 and there have been new hyportheses/theories regarding this subject. I remember not too long ago I was reading about the notion that we could be living in a computer simulated world.
It could be possible that we do live in a “Matrix” but I am not sure if we will be around to find out. Our current knowledge span of computers and computation power lets us simulate a world to 100 trillionth of a meter which ofcourse is infinitely small. Assuming we treat the Matrix world as a simulation by the machines of us or just purely a virtual reality, we can find out if we do live in one by simulating the current universe we live in and/or finding the limitations of the simulation and breaking them. Also if I remember, the Matrix world looked like an utopia in the movie and there wasn’t any relative conflict between the humans themselves. Quite the opposite in our reality 🙂 Humans were technically used as a power source for the machines. Since the purpose of the humans in the Matrix was power generation for the Machines, then this raises the question of our existance on this planet or even perhaps, the universe.
A interesting question I always ask people is if they believe in aliens. Based on the sheer size of the observable universe we know, the chances of life forms in other galaxies (even our own) is very likely. What is your take on this? And if you believe there are alien life forms that are more advanced than us, why haven’t they made any contact yet?
Cheers 🙂
-Stoyan
This is a very interesting question Rahul 🙂
Here is my thought. Interestingly enough you posted this question in 2010 and there have been new hyportheses/theories regarding this subject. I remember not too long ago I was reading about the notion that we could be living in a computer simulated world.
It could be possible that we do live in a “Matrix” but I am not sure if we will be around to find out. Our current knowledge span of computers and computation power lets us simulate a world to 100 trillionth of a meter which ofcourse is infinitely small. Assuming we treat the Matrix world as a simulation by the machines of us or just purely a virtual reality, we can find out if we do live in one by simulating the current universe we live in and/or finding the limitations of the simulation and breaking them. Also if I remember, the Matrix world looked like an utopia in the movie and there wasn’t any relative conflict between the humans themselves. Quite the opposite in our reality 🙂 Humans were technically used as a power source for the machines. Since the purpose of the humans in the Matrix was power generation for the Machines, then this raises the question of our existance on this planet or even perhaps, the universe.
A interesting question I always ask people is if they believe in aliens. Based on the sheer size of the observable universe we know, the chances of life forms in other galaxies (even our own) is very likely. What is your take on this? And if you believe there are alien life forms that are more advanced than us, why haven’t they made any contact yet?
Cheers 🙂
-Stoyan
We are not in the matrix but rather in our own heads, 2.7 pounds is the matrix.
The whole point of the Matrix is that someone found out about it. This goes back a long way – Dan Galouye wrote “Counterfeit World” in 1956 around the same theme, Norman Spinrad had a surrealistic take on it in “No Direction Home”, and Greg Egan’s thoughts on it are also interesting – and disturbing.
I like to think I’d take the red pill…..