Activity 1 (make a blog post)
- Would you want to be released from the Matrix? Why or why not?
- Can you think of any institutions or concepts in our world that are like the Matrix?
- How is the way you understand the world, your ideas and beliefs, shaped by the actions of others?
- Who has the power to shape your ideas and beliefs? In what ways is this good and in what ways is it not so good?
Extension: Read Plato's Allegory of the Cave to get an idea of where the filmmakers got the idea for the movie.
Activity 2 (respond as a comment)
Let's pretend there is a machine that would let you experience absolutely ANYTHING that you wanted. If you've seen Total Recall, it's something like that (or the Holodeck on Star Trek). Be a rockstar, write a novel, become an astronaut, fall in love, invent cold fusion -- you could experience ANYTHING you wanted, just by programming the machine. You wouldn't be 'actually' experiencing these things; you'd be floating in some tank of water, being fed vitamins and nutrients through a tube. The illusion would be so perfect that you wouldn't know that it's an illusion.
- Do we care about certain things independent of the experiences they create for us? For example, is being in reality important even if the experience isn’t pleasant?
- Is it better to live happily in the Matrix than miserably in reality? Why or why not?
- How do we know that we are not in an experience machine? Can we prove we are not? How do we know that what we perceive is real?
4 comments:
In my opinion, being in reality is more important than being in an imaginary world where it's all good because without all the bad things in reality, what is "good". Without experiencing tough times, we generally wouldn't know what good times are because everything's either good, better, or best. Life becomes boring because if everything's perfect, what is there to live for? We would not have any failures to improve on nor do we have goals to grasp. Life becomes meaningless and people will slowly turn ungrateful for all the things they have, not realizing that in a parellel universe, many others are not lucky enough to experience what we have experienced in the world of illusion.
No, we don't know that we're not in an experience machine. We cannot prove that we are not because there's no way to escape this "world" we're living in right now, nor is there a way to realize that there's this whole other world that we know not of. We can only assume that what we perceive is real because it's been our routine since birth to do the things that we do and to perceive the things that we perceive. I guess the only way to know if we're in in an experience machine is to do rigorous research that wastes billions of dollars. Maybe, I don't know.
1. Do we care about certain things independent of the experiences they create for us? For example, is being in reality important even if the experience isn’t pleasant?
No, we don't care, or at least I don't. No, it's better to be in somewhere pleasant because no one likes unpleasantness.
2. Is it better to live happily in the Matrix than miserably in reality? Why or why not?
Yes, because i don't need to be worried about my life ending up badly or any other risk factors.
3. How do we know that we are not in an experience machine? Can we prove we are not? How do we know that what we perceive is real?
We don't know whether or not we are in an experience machine and we can't prove it because our perception and understanding of this "world" of ours is not deep enough, at least not deep enough to uncover whether or not our "world" is real or not.
Would you want to be released from the Matrix? Why or why not?
Of course I would. I strongly feel as though living in a dream just isn't real. I mean its extremely difficult to imagine and its one thing to say it and another to actually experience it. Neo in the film went through a lot of shock as he realized what reality was, if I suddenly woke up in a world where the human race was dying and humans were used as batteries for the AI I would be in extreme shock. Yet if the truth is revealed, what ever beliefs I had would have to shift into what is actually happening and it would take some time but I am positive that in the end I would want to live in reality rather than in some fictional dream world.
Can you think of any institutions or concepts in our world that are like the Matrix?
In my opinion I believe that games that we have such as Hasbro or Warcraft can be quite similar to the concept of Matrix. You lead an alternate life where you control and progress as a different character. You actually interact with others that are playing the same game as you which is also extremely similar to the Matrix concept. Teenagers in China had to go through rehab because of this addiction and it is very much the same with the Matrix, an escape to a better world that will never provide you with real satisfaction, just comfort.
How is the way you understand the world, your ideas and beliefs, shaped by the actions of others?
Well, our friends are a big part of who we are and who we become. You can hang out with the wrong people and get influenced, succumb to peer pressure and end up doing things that were never really what you wanted. You get used to it, you decide and believe you like it and change. This works vice versa and I believe that through socializing and interacting, that is how we gain our knowledge and character.
Who has the power to shape your ideas and beliefs? In what ways is this good and in what ways is it not so good?
Parents are huge on part of shaping our ideas and beliefs. From when your a baby, your parents are there taking care of you, you build healthy trust and love for each other. Listening to them becomes second nature and therefore what they believe is what you believe. For most of your childhood, they are the people that instill your moral codes and integrity. This is great if your parents have the knowledge and an open mind, if they have issues socializing or go against good conscience then no matter how you think, until you gain the knowledge yourself, you will follow your parents. By the time you can think for yourself, it could be too late and the way you think will never be changed again.
Do we care about certain things independent of the experiences they create for us? For example, is being in reality important even if the experience isn’t pleasant?
• Everyone seeks the truth, being in a machine controlled by someone else without perceiving our sense is not the truth. People say the truth are not always pleasant and some of us still wants to know the truth any way, this is the reason why experiencing the reality is important though life might not be as pleasant.
Is it better to live happily in the Matrix than miserably in reality? Why or why not?
⁃ Being able to have feelings and think the way you naturally do is very important. So, I personally think that living miserably in reality is better than living happily in matrix. I'm sure most people want to take control of their lives, including myself, in Matrix we do not have the chance to think or feel for ourselves.
How do we know that we are not in an experience machine? Can we prove we are not? How do we know that what we perceive is real?
⁃ In reality, you can surely feel pain, happiness, sadness and all the other emotions. Though we cannot prove that we are not in an experience machine, but our senses, feelings and the choices we make every day are the things that are helping us believe that we are not in a machine.
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