The Matrix (film 1999)/ Parallel Worlds - Michio Kaku

Last night,  I watched 'The Matrix' on TV -  for the second time in my life (so far). I remember that when I watched it for the first time (when it was realesed 14 years ago or some time after that)  I was not impressed. Somehow it did not appeal to me, and it seemed just silly. I do not think I even concentrated on it much (do not remember whether it was in a cinema or a video at home). And as I didn't think much of it then, I never intended to watch the sequels 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Matrix Revolutions'.

Well, over the years my views and interests obviously have changed. I have watched quite a number of different scientific series about the Universe/space and physics, as well as read a few books regarding space, science, quantum physics etc. They are all intended for general public, hence,  made easier to understand by individuals like myself (with a very limited knowledge of maths and sciences).

I must say this time round, I fairly enjoyed the film, and I am going to get hold of the sequels. In the film, humanity is mentally living in a simulation world called 'The Matrix', while in fact they never actually move from one place, their bodies being attached to tubes, providing energy = acting as batteries to intelligent machines. Humans are completely unaware of the situation, and live their entire lives within the program (The Matrix). The main character, Neo, gets awaken, gets disconnected from the tubes and set free. He is made aware of the situation and joins the rebellion against the machines.  There are a lot of references to 'Alice in Wonderland' (Alice, in my opinion, is a fenomenal story), suggesting the questions: What is real? What is reality and what a dream?

That reminds me a lot of the famous 'Butterfly Dream' of a chinese phylosopher (Chuang Tzu). Chuang Tzu once had a dream, in which he was a butterfly, and when he awoke he was Chuang Tzu again, so then he started wondering whether he was a human dreaming that he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming that he was a human. Something along those lines anyway.

Also,  Plato's 'allegory of the cave' where the prisoners, who (their whole lives) see only shadows on the wall (shadows of the real word), would grow to believe that the shadows are the reality.

What is reality? What is truly real? - Who could possibly answer this question for sure?

In the book 'Parallel Worlds', which I read about 2 years ago, Michio Kaku - a leading world scientist -  touches a lot of subjects that are absolutely mind blowing. He introduces the reader into the idea of parallel universes (in one of the theories parallel universes are different realities in which everytime a person makes a decision a new universe is created with the opposite decision being taken), quantum physics (where pretty much anything is possible),  types of civilizations that might be able to harness the energy of the sun and stars or even galaxies, travel through warmholes and use blackholes, and not only live on other planets in distant worlds but also move to other dimentions,  and much more. According to quantum physics: observation determines existence, therefore, nothing really exists until it is observed by someone. Like I said - science of alternative universes, and science of the very small (so called quantum physics) are truly mind blowing.  It is really an awesome book, in my opinion, and I am going to read it again at some point. The reason why this book comes to my mind, in reference to the above film, is because 'The Matrix' is used as an example of living in a simulated reality.
I have also read  Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow  'The Grand Design' in which the authors touch the same subjects and try to answer 'the ultimate questions of life'. In the book, there are chapters titled: 'What is Reality?, 'Alternative Histories', 'Choosing Our Universe' that talk about what reality is, and if we really have free will. I have read the book a while back therefore will need to read it again to reflect on it a bit more. Luckily, I have both S.Hawking's and M.Kaku's books on my book shelf so can re-visit them any time.

Anyway, going back to 'The Matrix' and Michio Kaku, here is an extract of an interview with Michio Kaku, that I found on KurzweilAl.net (2003):

"Is there any possibility, similar to the premise of The Matrix, that we are living in a simulation?Well, philosophically speaking, it’s always possible that the universe is a dream, and it’s always possible that our conversation with our friends is a by-product of the pickle that we had last night that upset our stomach. However, science is based upon reproducible evidence. When we go to sleep and we wake up the next day, we usually wind up in the same universe. It is reproducible. No matter how we try to avoid certain unpleasant situations, they come back to us. That is reproducible. So reality, as we commonly believe it to exist, is a reproducible experiment, it’s a reproducible sensation. Therefore in principle, you could never rule out the fact that the world could be a dream, but the fact of the matter is, the universe as it exists is a reproducible universe.  Now, in the Matrix, a computer simulation was run so that virtual reality became reproducible. Every time you woke up, you woke up in that same virtual reality. That technology, of course, does not violate the laws of physics. There’s nothing in relativity or the quantum theory that says that the Matrix is not possible. However, the amount of computer power necessary to drive the universe and the technology necessary for a neural implant is centuries to millennia beyond anything that we can conceive of, and therefore this is something for an advanced Type I or II civilization."