Paper 6

Brahyan Cuervo
DR. Smith:
ENG 101/103, LIB 110
Living in the Matrix

What makes up my life? I believe I do live in the matrix only for one reason. My everyday routine is based on a series of boundaries. Like in previous films watched in Dr. Smith’s class I have came to a conclusion that we have a similarity to plugging into machines. In the book the matrix and philosophy, Nixon explains the idea of the possibility of being in the matrix. “It’s possible that I am (or you are) in the matrix right now.”(36) Through a series of arguments I will explain how networks and boundaries make up are everyday life making us a cyborg.
Boundaries things we feel that make us feel comfortable. Like in a comfort zone we
believe nothing can penetrate it or disrupt it. In Me++ by William J. Mitchell changes the perspective on how to look at our everyday utilities. “I consist of a biological core surrounded by extended, constructed systems of boundaries and networks.”(7) Like in the movie the matrix the real world was Neo boundarie and his network was his night life as a hacker. Mitchell also believes that networks are vulnerable to any type of disruption. For example as I plug into my iPod not finding my headphones automatically disrupts my routine, making me late for the bus, being late for class and etc. in the movie Sleep Dealer Memo is trying to reach a new networked life by moving away from home. The boundary in which he once saw nothing past was destroyed when the machine he built to away his father’s life.

In school I was taught the law of physics. What goes up must come down. The matrix and me++ defines everything that I once thought wasn’t possible making it into a possibility. Is there another world where we can plug in through use of machines? In the movie the matrix neo was found by a Group hacker to save the last human race. The only way to this was to be plugged in himself to this artificial world were nothing was reality nor believable. In this world a person can do anything only saw in science fiction films. I am similar to that world because my network consists of electronics. The only thing I don’t use technology is to do outside activities, sports, walking and etc. we have evolved from humans to a world controlled by technology. We are not doing anything to stop it; on the contrary we are learning how to cope with these machines.

Mitchell says “by programming robotic devices I can precisely specify their future actions.”(21) We program machines to follow are every instruction. What happens when that action is denied and starts acting on its own. That’s what happened in the movie the matrix they built machines to a point where they had a mind of its own. Were they felt they didn’t need human assistance anymore. At this point of my life I feel that I’m like those machines I am a step away from becoming independent from my parents. Right now my boundary is home and my network is everything I do in it. My life is similar to the film the Truman Show, he was raised to believe there was nothing past his everyday life. They created a world with boundaries for Truman that he couldn’t disrupt even if he tried. When he found out he was living a lie for almost 30 years he wanted to disrupt his network by exploring what was outside the made up world.

Anything I do is based on techonology in one way or another. Making me a cyborg. Anyone who beliefs there not a cyborg must live the Amish life. Till the day I won’t need technology to do the simplest of things then I can say I am not cyborg. That day will never come since technology is rapidly growing in our century. I live the networked life.