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Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

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Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#21

Post by mindslight »

octopusRex wrote: post #14
tyingq wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did find it amusing that one of them, in this discussion of life changing trends, was most concerned they might be forced to use an electric or hybrid car.

It is bizarre.

It's painful to read because reactionary politics is one of the barest systems of control there is. The tragedy of presenting blue pill vs red pill as some all-encompassing dichotomy is the people who become aware of one social delusion and then think that a single realization means they've got everything figured out. The reality of trying to live in the red pill universe is having to remain ever vigilant for the never ending stream of pleasant-feeling memetic traps everywhere, including even for things that others describe as being red pills.

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#22

Post by satvikpendem »

skywal_l wrote: post #13
peutetre wrote: post #2

> Agent Smith: "Have you ever stood and stared at it, marveled at it’s beauty, it’s genius? Billions of people just living out their lives, oblivious. Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world. Where none suffered. Where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed that we lacked the programming language to describ…

> the peak of your civilization The more I think of it, the more I think this time was the actual peak of civilization (from a westerner's point of view). The Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Nagano in 98, when the world was singing the Ode to Joy was that peak moment for me [0]. After that, it went all downhill. [0] https://youtu.be/7aGNei01fzQ?feature=shared&t=6290

Recency bias. You were alive then and likely those were your formative years. If you were a Gen Z-er, you'd think that the "actual peak" were very different.

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#23

Post by Jakks »

twojobsoneboss wrote: post #5

I have increasingly thought of this, how our current lives are ever more reminiscent of the matrix, being confined in our isolating community-less suburban “pods”, zombiefied on our phones, with no money or safety net to do much else, passing each day like the last

Well said.

This is also increasingly on my mind.

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#24

Post by parthianshotgun »

JohnBrookz wrote: post #12

Maybe I’m surrounded by the wrong people, but even amongst my educated peers their opinions are regurgitated. Not even from an interesting author but what they’ve seen online or in mainstream culture. The only exception being my contrarian friend but his opinions aren’t any more intelligent, just different. Has this really been any different since the dawn of modern propaganda though? The only difference is now we us…

Maybe you can start by asking the right questions

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#25

Post by parthianshotgun »

twojobsoneboss wrote: post #5

I have increasingly thought of this, how our current lives are ever more reminiscent of the matrix, being confined in our isolating community-less suburban “pods”, zombiefied on our phones, with no money or safety net to do much else, passing each day like the last

Is art imitating reality or the other way round?

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#26

Post by ctchocula »

kromem wrote: post #18

I always find it so interesting when people are eagerly ready to adopt The Matrix as metaphor for whatever they don't like, but are often vehemently against entertaining it as a literal concept. 25 years ago I thought "that's neat" for a clever film twist. Much like the Sixth Sense. But then a few years later I read Nick Bostrom's op-ed in the NYT, and started considering the notion seriously. In the time since The M…

People don't use the metaphor literally because it doesn't make sense from a 2nd Law of Thermodynamics perspective. If the Matrix was created by AGI for thr sake of producing energy, it would make no sense at all to keep humans around in pods, because it costs them more energy to keep a human alive than what they get out of the human.

The movie producers realized the problem in later movies and added some mumbojumbo that they were keeping humans around for their neural networks, but that still requires the viewer to take it on faith.

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#27

Post by hodgesrm »

> But in a strange way, the film has become more relevant today than it was in 1999. With the rise of the smartphone and social media, genuine human interaction has dropped precipitously.

This is an interesting comment, because reading a book involves interaction with a text rather than other human beings. Yet we consider that (for the most part) a beneficial thing even though reading a thick book is kind of like putting up a "do not disturb" sign.

The problem is more that social media are extremely addictive. Users are more like Lotos Eaters [0] than inhabitants of Plato's cave.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus-eaters

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#29

Post by zarathustreal »

pyinstallwoes wrote: post #15
JohnBrookz wrote: post #12

Maybe I’m surrounded by the wrong people, but even amongst my educated peers their opinions are regurgitated. Not even from an interesting author but what they’ve seen online or in mainstream culture. The only exception being my contrarian friend but his opinions aren’t any more intelligent, just different. Has this really been any different since the dawn of modern propaganda though? The only difference is now we us…

I’ve always wondered how many truly unique brains are active at any given moment. How many words are parrots vs source?

The notion of source is an illusion. We’re all just echos of the physical processes that created us and perpetuate us.

Re: Are we all trapped in The Matrix 25 years later?

#30

Post by abracadaniel »

satvikpendem wrote: post #22
skywal_l wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the peak of your civilization The more I think of it, the more I think this time was the actual peak of civilization (from a westerner's point of view). The Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Nagano in 98, when the world was singing the Ode to Joy was that peak moment for me [0]. After that, it went all downhill. [0] https://youtu.be/7aGNei01fzQ?feature=shared&t=6290

Recency bias. You were alive then and likely those were your formative years. If you were a Gen Z-er, you'd think that the "actual peak" were very different.

Previously, the “good old days” were the 1950’s before it all went “downhill”. I’m sure the 1890’s were someone’s golden age before electricity ruined everything.
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