Discussion The experience machine

[Lord_hierophantūs]

Robert had been sitting in front of the consent form for two hours and still he did not know whether to sign it or shred it. His choice was between two futures.

In one, his prospects were bleak and the chance of realizing his dreams slim. In the other, he would be a famous rock star guaranteed to be kept permanently happy. Not much of a choice, you might think. But whereas the first life would be in the real world, the second would be entirely within the experience machine.

This device enables you to live the whole of your life in a virtual-reality environment. All your experiences are designed to make you happier and more satisfied. But crucially, once in the machine you have no idea that you are not in the real world, nor that what is happening to you has been designed to meet your needs. It seems you are living an ordinary life in the ordinary world: it is just that in this life, you are one of the winners for whom everything seems to go right.

Robert knows that once he is in the machine, life will be great. But still, something about its phoniness makes him hesitate to sign the form that will take him away to paradise.​

 

[AccurateDud]

I hope Robert knows in the future we're going to be eating bugs. Also sci-fi VR simulation sounds fun.

 

[Lord_hierophantūs]

While being posted before, I'd like to see peoples responses. To see if they have changed or if in general anyone has an interesting response to Robert and or to themselves.

 

[Isle of Sippy]

While being posted before, I'd like to see peoples responses. To see if they have changed or if in general anyone has an interesting response to Robert and or to themselves.

I find the idea of not knowing what is happening to your real body to be unnerving.

The possibility of ever having to come out of the simulation and having to continue living with muscle atrophy and osteoporosis from the inactivity doesn't sound fun.

I also don't think you would last very long before sores, blood clots, infections and organ failure.

If the state of your body is preserved, then I might reconsider.

Then again, wouldn't it be equivalent to giving up on life completely?
In which case, wouldn't instant death have practically the same outcome?

A morally questionable use of this concept could be to advertise it to people living in horrible circumstances and simply putting them in a sarcopod.

 

[Lord_hierophantūs]

I find the idea of not knowing what is happening to your real body to be unnerving.

The possibility of ever having to come out of the simulation and having to continue living with muscle atrophy and osteoporosis from the inactivity doesn't sound fun.

I also don't think you would last very long before sores, blood clots, infections and organ failure.

If the state of your body is preserved, then I might reconsider.

Then again, wouldn't it be equivalent to giving up on life completely?
In which case, wouldn't instant death have practically the same outcome?

A morally questionable use of this concept could be to advertise it to people living in horrible circumstances and simply putting them in a sarcopod.

Thank you for considering an aspect not spoken about, if I may. Say you set aside the point you just made, would you consider going into the experience machine, living a life of voluptuousness and your dreams at the cost of the reality you currently reside in?

 

[Isle of Sippy]

Thank you for considering an aspect not spoken about, if I may. Say you set aside the point you just made, would you consider going into the experience machine, living a life of voluptuousness and your dreams at the cost of the reality you currently reside in?

I probably would after some deliberation, but there's still something about it that doesn't sit right with me, as if I would have to be completely sure my life here would lead nowhere meaningful before making that choice.

 

[Lord_hierophantūs]

I probably would after some deliberation, but there's still something about it that doesn't sit right with me, as if I would have to be completely sure my life here would lead nowhere meaningful before making that choice.

In general if you search your feelings and asked that question with intensity "is the life I am living currently meaningful and am I living a meaningful existence now and in the near future?".