 |
| Original Image: http://consc.net/ papers/matrix.html |
Although, let's look from another perspective. What is appealing about such computer generated things such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even computer games. This is certainly not real and no matter how much it reflects you, you're only really going to put the good parts on there aren't you. So in a way isn't every time you log in to these sites or play a game you are immersing yourself in something that is not really real for pleasure. I'm not saying it's wrong but it probably questions your opinion in the first paragraph. Every time someone updates their online dating profile to make them sound or look more appealing or taking a photograph that shows you doing something fun or interesting, it may all be something deeper, a plea to take control and perfect one's life via the virtual environment known as the internet.
I don't think computer/video games are really a useful analogy, for the simple reason that they are something you dip into and then leave for your real life. If the experience machine were something you did for a few hours - work for eight hours, go home, grab a bite to eat, spend a few hours believing you're the Queen of Sheba, go to bed - I don't think anyone would see much wrong with it. You might even use extended experiences in lieu of holidays. The real question regarding the experience machine is whether you would want to go into it permanently. For which a proper analogy would be, would you want to spend all of your waking hours playing computer games (we'll ignore issues of food and cost)? Perhaps the gamer would enjoy it, but I think most of us would regard that as a rather sad existence.
ReplyDeleteA good reply. The analogy was not to completely change our understanding of real life but to rather show the impact of how a move towards technology may lead to expectations of a perfect life, which the experience machine gives the illusion of. I think maybe the analogy of social networking and online dating is a better example than computer games. Regardless I think that our response to the experience machine may be the same but the reasoning may be less clear cut as the internet becomes a greater part of our lives.
Delete