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The Science of the Matrix
KamehamehaWarrior writes "Peter B. Lloyd, author of Taking The Red Pill: Science, Philosophy, and Religion in The Matrix, believes that many of the plot developments in "The Matrix" that seem to contradict the laws of physics, biology, etc. can actually be explained with a closer look at the science. He addresses issues such as "Can humans really be an energy source? How does the Matrix know what fried chicken taste like? Why do the rebels have to enter and exit the Matrix via a telephone system (that doesn't actually exist)?""
And y'all thought Trekkies were over the top.
Carousel is a lie!
/.'ed after 2 comments. Direct connect to the brainstem needs more bandwidth than this!
Anything matrix related is good by me. I've been reading a lot more of the philosophy section of the website lately, and I've also been reading any posts like the one above regarding the theory and science behind the movies/plot/story.
To be honest, I had no idea "how deep the rabbit hole" really went. The Wachowski brothers are brilliant IMHO, and have one of the most immersive universes I've ever seen. The movies aside, and franchisements out the window, this stands to be one of the most engrossing and amazing "thresholds" of our timeframe.
And although the naysayers might argue, the Matrix is to me, and many of my friends/family/colleauges, as Star Wars was to the generation two decades ago.
If it's anything like "
The Physics of Star Trek" then I'll pass. Can you say "fiction?"
Oh, and if it's been slashdotted, here are some mirrors:
Link 1
Link 2
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
The part about the human power plant is making me wonder. Why are they keeping the humans around if they are only using them for "parallel computing" and for managing the power plants? If I understand correctly, humans are pretty inefficient. We need to be fed, and the machines have to create the Matrix and regulate us in it.
Also, one would assume that a lot of machines can process information faster than a lot of human brains.
So my question is, why are the machines taking the risk of keeping the humans around? why not just kill us off.
This guy has too much time on his hands.
Basically he takes the movie he liked, the ideals and the perceptions, and he fills in the blanks.
Why do they use telephones?
Answer: It's a movie.
His Answer: They put network addresses on all data points along the matrix and blah blah blah
How does the blue/red pills work?
Answer: It's a movie.
His Answer: "the avatar's software module must be able to accept instructions to cancel out any given sensory input."
And, lastly, my favorite:
What/How does the Bugbot do/work?
Answer: It's a fucking movie.
His Answer: "Trinity says that Neo is "dangerous" to them before he is cleaned. We can infer that the bugbot is actually a munition, probably a semtex device that will detonate when it hears Morpheus's voice, killing both Neo and Morpheus and everyone else in the room."
This guy is just making shit up. Yet you know somewhere somebody is going to really put some thought and invest some time into thinking about this bullshit. Jeez. Where's Penn and Teller when you need em?
Or perhaps YOU need to get off your high horse, realize that things mean different things to different people. You find it offensive, others find it the most entertaining and engrossing movie they've ever watched. No need to cut people down for enjoying something just because you make a hobby of being condescending and rude.
I always just figured that they planted an exploit that allows them to hook their equipment into the simulation in the code that simulates the phone system, and the 'getting in/out through the phone system that doesn't exist' was just how it manifested itelf within the simulation.
:)
No big deal.
Code or be coded.
I think that he has fallen into the same trap as many philosophers in saying that human can have consciousness because their brains are made of neurons, and machines cannot because they are just software. Well, I think he's wrong. Neurons are a lot more deterministic than he thinks, and code can be very non-deterministic, especially when it's massively parallel and asynchronous. He is foolish to dismiss emergent properties out of hand, because they are a real phenomenon. For example, it is possible to construct a very detailed model of a neuron, but that won't tell you much about the human brain. Any sufficiently complex system will have properties that are not readily seen from the properties of its constituents
As for artificial intelligence, I think that it has not come yet for two reasons: First, the difficulty of the task was severely underestimated, and we simply don't have powerful enough computers working on it. Second, the machines that we have are deterministic, since we want to know what they're doing, but at the same time we want them to do something new and unexpected. Finally, I think that one of the hallmarks of consciousness is creating an internal model of the world and using it to predict what will happen. When machines can do this, they will have at least some consciousness.
This idea provides a neat solution to the problem of how the humans can outperform the computers in the Matrix, suggested above...
Consider this suggestion of running the Matrix process on the human brain as if it was a node in a distributed cluster. There's a great deal of Matrix information stored in the brain, but there's also a human consciousness alongside it in there, unaware that there's data flowing through your unused neurons. "Freeing your mind" could consist of gaining the ability to allow your consciousness to attach to the Matrix simulation the same way a debugger attaches to an existing process (or an aimbot attaches to CS), gain access to its data, and start poking values. The AIs would have to allow individual nodes to be authoritative to realize any net gain, so any changes you imagine to your own Matrix node would be propagated to others as reality, and you would be able to "will" your strength to increase the same way your aimbot can "will" perfect headshots at 100m. This would also explain why hacking the Matrix involves so much activity that resembles meditation/concentration techniques.
