First, the key metaphor description -
what is Matrix?
The original meaning of Matrix is the uterus, the mother's body, and the place where life is conceived. At the same time, in mathematical terms, the matrix is used to represent various related data such as statistical data. This definition nicely explains the mathematical logic underlying the Matrix code making world. In the film, the Matrix is not only a virtual program, but also a physical place. Here, the human body is placed in a vessel filled with nutrient solution and filled with various plugs to receive sensory stimuli from the computer system. Humans rely on these signals to live in a completely virtual computer fantasy. In this way, machines occupy the human mind space, using the human body as a battery to maintain their own operation.
In the movie, Matrix is a complex simulation system program built by machines with artificial intelligence to simulate the world before humans to control humans. The characters that appear in the Matrix can be regarded as programs with the characteristics of human consciousness. There are three types of these programs depending on the carrier they are attached to: one is attached to a biological carrier, that is, ordinary people living in the matrix; the other is attached to a computer chip, which is a machine with artificial intelligence; The hardware is connected to the Matrix. The other category is the free program, which has no carrier, such as Reagent, Prophet, Architect, Merovingian, Trainman, etc.
Matrix is a huge network that connects the consciousness of countless people. The system assigns them different roles, just like role-playing games in computer games, but they do not have the right and consciousness to choose roles. Humans maintain their own survival needs through this networked virtual life, but the intelligent program in the Matrix, that is, the role of the prophet, found that 1% of the people in the system could not be compatible with the roles assigned by the system due to their strong self-consciousness. If they are not controlled, it will lead to instability of the system, which will lead to the collapse of the system. Therefore, writing the intelligent program of Matrix, that is, the architect, created a "savior", made him partially autonomous, and became the leader of the awakened human beings, leading them to build Zion.
What is Zion?
The word "Zion" in the Bible refers to the mountain on which King Solomon built the temple, located in the holy city of Jerusalem. In Judaism, "Zion" represents the glory of God and is a sign of the coming of God's redemption. When the earth is destroyed, mankind will receive the final judgment in Zion.
In the movie, "Zion" refers to the homeland inhabited by those who have been liberated from the Matrix, located in the depths of the earth, relying on geothermal energy as an energy source, and becoming the last base for mankind to fight against the Matrix and the city of machines. The movie uses this name to name the last home of mankind, which symbolizes that it is a place where justice is manifested and a holy place against machines.
The parliamentary structure of Zion is very similar to the Senate of ancient Rome. It is a national institution with both legislative and administrative powers. It formulates all laws and systems and manages it through executive officers.
Zion is composed of Awakeneds who account for 1% of the total population of the Matrix. Most of them are people of color, especially high-level personnel such as members of the parliament and captains of warships, all of whom are black. The reason why the population of Zion is set up in the film is mainly to reflect the integration and tolerance of multi-ethnic groups, because this is a story about human beings fighting against a common enemy. Human beings must first unite and realize the ideal of Datong. From another perspective, in mainstream Western sci-fi movies, the dilapidated future and the non-white world have always been the two most important visual elements. As sci-fi film directors, the Wachowski brothers naturally added these two visual elements familiar to Western moviegoers.
2. Metaphors of related characters -
Neo/Thomas Anderson
In Hebrew, Thomas means twin. This symbolizes Neo's usual dual identities: programmer Thomas Anderson and hacker Neo. And Anderson means "son of man" in Hebrew, which is exactly who Jesus is.
The three letters that make up Neo can be reversed to form "one", indicating that he is the savior "The One" who saves mankind. The original meaning of the word "Christ" in Hebrew is "the appointed one" - The One.
Morpheus
In Greek mythology, Morpheus is the god of dreams and has the ability to change dreams. In the movie, Morpheus is the guide who wakes people up from their dreamlike, illusory world.
The ship Morpheus commanded was the Nebuchadnezzar, named after the Babylonian god of wisdom. In the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon who asked someone to interpret his dreams. In the movie, Morpheus and others took the "Nebuchadnezzar" spacecraft to find the prophet to interpret what is true.
Trinity (Trinity)
Trinity means "Trinity", in Christianity, "Trinity" refers to the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. In the book "The Interpretation of Dreams", the foundational work of modern psychology, the "Trinity" refers to the female consciousness, which can enter the mysterious realm and the perfect realm.
Prophet (Oracle)
The original meaning of the Greek word for Oracle is to solve puzzles, to convey and explain God's prophecies, which can be people, places, or objects. These predictions are usually vague and a distortion of reality, so someone who can explain them must be very intelligent, but even they can't necessarily guarantee that the predictions are correct. The purpose of the prophet is to guide the believers with the vague visions they see, but not to help them make decisions, which are entirely up to people's subjective wishes.
Smith
Smith in English means blacksmith, and his license plate number is IS 5416, which implies religious meaning. In the "Bible • Isaiah" chapter 54 verse 16: I made the blacksmith who boasted of coals and made suitable instruments; I made the man who harmed and destroyed. This is alluding to Agent Smith's role in the Matrix system - eliminating any anomalous programs that compromise the operation of the Matrix.
