Taking The Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix
Wanna introduce a terrific book that I’ve read. It’s called ‘Taking The Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix’, edited by Glenn Yeffeth and introduced by David Gerrold. I found it one day while up on Level 7 ‘South-East Asian’ section of my uni’s library. Don’t ask why…
Anyways, this book is a terrific read for any Matrix fans out there (I’m one myself 
). It’s a collection of short, intellectually stimulating essays written by a variety of authors. They range from sci-fi writers, economists, academic philosophers, scientists, to religious authorities.
They explore The Matrix in a variety of contexts, comparing the similarities between our present reality with that presented in The Matrix, revealing the possibilities that Neo could be a metaphor for Jesus or The Buddha, and so on. You get the picture.
Although I’d rate all of those articles in it as good, I had a few favourites. Here they are:
1. Was Cypher Right? Part II - Lyle Zynda
Zynda, a philosopher, explores what is so bad about Cypher’s choice in reentering the Matrix. Isn’t enjoying juicy steaks and being a famous person a better way to live one’s ‘life’, compared to wearing tattered clothes, eating dribbly, tasteless food, while risking one’s life day in and day out going against the Machines? Does being in the ‘real’ world as oppose to a simulated one, that big of a deal, since our minds can’t differentiate between them?
3. Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction, and The Matrix - Robert Sawyer
Bestselling sci-fi author Robert Sawyer takes us on a fascinating trip in explaining sci-fiction’s long-held fascination with AI. He talks about many famous sci-fi works, including ones from William Gibson, Huxley, Assimov, 2001: A Space Oddessy, and more, and how they viewed AI through the times.
4. Glitches In The Matrix… And How To Fix Them - Peter B. Lloyd
This is an interesting dissection of the loopholes in The Matrix.
5. Why The Future Doesn’t Need Us - Bill Joy
Bill Joy, chief scientist for Sun, horrifies us with the potential darker side of technology. Can the evolution of technology gradually reduce humans into mere ‘cattles’? By deciding on all the important choices, thus rendering us with nothing else to do?
6. Are We Living In The Matrix? The Simulation Argument - Nick Bostrom
Yale philosopher Nick Bostrom considers the possibility that we might be living in the Matrix right now. This happens to be my favourite among these favourites listed here. By the end of his discourse, you’d start thinking that his proposal might no be as far-fetched as you had first thought.
So go grab a copy of this fascinating book now and check it out for yourself! One of my best reads for the year.
Did you knwow that Neo put his money in a book called Simulation and Simulacra XD
And yes, I agree that it’s a great book as well as the Matrix trilogy being great movies
Comment by Chewxy — June 9, 2006 @ 4:26 pm
Yeah, I’m aware of that. That book is on how our lives are increasingly detached from ‘reality’ and are now measured through ’simulations’. For example, we don’t really know how large a place is anymore, instead we rely on maps, simulations, to tell us that. Hence, pretty soon, we might use maps exclusively for that, and forget how the ‘real’ world (ie the real location) was like.
I tried reading the whole thing, but it just got too academic for me though
So I gather you’ve read Taking The Red Pill then? Great stuff
Comment by sigma — June 10, 2006 @ 1:22 am