The guy's "explanation" of consciousness, though, is total junk. He thinks he knows what consciousness is, and why computers can't have it (but quantum computers can). He never explains why quantum computers could have it though (it's in the "implementation," he says). He talks about it as if philosophers had solved the problem of consciousness decades ago and stupid scientists and engineers just can't realize the fact. He trots out the same old tired justifications based on the fact that computers are deterministic, dressed up in some new language. Give me a break! The question of whether computers can be conscious has not been answered, and may never be answered. I don't even think a suitable definition of the term has been found and agreed upon. And if a person ever does answer the question for real, I can guarantee it won't be a philosopher. Most likely it will be the computer scientist who programs the first conscious computer.
main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
my guess is that this is a movie.
or
My guess is that the writers thought "Let's leave a whole bunch of questions unanswered so that people on slashdot can fantasize over how it is being done until their brains melt".
I think this guy put way too much thinking into a movie. I prefer the simple solutions for it, some :-)
:-)
of them matching his though...BTW, I've only
skimmed the article, don't have that much time
I agree with him on much of it, but wow, talk
about detail!
The Bioport--how can a socket in your head control your senses? How can it be inserted without killing you?
Easy enough. It fits with the massively parallel computer theory later. They need to figure out the
data transfer to and from brain, so this would be
the next step beyond that, control of the brain
to receive and send specific signals.
The Red Pill--since the pill is virtual, how can it throw Neo out of the Matrix?
This "red pill" meant to me that you are ready to
wake up from complete control. Sort of like you
were in hypnosis, now the fingers are snapped and
you're awake!
The Power Plant--can people really be an energy source?
Yes and no. I too thought of the brain power
theory. It seems to fit and makes for interesting
theories. (ie. does the Matrix run on human brains
for power and computing power as well? So humans
are feeding their own minds?)
Entering and Exiting the Matrix--why do the rebels need telephones to come and go?
This too I figured was a navagational issue. It
seems to be easier to send data around, so if you
knew of a data point, you could get to it. Why
certain ones? Perhaps so you don't go hunting
for that cordless between the cushions?
The Bugbot--what's the purpose of the bugbot?
Bugbot tells Agents where it is. Perhaps it's just
an identifier, a certain string? Look for that
string, and you've got him. Sort of how virus
scanners work?
Perceptions in the Matrix--how do the machines know what fried chicken tastes like?
Completely made up and arbitrary. Does it matter?
Neo's Mastery of the Avatar--how can Neo fly?
Neo can fly because he's mastered the Matrix. I
thought of it more as he can now reshape the
Matrix near him to do what he wants. Kind of like
a virus, or bug.
Consciousness and the Matrix--are the machines in the Matrix alive and conscious? Or are they only machines, intelligent but mindless?
Both. Give it kind of a Terminator scenario,
except keep the humans, their brains and body
come in handy. The machines are just overthrowing
the people that built them, perhaps they
got out of hand too.
Vip
He says that the reason Neo (and the others) have superhuman powers in the matrix is because they figure out ways to use their interface in unpredicted ways and use otherwise agent-only APIs to the avatar software.
That makes sense for Morpheus, Trinity, et al. They have superhuman powers that are comparable to the agents. However, it is said that the agents, finally, are limited by certain physical rules, and the reason that Neo is special is that he is not limited by those same rules. He can rewrite the matrix.
There are ten million different perfectly acceptable software-design explanations for these mechanics. However, the author has described none of them. If he's using special APIs, then the agents would be able to do the same shit.
Perhaps he can change code in the virtual machine (hehe. pun.). Perhaps he can change source. Perhaps he realized that the matrix was using strcpy() for a root-level process. Like I said, there are ten million different ways to explain this. But the author is wrong, and exhibits a simple failure to understand the actual movie.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
Hey, don't knock it. Do you know how much easier it is to explain philospical concepts to my friends when I can start by saying, "Remember that scene in the Matrix? It's like that except..." ?
omnia tua castra sunt nobis
Trinity's breasts?. Dude, what version are you watching? ;)
;) ) aren't that revealing. We never see any skin, let alone cleavage. The other interesting thing about her is that she was fairly old (by action movie action actress standards) when she made this movie (32).
I mean, I like quite a bit Carrie Anne Moss, but the first word that comes to mind when I think of her is not "stacked". She's what? A "B" cup? Maybe? The outfits she wears (although they're extremely tight
I think the reason she connects so well is because she simply kicks ASS. The first time I saw the Matrix, I knew nothing about it going in I was absolutely and completely blown away by the solid ASS KICKING Trinity delivers in the first 10 minutes. I was completely sold on the movie.
It seems like Sci Fi is more open to the idea of the ass kicking lead chick. Check out Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver for more proof. I wonder why this is so much more common in Sci Fi movies than in general release action movies, which tend to be all-male affairs?
"...you can steal my woman, but you ain't done nuthin' smart."