Merovingian (Merovingian) Merovingian
is the first of the six dynasties in the French feudal society. The dark history of the Middle Ages in Europe started from the Merovingian Dynasty. After six dynasties, it is in line with the matrix in the movie. There were six generations of versions. s story. In the movie, Merovinga is a once powerful man who likes to speak French and lives in a French-style castle.
The Merovingian dynasty in France is also the birth period of European romantic myths, and the core characters of these myths are "fallen angels" who were cast out of heaven because of their betrayal of God. Satan is the leader of these fallen angels. This is also in line with the identity of Merowen added to the matrix in the movie-he is the leader of all the programmers who betray the matrix, using his ability to fight against the matrix.
Seraph (Seraph)
Seraph is the guardian of the prophet. This name is the highest level of the 9 levels of angels in European medieval mythology. Seraph. When Neo first met him in the Matrix, his code had a distinctive golden color. Seraf's role in the Matrix is equivalent to a firewall that protects the Prophet from being violated. He is very powerful and once defeated Smith.
Kamala Kamala
means "lotus" in Sanskrit and represents purity. There is a mantra in Buddhism called "Kamala". In the film, Kamala is a new program generated by the program itself, and is the first intelligent program in the matrix world that is cultivated by artificial intelligence. Her ability to change the code of the Matrix world is hinted at at the end of the film.
3. Gödel's Theorem
In 1931, Gödel published a theorem: "In any formal system containing natural numbers, there must be such a proposition, which is true but cannot be proved."
For a long time, mathematicians and philosophers believed that the truth of mathematics could always be proved. But Gödel's theorem shows that "true" and "provable" are two different things.
This tells us that although the properties of natural numbers are infinitely rich, any formal system can never hope to include them all. Hilbert's desire to build a complete formal arithmetic system was impossible. Nonetheless, we can also see that mathematics can demonstrate its own limitations, which again shows the power of mathematical methods. One solution is a proposition that is unprovable within the formal system, perhaps arguable outside the system - within a larger system.
In Matrix, Neo is a Gödel proposition that cannot be mathematically deduced in the strict system of Matrix, and does not conform to the laws of the system. (Part of the architect's conversation with Neo) When Neo is reborn, he takes on all the disturbances in the system, and all the rules become transparent in front of him, so he can see what others can't see in the system s things. The prophet asked Neo to go back to the source to end the disaster. In mathematical logic, Gödel's proposition is turned into a part of the whole system, and regarded as a variable of the system, thereby eliminating the uncertainty of the whole system. If Neo had chosen to destroy Zion's gate, the code he carried would be fed back to the system, raising the stability of the system to a new level. The premise of this choice is that there is no madman Smith in the system. But from a mathematical point of view, such stability is also temporary. It is not a complete revision of the system. The new system will still generate its own Goedel proposition, thus continuing this cycle. That's why there will be six saviors before Neo.
According to the mission of the architect when he originally wrote the Savior, the mission of the Savior is to bring Zion's code back to the source program of Matrix for reinstallation after Zion runs for a period of time, and at the same time, the machine destroys Zion and completes the upgrade of the Matrix system. After that, the savior will lead 16 women and 7 men to return to the real world according to the initial settings, and then start to rebuild Zion, waiting for the next generation of saviors. Neo is different from his predecessors in that the architect wrote a code about "love" in his consciousness, which was originally a need for the system to be constantly upgraded and a new experiment to examine human responses. But this code about love not only led Neo to make a choice that violated the program settings in the second episode, but also sublimated "love" to "fraternity" in the third episode, thus finally ending the war and ending the matrix and tin Ann between cycles. ——Even so, I don’t think it’s been dealt with in the movie, that is, what about the people in the Matrix other than those who have awakened?
4. Determinism and Free Will Theory
When quantum mechanics confirms that microscopic processes follow only statistical certainty, Heisenberg created matrix mechanics from discontinuity, and the uncertainty principle points out that if we understand an electron's momentum P all information, then we lose all information about position Q at the same time. The impact of this theory on our reality is unimaginable, and the debate over philosophical determinism and free will is the battlefield. Who decides the fate of NEO? The programmer programmed the program to function, but NEO's experimental results were beyond his imagination. Let's look at Turing's test now. Gödel's theorem has proved that there are functions in mathematics that cannot be confirmed by finite methods, so the functions of Turing machines cannot identify infinite functions. It must have a self-upgrading so-called adaptability rules to describe infinite sets. The possibility of Turing machines rests entirely on the plastic recognition of the behavior possessed by symbolic systems. Can "love" be programmed? It depends on our current understanding of this particular human emotion. Since ancient times, the interpretation of this category has not been deeper and wider than the discussion of philosophical issues, and today it is more proliferating. My general division is the difference between certainty and uncertainty. Deterministic explanations can find the production mechanism of all human thoughts, and all philosophical problems will be resolved. The explanation of uncertainty is quite mysterious and mysterious, and it depends on personal experience.
The cave said, I think, therefore I am, to exist is to be perceived, Zhuang Zhou dreams of butterflies?
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