Exploring the Possibility of the Matrix: Debunking Theories

[jfoldbar]

im wondering if anyone has any plausible theories that would disprove the possibility of the matrix?
ive doe quite a few google searches and all i can find is the concept is quite possible. but surely there must be some ideas that would imply it can't be.

 

[Drakkith]

Other than the ridiculous idea that we're all just batteries for the machines (a terribly inefficient way to generate power), there's nothing I know of that would kill the idea.

 

[jfoldbar]

hhhmmm. very good. in the movie we are batteries for the machines.
but,what if we are in a matrix for a machine or entity who does not have us to generate electricity but instead has us just for the hell of it.

 

[rootone]

I try not make movies influence my life, it's entertainment,
or there is this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism

 

[jfoldbar]

wow, that's deep. though it doesn't have much to do with the subject

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

First off, nobody has to prove a negative. If you make a positive statement, "the Matrix could be real", then you have to prove it.

Second, it they were going to use animals as batteries, why not use cows? No rebellion likely there.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Other than the ridiculous idea that we're all just batteries for the machines (a terribly inefficient way to generate power), there's nothing I know of that would kill the idea.

Supposedly the original script was something different but the studio demanded it be changed to something very simple that people could understand :/

 

[zwierz]

im wondering if anyone has any plausible theories that would disprove the possibility of the matrix?

in other words you are wondering if anyone has any plausible theories that would disprove the Supreme Mind being? :)

 

[gleem]

I just became aware of a controversy that is being popularized by Elon Musk. Are we living in a simulation now.

http://www.theplaidzebra.com/musk-borstroms-computer-simulation-theory-isnt-crazy-first-sounds/

Is the granularity of our universe , the discreteness we see in quantum physics, just the "pixels" of this simulation created by some super intelligent race for their entertainment? Think of Steven Kings "Dome" also.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Or Odin created the Universe.

 

[jfoldbar]

i guess u guys miss the point of the oq. I am not trying to prove the matrix. i don't believe we are in it. I am not trying to prove a supreme being(god).
its just a topic of conversation. a question I've sometimes wondered. especially when, as gleem found, we have people like elon musk giving reasons why we 'could' be in some come of matrix. there must be reasons why we 'couldnt' as well.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Well, proving a negative is not required.

 

[jfoldbar]

dont you get it noisy rhysling, i don't want anyone to 'prove' anything. i just want ideas. this is not a court.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

dont you get it noisy rhysling, i don't want anyone to 'prove' anything. i just want ideas. this is not a court.

"there must be reasons why we 'couldnt' as well."
We don't have to prove a negative. For example, we can't prove that somewhere in this vast universe there is no being exactly like the traditional Santa Claus. It is therefore left to the people making extraordinary claims to provide extraordinary evidence to support them.

 

[jedishrfu]

This is an example where Occams Razor can apply:

Is the notion of living in a matrix or simulation more or less likely than living in the world we live in with natural laws that are quite consistent to the best of our understanding?

How many programs do you know that are as error free and consistent?

Hence by the principle of Occams Razor the real world is a simpler if not complex premise.

 

[Drakkith]

i guess u guys miss the point of the oq.

On the contrary, we understand the question quite well. It is you who does not understand the replies given. We cannot prove that the matrix is impossible. We can give reasons why it is implausible (as Jedishrfu just did while I was typing up this post), but that's not what you asked for in your original question. Is that what you actually meant?

 

[jedishrfu]

In a computational physics course I took a few years ago, we learned that the error introduced by the algorithm we chose to model a physical system would appear as energy gained or lost from external sources. The trick of course was to use the proper ODE solver for the problem we were modeling that minimized error over time.

We started to speculate backwards about living in a matrix via the energy is error notion and it got too heady for our programming impaired prof who was new to Java and Object Oriented programming.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Thread closed, too much speculation, not enough about the movie.