Thursday, September 18, 2008

Choice, Reality and The Matrix

The Matrix is a classic re-watch movie. Even if it's stuck on TBS with 37 minutes of commercials per hour you still stop and watch, at least for a while.

The central theme of the trilogy of course is that of "choice." At every major moment the character must decide - red pill or blue, Neo or Morpheus, Trinity or humanity.

Last night I stopped to watch the "red pill vs. blue pill scene" and of course made the analogy of how this is the same we all face. The universe acts in the role of Morpheus. It can hand us the red pill and blue, but it is up to US to make the choice. Do we choose to see a purpose? Or do we choose to remain ignorant?

Of course, in the Matrix the choice is between mind and body - both of which are still ultimately physical. For a parallelist (or any dualist) the choice is that of spirit and physical.

None of this is particularly new. The Matrix has long been cited as a pop culture philosophy experiment. But here was the part that really hit me last night.

Going with the red pill did NOT make the Matrix less real. Watching the scene I sat there thinking about how the final movie in the trilogy ends. That final sunrise for a new dawn of humanity takes place INSIDE the Matrix! It was only after choosing to embrace the parallel world outside the Matrix, did the world within the Matrix become fully realized.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Brain Cramp

Got away from the blog for a bit and caught some errors in the setup. Fixed them now but sorry if any feedback got lost.

But hey, don't blame me, it was my neurons.