OT: The Matrix (Was Re: OT: Re: art and language ...)

Joseph Fatula wrote at 2003-06-02 14:50:41 (-0700)
 > From: "Tim May" <butsuri@...>
 > >
 > > Really, I'd have quite liked it if they'd just understood that
 > > humans are not net energy sources.
 >
 > It was Morpheus who claimed that humans were a source of energy,
 > and he certainly didn't understand the whole picture.  Perhaps the
 > robots used people for a small amount of energy just on the side.
 > But the real reason people were in the Matrix at all was for their
 > protection.
 >

Well, of course, it can make a lot more sense if Morpheus is wrong.
But that does mean that neither he nor anyone he's talked to in Zion
about the history of the Matrix understands basic thermodynamics,
which seems rather unlikely.  Then again, perhaps he was lying for
some reason.  Actually, my favourite rationalization of this
particular incongruity is that we, the audience, are in the Matrix,
and the laws of thermodynamics are a fiction designed to make us less
likely to suspect that we are in fact being used as batteries.

In the interest of reducing the number of _wildly_ offtopic posts on
this list, I will now reply to Mark's post in this same post here that
is a reply to Joseph's post:

Mark J. Reed wrote at 2003-06-02 17:48:08 (-0400)

 > On Mon, Jun 02, 2003 at 11:00:35PM +0200, Andreas Johansson wrote:
 > > The Matrix may very possibly have the worst plot of any movie
 > > I've seen. "The thinking person's SF movie"? Armagedon (sp?)
 > > makes more sense ...
 >
 > Now, now, that's pure hyperbole. :)
 >
 > Yes, at the heart of the Matrix is the horribly incorrect belief
 > that humans are net energy producers.  Once you accept that, I
 > suppose it's not much more of a stretch to accept that we produce
 > energy better if we believe we're living our normal lives - thus
 > justifying the machines' creation of the Matrix, with all
 > complications thereunto appertaining, rather than just, say,
 > lobotomizing everyone at birth.  Or, as suggested over in PVP's
 > "Mootrix", just using cows instead, who are much less likely to
 > cause trouble by rebelling and wouldn't require anywhere near as
 > sophisticated a reality. :)
 >

Oh, if we're going to start involving webcomics in this discussion,
I'd like to suggest the following two strips from _Mac Hall_, because
I think they're funny:

http://www.MacHall.com/index.php?strip_id=193
http://www.MacHall.com/index.php?strip_id=194