What is the Matrix?

This thread is the continuation of a discussion about the nature of the Matrix from http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/...72?.  GypsyJuggler suggested that I move the discussion to the Matrix Universe section, and even though I originally felt that it was related to the topic of the Intruder and his apparent infatuation with Neo and Trinity, I have decided that I will follow the guidelines of this forum and keep the topic in the proper designated place.  Any who choose to follow this discussion from the other thread may do so here.  Below is my last post on the other thread:

So getting back to the issue of the difference between the Architect's version of the Matrix and the Oracle's, I explained that the difference is NOT that the Oracle's version allowed humans the option of rejection.  The Architect's version also had people rejecting it, which was evidenced by the fact that they DID reject it.  So now that we know what it's NOT, I'd like to explain what it IS.

The difference is that in the Oracle's version, the choice to accept or reject the Matrix is presented to the humans before they have a chance to reject it. 

In the Architect's version, the virtual world was set up and the Architect more or less watched from a distance, hoping that everything would turn out okay.  Eventually, everyone began rejecting it, and it proved to be a gigantic failure.  But the Oracle comes along and figures out that the problem is not to build a better world, but to come up with a way in which the humans feel like they chose it for themselves, rather than it being something they were trapped in.

It works very similarly to the scene in the first Matrix movie where Neo first meets Morpheus.  Morpheus offers Neo a blue pill and a red pill.  Morpheus explained the function of the blue pill by saying, "You take the blue pill, the story ends; you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe."  In other words, Neo would wake up from the experience probably believing that everything was just a dream.  From that point on, he would not concern himself with the Matrix ever again.  Taking the blue pill would be a concrete decision to turn one's back on the nagging feeling that something about the world isn't right.  This was the Oracle's secret weapon; not an overt blue pill such as the one Morpheus offered, but one that is offered in the subconscious of every single human.

These options were not offered in the Architect's version.  People accepted his version for a time, until their instincts told them that the world around them was not real.  Then they rejected it.  But the Oracle knew that if she could intercept people before they came to reject it, they could choose the blue pill and feel like they were in control of their destiny.  The genius of the subconscious blue pill is that even though people will not have any conscious memory of having made the choice, it serves to quiet their instinctive nature that tells them that their world is fake.  There is a residual peace left over from the choice they made which causes them to accept the Matrix for the rest of their lives.  The Oracle herself somewhat describes this process at the end of her very first meeting with Neo.  As he's leaving, she hands him a cookie and says, "Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel right as rain."  Indeed.

This is why the Oracle's version works.  Not because she packaged the Matrix differently (although the cosmetic changes were there), but because she packaged people's options differently.  The Oracle's version is best described by the Merovingian, who said, "Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without."  Truly, the Oracle's Matrix was so effective because it placed the power of illusion directly in the hands of the people themselves.  Being an expert at the human psyche, the Oracle knew that if actually given a choice between forgetting that they're trapped so they can live out their lives oblivious or knowing the truth about their world but being trapped in it for the rest of their lives, people would choose to deceive themselves.  Denial is extremely powerful, and the Wachowski Brothers are showing that they believe it is the most powerful narcotic of the masses.  And as the Architect said, "Denial is the most predictable of all human responses."

But even though the Oracle had attained nearly 99% acceptance, there were still 1% of the population that subconsciously rejected her version of the Matrix.  The next question is, what happens when someone rejects the Oracle's Matrix?

The next question is, what happens when someone rejects the Oracle's Matrix?

I think the key difference between previous versions of the Matrix and our current one is the ratio of success/failure the bluepills experience in their lives.  Think of it as the 'struggle factor'.  In the first Matrix there was nothing to strive for and the simulation was regected en-masse, the next version went the other way and failed similarly.  Come to think of it, this is a lot like how you'd expect a machine to explore the phase space of a project - first they tried 0, then 1 and then they explored the values in between.  The routine used to sample data and calculate the next value is known to us as the Oracle and after so many iterations she's getting pretty close.  Anyway, my point was that in the current version a bluepill can set goals and achieve them in a way that leads to personal satisfaction rather than doubt. 

