Blogging Around

Nikki's Dialectics: The Matrix Is and Isn't Possible

Nikki's excellently written blog post discusses reasons why the Matrix, the actual entity, the is and isn't probable. She also gets down on a very metacognitive level and hypothesizes about what about our "reality" might actually change, if anything at all, if we were living in the Matrix. Lastly, she also discusses an important theme that was mentioned in the follow-up essays on The Matrix which we read: the difference between impossibility and improbability--the only two words which we can use to make claims about something with an existence that we question and that has potential to live inside and outside of our minds.

Nikki,
I would first like to compliment you on how well you encapsulated what we did in class and secondly on how well you articulated some of the things we couldn't quite make the reach as a class to propose. Well done!

In response to the way in which you thought about the Matrix outside of our class discussion, especially when contemplating the possibility and probability of its existence, I completely agree. Since viewing the movie, I have thought about the implications which such an entity would have both on the world around me and myself. Your thoughts about how it would affect memory are a good summation of how it would impact our existence:--it wouldn't really because that's all we ever really would have known.

There was one sentence from your blog that really struck me and really got to the root of how vulnerable we really are and how the Matrix is designed to capitalize on those weaknesses. Here it is:
"We all put so much trust into our memories and experiences, fully believing in everything, that it would be almost impossible for us to turn around and realize that no, it wasn't real." Yes. That's exactly right! It's correct in the sense that it rationalizes the existence of such a thing we know as the Matrix, playing off of our paranoia after seeing the movie, but it is also a really good lesson for us. It's important for us to confide in our memory because I feel that it often keeps me sane in times of distress, but we also need to know when to step back into the present and open our mind to what's around us (be careful!) so as not to become so ingrained in our patterns--what the Matrix thrives off of.
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David's Metacognition: The Jane Eyre Mashup

In this blog, David thinks back on his group's mashup, hence "metacognition." More importantly, he recognized the dynamics of the group's thinking and didn't hesitate to note the group's shortcomings. Having been in many groups, I know how easy it is to want to blame the other members of the group for something that didn't turn about as well as you might have hoped or for something that didn't go according to planned. What was extremely mature, and sincere, might I add, was that David was able to examine his own struggles with this project and look at how it affected his group rather than bashing his group. Like I said, very mature.

David,

A you may get the sense from the introduction above, I am very impressed with you. However, I do think that it's is important for you to cut yourself a little bit of slack. While reading, I felt you react very strongly to your own ability to get a bit distracted while doing this assignment. I wouldn't get too worried or concerned about it if I were you because I think we all had similar issues. Also, the fact that this deceptively difficult assignment is trying to converge, like you said, 50+ often diverging elements doesn't make it any easier!

Another important topic which you mentioned was the plateauing of your and your group members' work ethic. Again, I think everybody experienced that to varying degrees throughout the course of this project. However, when I wanted to call it quits on this project at certain points, I came to find that an answer to the problem with the mashup, or my thinking, that I was trying to solve was often just around the corner, much to my surprise. My only advice is hang in there! because I think that you would have been surprised by what you might have found, too.

I am glad that this assignment gave you an opportunity to delve into the dynamics of your thinking and truly analyze how it works. I think the lessons you have learned will serve you very well in almost anything you have to work hard for in the future and I wish you all the very best.

Nice job, David.

Dialectics: The Matrix--Control and Submission

When I think about The Matrix and the following discussion in class, all I can think about is how turned around I felt and feel when I try and contemplate what it's trying to tell me. I hate it because I know that's exactly what it is trying to make me feel. So it's controlling me, even though thinking about the Matrix itself and acknowledging parallels to my life should be liberating, right? In other words, I think why I get so lost is because this movie thrives and can only exist on paradoxes/theses and antitheses/dialectics.

Here's the claim for you: escaping the Matrix's control, which was the equivalent of achieving freedom and autonomy, was only possible if he allowed himself to be controlled by figures and laws of the non-Matrix world. Essentially, I am stating that in order to escape the control of one captor, whether it be person or thing, we must submit ourselves to the control of another, so we are never truly free or autonomous--even if the captor which we choose to submit ourself to is much better than the initial captor.

One classic example of this is the "red or blue pill" decision. I believe that this is one of the only points in the movie when Neo has freedom and isn't subjected to anyone's authority. Due to human curiosity, he made the only decision that could be made. And, as a result, I believe that he still had the illusion of freedom when he worked under Morpheus, but was still controlled by the rules that Morpheus put in place for him, the general boundaries that the non-Matrix world posed for those living in it, and (to some extent) the prophecy that the oracle made for him. Looking at the facts, I determined, and I could very well be wrong in this, that the only way to free oneself and experience autonomy--or rather live in the space between two controlling worlds--was to do what Cypher did and determine his own fate. By no means is this the right call, but all I'm saying is that he recognized that after he left the Matrix, he was being controlled by another world. So, he basically took the red and blue pill--allowing him to see how far down the rabbit hole went while also being able to enjoy the illusion of a juicy Porterhouse.

I know--confusing, right?

Another example of this is what the Oracle has to offer. Despite Neo verbalizing how much he dislikes the idea of fate, he still ends up going to visit it's human embodiment (thanks to Morpheus). Before, Neo had allowed himself to be controlled by ignorance and, according to the oracle, believing incorrectly that he could be "the one" with out any validation for that claim. By visiting the oracle, he submits himself yet again to the control of an opposite world; he knowingly submitted himself to the control of the oracle, a world where he thought he would be entirely informed on his status as "the one." The funny part is that in this case, besides needing to hear what he did hear from the oracle, he was almost entirely free despite the illusion of control. Dialectics, everyone...

Translating this to pre-2199 times, the world in which we live today, we need to keep in mind what we buy into and how that compares or contorts to what we choose to submit ourselves to in the future. We need to ask ourselves: is this liberating or are there unforeseen boundaries that will confine me and even cap my right to govern myself? The line between the control of two opposing worlds is so fine in the Matrix, so I suppose it is the same way in our world, that it is nearly nonexistent. The Matrix is all about experiencing two worlds and using that experience to create a space for oneself on that incredibly fine line we know as freedom. There's more space than we realize, so we better start experiencing.