What does the film "The
Matrix" suggest about the nature of reality, our ability to distinguish
between what is real and what is not, and the value of life in and out
of the 'Matrix'?
Due September 13, 2012
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12 comments:
Reality is our perception of our surroundings. That is why so many people try to alter their perceptions with substances. I feel that we each create our own reality with our thoughts and ideas about where we fit in the world. We are holding our own selves back from greatness because our perceptions about who we are and who we can be. Part of this comes from what people tell us. But the rest of this comes from believing what we tell ourselves as well.
We are here to learn, but many times we learn to limit ourselves. The socialization we go through to fit into our society is also a big part of our reality. I recently read some interesting stuff:
physicists have been theorizing the possibility of lower dimensionality, in which the universe has only two or even one spatial dimension(s), along with one dimension of time. The theories suggest that the lower dimensions occurred in the past when the universe was much smaller and had a much higher energy level (and temperature) than today. Further, it appears that the concept of lower dimensions may already have some experimental evidence in cosmic ray observations.
Now in a new study, physicists Jonas Mureika from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, and Dejan Stojkovic from SUNY at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, have proposed a new and independent method for experimentally detecting lower dimensions. They’ve published their study in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.
In 2010, a team of physicists including Stojkovic proposed a lower-dimensional framework in which spacetime is fundamentally a (1 + 1)-dimensional universe (meaning it contains one spatial dimension and one time dimension). In other words, the universe is a straight line that is “wrapped up” in such a way so that it appears (3 + 1)-dimensional at today’s higher energy scales, which is what we see.
The scientists don’t know the exact energy levels (or the exact age of the universe) when the transitions between dimensions occurred. However, they think that the universe’s energy level and size directly determine its number of dimensions, and that the number of dimensions evolves over time as the energy and size change. They predict that the transition from a (1 + 1)- to a (2 + 1)-dimensional universe happened when the temperature of the universe was about 100 TeV (teraelectronvolts) or less, and the transition from a (2 + 1)- to a (3 + 1)-dimensional universe happened later at about 1 TeV. Today, the temperature of the universe is about 10-3 eV. –PHYORG.COM
How transient is life? death? how closely are they related. We dread and fear death but do we dread and fear living as well?
Wow! I am not sure if I can top that Miss Rachel!! Great thoughts!
Reality.....what is reality to me? Could reality be what we see on T.V.?
Could it be the shows that we watch, the commercials that look like peoples lives are just the same as or maybe worse or better than ours? I think that reality is highly individual! Sure, the things we see in ads, T.V. actually come from real life.....but most the time it is over glamorized!
I think Rachel hit the answer out of the park. It is extremely true that the movie depicts the concept that reality is our perception of our surroundings. And that we each whether we realize it or not, do really alter our every day lives and beliefs do to the things around us or that are occurring around us. There are two quotes from the movie that stuck out to me.
The first one is, " I'd like to share a revelation that I've had, during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure." This caught my attention because if we take a second to analyze the message he is trying to convey, it is that in reality humans are their own enemies, we are the answer to all of our lives problems, in my opinion. The second one was, "The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." We all have that place that we can go to run from reality and make our own reality that's better then the one that is occurring. Its the way we all live. Its easier then facing things and owning up to what we have to face.
So many good ones above.
The film suggests that our reality isn't real and we're living by a computer. What we can see, hear, smell, touch are what we believe is real. The value of life out of the matrix is we can control the world inside the matrix.
"The Matrix" suggests that reality is only what is perceived by the mind. The diference between a computer program sending impulses and signals to the brain is no diferent that the natural, biological impulses sent by the five senses to the brain. In effect, the reality of the individual is the only "real" reality. It is like the philisophical debate of if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound. "The Matrix", on one level suggests that, for an individual reality, that it would not. Even though in a greater context we all know that the tree would make a sound.
The value of life in and out of the matrix as far as the movie shows us is that life in the matrix is on one level a better reality because it is not as harsh and hard as the real world. This point was made by the man in the movie that was silling to do anything to reenter the matrix at any cost. A much better substitute to his current reality of fighting a loosing war to not become a battery for an indestructable foe. This is what is happening in the real world, like was posted before where people are trying to alter their reality to escape the real with drugs and alcohol.
I feel that the matrix embraces reality from a point of Zen. It reflects real life in some ways because a person’s judgment is often altered by their surroundings. If you take away materialistic possessions and power, there would be a different standard in society. That theory could be applied to the matrix as well, because perception is reality.
I believe that Neo might have been Morpheus’s choice to be “the one”, but that’s from his perception. Ultimately, Neo had a choice between the red and blue pills. Our decisions in life are often clouded by distractions, consciously and unconsciously. A great example would be people that try to live beyond their means. Everyone starts with a clean slate on their credit report, but once you start opening credit cards and buying things irrationally, you tend to fall behind because you couldn’t really afford it from the beginning. The point I am trying to make is; the value of life is often overlooked because of our inability to see the difference between the “nature of reality” and our “nature of society”.
First of all, there are biological conditions we have to consider, meaning that how our brains work in order to produce an image, how we are able to see colors etc... Next, we are able to alter our reality, in this case, it was done through computers. With technology, its more prevalent now than before, especially with avatars, similar how the characters in the movie would sit in the chair and "plug in" to the computer software. It's definitely all very interesting, i think we need balance between our biological realities and the higher thinking planes.
Hi
We can make our minds think we are part of this world, which we call reality. When reality we are in the "matrix"
The value of life is important both in and out of the matrix if we choose our use of mind right.
I believe that it is getting harder to distinguish between what is reality and what is not reality. I also believe that it is going to harder to the point that we may not truly know what reality is and what is not due to fast growing technical and drug worlds. As for the value of life in and out of the matrix that’s hard to say you hear about people all the time who get addicted to those online role playing games and value that life more than their real life that they have real jobs and real physical contact in.
Joseph ni
The matrix suggests and alternate reaility thats in essence the true reaility of our existance. Within both reailities we have laws to live by, but unlike in our false reaility, in true reaility those physical laws can be bent or broken depending how much you beleive you can change. Mentally are we obligated to find and understand this true reaility, and what difference would we make in obtaining such knowledge? Thats what i get out of the film the Matrix.
The film "The Matrix" suggest that the nature of reality is in fact, not real at all. This film suggest society as we see it is a systematical configuration by the "Architect". Those whose minds have been freed from the "Matrix" are able to see the world as it actually is. Most of society is unaware of the truth in which they live in, therefore, unable to distinguish what is real and what is not. Those who are within the Matrix are not valued as having a life because they are connected to the "Matrix". They are considered programs and those programs without a purpose are disposed of; just like when deleting old files off of a computer. For those who's minds have been "freed" from the "Matrix" all life is valuable. From the "Architects" perspective, those not connected to the "Matrix" (those whose minds have been freed) are an imbalance of an equation not done correctly and not valuable
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