My last post from the previous thread:

GypsyJuggler wrote:

I think the key difference between previous versions of the Matrix and our current one is the ratio of success/failure the bluepills experience in their lives.  Think of it as the 'struggle factor'.  In the first Matrix there was nothing to strive for and the simulation was regected en-masse, the next version went the other way and failed similarly.  Come to think of it, this is a lot like how you'd expect a machine to explore the phase space of a project - first they tried 0, then 1 and then they explored the values in between.  The routine used to sample data and calculate the next value is known to us as the Oracle and after so many iterations she's getting pretty close.  Anyway, my point was that in the current version a bluepill can set goals and achieve them in a way that leads to personal satisfaction rather than doubt. 

That's where Neo comes in. As the Architect pretty obviously stated, although Neo is human, he contains code that the machines designed in order to be the ultimate expression of every single error present in the matrix at the time, hence his fantastic powers.  That's what his purpose was - to be the summation of every error extant in the simulation. When his code was to be "temporarily disseminated", the matrix code took the "fix" to the errors he displayed and multiplied it however many times that error existed - basically the same (in essence) as jesus dying for the sins of humanity - one choice chosen to represent thousands, millions or more choices.

Surfel wrote:

That's where Neo comes in. As the Architect pretty obviously stated, although Neo is human, he contains code that the machines designed in order to be the ultimate expression of every single error present in the matrix at the time, hence his fantastic powers.  That's what his purpose was - to be the summation of every error extant in the simulation. When his code was to be "temporarily disseminated", the matrix code took the "fix" to the errors he displayed and multiplied it however many times that error existed - basically the same (in essence) as jesus dying for the sins of humanity - one choice chosen to represent thousands, millions or more choices.

The Machines didn't design the code, it was formed within the simulation as the sum of all the unbalanced equations and placed in a Human vessel. The Machines know of the code, they know what to do with it when necessary, but they didn't design it to happen, they just knew it had to happen for the simulation to run smoothly. Upon his supposed return to the source the equation becomes balanced and is then applied to the rest of the already balanced simulation. The fact that Neo didn't return to the source as his predecessors had just meant that the error could build further due to, in part, Smith thus increasing what Neo could do.

Your theory is fundamentally flawed and therefore incorrect.

To a machine, there ARE no values between 0 and 1. Period. It's either on/off, yes/no, up/down.  There's no "maybe" setting to a machine which actually is the sticking point for alot of them and the cause of their almost complete inability to understand humans - we can comprehend a maybe, they can't.

Vinia wrote:

Surfel wrote:

That's where Neo comes in. As the Architect pretty obviously stated, although Neo is human, he contains code that the machines designed in order to be the ultimate expression of every single error present in the matrix at the time, hence his fantastic powers.  That's what his purpose was - to be the summation of every error extant in the simulation. When his code was to be "temporarily disseminated", the matrix code took the "fix" to the errors he displayed and multiplied it however many times that error existed - basically the same (in essence) as jesus dying for the sins of humanity - one choice chosen to represent thousands, millions or more choices.

The Machines didn't design the code, it was formed within the simulation as the sum of all the unbalanced equations and placed in a Human vessel. The Machines know of the code, they know what to do with it when necessary, but they didn't design it to happen, they just knew it had to happen for the simulation to run smoothly. Upon his supposed return to the source the equation becomes balanced and is then applied to the rest of the already balanced simulation. The fact that Neo didn't return to the source as his predecessors had just meant that the error could build further due to, in part, Smith thus increasing what Neo could do.

Errors in a computer system don't spontaneously undergo summation, it always requires outside input.

Also take the following quote from the Architect:

"Your 5 predecessors were, by design, based on a similar predication"

It's pretty much spelled out right there - Neo's emergence was crafted and designed at least partially by the machines as a response to a growing system anomaly.

