The Simulation Narrative

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Why are we so obsessed with stories about "waking up"? Isn't that, in the end, just another fantasy?

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• Ivy Li — Thumbnail illustration

[CleoHarperReturns]

"Awareness of your alienation isn't enough to conquer it."

I love you, robot.

[jacob]

I think if I woke up without a hand, then was told I was a robot, my first reaction would be, "Does that mean you can give me a new hand?"

[MrJHM]

One big thing, that could be talked about with this, is the character type, who when discovering that the world is a simulation, decides that they are absolved of any sin they could do in that world, and therefore become the monsters they always wanted to be. The guests in Westworld, Phill Connors in Groundhog Day, and Jax in The Amazing Digital Circus all, when confronted with being in a simulation, all become their worst self, because they feel that when the simulation ends, that what they have done will be gone with the simulation.

[m.irfanf.a]

the whole discussion reminds me of SCP foundation, at one point they had realized that they themselves were inside of a horror project created by a group of amateur writers, these were called as "Pataphysics"

[damiancrusenberry]

Gets you thinking about the phrase “ignorance is bliss”. The idea that reality isn’t quite real is an existentially crushing concept. It’s unsettling and mind shattering in some cases. So it’s not hard to imagine that when confronted with a real choice rather than a hypothetical, that most would choose bliss over knowledge

[nexttimeon]

Right after watching the Matrix section: I Saw The TV Glow is kinda a simulation story.
Video: This is Owen
Me: well

[SugarGlider]

This stuff hits differently after a stroke. You lose some things, you gain things back, but what's really trippy is the new things.

Your digestive system works differently, or your lungs are more sensitive.

[lizerdspherex]

Superman: Do you have any idea what you did to me?!
Mongul: I fashioned a prison you couldn't leave without sacrificing your heart's desire. It must have been like tearing off your own arm.

[FluffiBois]

I SAW THE TV GLOW

Thank you for critiquing the idea of “waking up from the simulation.” A lot of the fear that comes from TV GLOW is the fear/pain of staying where you are. All change is chaotic and violent, especially when it’s towards your sense of self. That’s the source of that fear: realizing so so so many years later that you were the one trapping yourself because you were scared in that moment, continuously choosing to damn yourself. But, as the movie says, There Is Still Time

[TheWretchedOwl]

I think there’s something to be said for the power of loneliness. To use your example from the glow, imagine how that would feel, finding out that everyone around you wasn’t real, that you’ve been alone almost your entire life.

Now imagine you’ve already felt alone your entire life. Wouldn’t it feel like maybe if nothing was real, that would be better than knowing that people are real but they don’t care about you. The idea of living in a simulation is almost comforting compared to a reality where you mean nothing. It’s the fantasy that your suffering was an illusion, a mistake, something beyond your control and therefor not your fault.

[Broomer]

Theirs a line from a FNAF parody cartoon where Freddy who believes him and his friends are truly anthropomorphic animals learns that he’s a robot given life through the soul of a child. Freddy concludes “All my life I wanted to entertain children and to me being an Animatronic with the express purpose of entertaining children doesn’t change a thing! If anything it give me more confirmation than most people ever will that they’re doing the right thing” that stuck with me. Because if you’re doing what you’re programmed to do but to your mind did it because you wanted to then did anything truly change? Is the fact that you’re made to do the thing you love actually make it worse?

[TrabSr]

1. Stop making me feel guilty for not reading!

2. That shot where they all are desperate looking for different colored pills. That is brilliant visual storytelling. I didn't even listen to what you were saying at that part. I instantly understuud what it meant. Kudos, little robot. The virus is

Your work is amazing. We'll come back more often and feel guilty for not reading more. Self-chastising ourselves a little more. We thank you for your amazing work.

[LadyDeirdre]

In your segment on it, you really should have mentioned the name of the movie: I Saw the TV Glow.

[roberthiltz]

There is no pill. I love simulation theory and could speak hours on it… but in the last six years of my life especially, I’ve made a connection between the fictions and theories and my own struggles with mental illness. One of the things repeated to me in rehab was, “There is no magic button.” Meaning; long and hard is the road to recovery and understanding and there is no easy way, only experience, knowledge and growth that will allow you to see your true self. I know now that for thirty five years I was living in a simulation but now I am trying to accept reality. ❤

[Jocelyn_Burnham]

I don't think it's irrelevant that that two creators of The Matrix are transwomen. I appreciate that people might disregard certain parallels they might not feel connected to, but the trans experience is incredibly aligned with the themes discussed here: awareness of alienation but not necessarily the mental ability to confront it, the 'death' of one identity for the birth of another, the physical body and its changes. I'm not sure, as a human being, there is a similar experience to this which is more possible to have. I am deeply grateful to see myself in those stories.

[gusticeTwo]

"There is no pill that you can take to wake up" well in the case of ISTTVG there is, it's just called estrogen

[michaeljebbett]

If THIS is the simulation, I think we should all have a word with the simulator.

[zebramaniac]

Talking about the I Saw the TV Glow and not bringing up it being a trans metaphor is definitely an interesting choice.

[varflock]

Sometimes when I dream, I realize I'm inside of a dream. For some reason it always happens when the dream is very unpleasant and I don't want to stay in it, so I literally break out of it with my force of will and wake up. But... the problem is, after that for a minute or two, I still remember that feeling of breaking out and feel like I could repeat it and destroy another layer - to break through what I consider reality as well.

But I never try it and the feeling fades quickly. I wouldn't expect something like that to work, but who knows where I'd land if it somehow did? It seems like a one way ticket.

[lucasjames]

I just want to say that I love your channel! I especially love how you've shifted to a more natural cadence in your speaking. In your older videos, it sometimes seemed like you were imitating a robot which was telling a ghost story, or something. It was sort of affected and strained, in a way. It seems like now you're focusing more on what you're saying, rather than on how you're saying it, which is awesome! Love it!! 💙