GypsyJuggler wrote:

<stuff>

Your theory is fundamentally flawed and therefore incorrect.
To a machine, there ARE no values between 0 and 1. Period. It's either on/off, yes/no, up/down.  There's no "maybe" setting to a machine which actually is the sticking point for alot of them and the cause of their almost complete inability to understand humans - we can comprehend a maybe, they can't.

Let's pick up where we left off.  We've talked about the fact that in the Oracle's version she intercepts people before they have a chance to reject the Matrix and subconsciously presents the option to them of accepting or rejecting the Matrix.  Nearly 99% of the population chooses to accept the Matrix.  And keep in mind that these are the same people who, if left to their own devices, would have otherwise rejected it.  It's only because they are given the illusion of choice that they feel like they are in control of their own destiny and therefore accept the Matrix ("I'm not trapped here; I CHOSE to be here!".

But what about the 1% who rejects the Matrix?  What happens when refuse to accept its programming?  To answer that question, we must first look at the Architect's version.  When 100% of the people rejected it, the Matrix crashed and everyone hardwired to it died.  But what if the percentage of rejection was much lower?  What if it was only 1% of the population who rejected it?  Would it still crash?

Before we get into that, let's define some terms-especially since these terms can sometimes be given erroneous definitions.  The first term to define is "anomaly".  This word simply means an aberration from the accepted norm.  And in the case of the Oracle's version, 99% acceptance of the Matrix is the norm.  Therefore, when someone rejects the Matrix, that choice is an anomaly.  When the Architect is talking to Neo and uses the word "anomaly" he is talking about the choice to reject the Matrix-not to Neo himself (more on that in a later post).  So what effect does this anomaly-this subconscious choice to reject the Matrix-have?  There are a couple of effects: there is one on the Matrix and one on the person making the rejection. 

As far as the effect on the person, what happens is that they have what Morpheus describes as a "splinter in the mind".  Morpheus told Neo, "You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up."  This is because at some point in the past (even before the point in time when we first see him in the first movie) when Neo had been given the subconscious option to accept or reject the Matrix, he had rejected it.  And even though this took place only in his subconscious mind, there was a residual effect that carried over into his waking life.  Neo felt that there was something wrong with the world, but he couldn't figure out what it was.  And so it is with all those who make the subconscious choice to reject the Matrix.

But what about the effects of the anomaly on the Matrix itself?  Obviously, when a single person rejects it, it does not immediately crash.  Nor does it crash when thousands of people reject it.  But each single rejection-each anomaly-is like bad code in the system that slowly builds up.  Think of it like a yes/no decision tree in which the "yes" branch leads somewhere, but the "no" branch leads nowhere.  Making a "no" choice creates bad code in the Matrix.  And if this bad code is not taken care of, it will eventually cause the entire system to crash.  So really, the Oracle's Matrix will crash just like the Architect's will; the only difference is that the Oracle's Matrix will take much longer to do so.  By finding a way to achieve nearly 99% acceptance, the Oracle has not actually solved the problem-she has merely postponed the inevitable.

Another term to define is the "unbalanced equation" of which the Architect speaks.  The equation refers to the percentage of acceptance by those who are hardwired to the Matrix.  100% acceptance would equal a balanced equation.  But the presence of the 1% rejection rate is what causes the Matrix to have an unbalanced equation.  The Matrix is designed in such a way that even a single rejection causes an unbalance.  And if a way is not found to somehow balance this equation, then eventually it will crash.

The final term to define is the "systemic anomaly".  This term refers to the slow yet eventual buildup of many anomalies (rejections), and is so named because of the resulting system-wide effect on the Matrix.  The Architect tells Neo that the systemic anomaly creates fluctuations in even the most simplistic equations.  This is the Architect's way of saying that humanity is unpredictable, and one unpredictable action leads to another, and another, and another-much like the way in which the chaos theory functions.  The rejection of the Matrix by the 1% is a problem that begets more problems.  And unless a solution is found, the Matrix-and all those hardwired to it-are doomed.

a huge *blinking* lie...

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