Glitches in The Matrix

[Randall]

Well here we go with discussion number 13,231. This one is for any of you folks who have experienced what might be called glitches in The Matrix. For those few are still uninitiated to The Matrix, we're talking about the movie by the same title. In the movie one example of a glitch in The Matrix is the phenomenon of déjà vu, but it's more than just a vague feeling. It's something perceived as though it were a real time experience. Here's the clip:

​

For the sake of this discussion glitches in The Matrix might be as simple as an instant replay type of thing, or more complex, like a dimensional shift or portal type experience. Most of the time they seem to manifest themselves subtly so people simply write them off, like objects that you were certain you had just placed in a particular spot, seemingly getting lost, only to show up again exactly where you had just looked at least 4 or 5 times. In other cases it might have been something you accidentally dropped to the floor that seemed to just vanish and still couldn't be found even after an exhaustive search. I posted one experience here that I think qualifies. I along with a couple of friends also had one that was more like a "dimensional portal" ( for lack of a better term ). I was sure I posted it here someplace, but after an exhaustive search, now it seems to be gone ... hmmm ...

 

[Randall]

Here's a video of someone who claims to have experienced something similar ...

 

[RobDel]

In other cases it might have been something you accidentally dropped to the floor that seemed to just vanish and still couldn't be found even after an exhaustive search. I posted one experience here that I think qualifies. I along with a couple of friends also had one that was more like a "dimensional portal" ( for lack of a better term ). I was sure I posted it here someplace, but after an exhaustive search, now it seems to be gone ... hmmm ...

Whenever that happens to me, my mind automatically retrieves this memory from my childhood, and I eventually give up the search.

 

[mike]

The Neuroscience of Déjà Vu | Psychology Today

 

[Randall]

The Neuroscience of Déjà Vu | Psychology Today

I'm glad you posted that link. I've seen a couple of other similar exposés on the role of brain in the déjà vu as well. It's good that you posted that link because the kind of déjà vu associated with brain generated misperceptions needs to be differentiated from phenomena that seem to involve some kind external causality. These so-called glitches in the matrix are more the kind of thing the lady in the video is talking about than just a "feeling we've been here before".

 

[Randall]

Repeat Encounter - Video

 

[Randall]

Beam of Light Causes Accident

Movie footage ( Thor Odyssey )?​

 

[Muadib]

Very interesting thread, thanks for posting it. In Bostrom's Simulation Argument, he actually addresses the subject of glitches in the Matrix, though he seems to think that most of these paranormal (for lack of a better word) events are the result of imperfections in the reporters, rather than imperfections in the Matrix itself. He also hypothesizes that if we are living in a simulated universe, it would probably be a relatively simple matter for the architects to either rewind time itself and get rid of any anomalies or simply remove the memories of said anomalies from our brains. I'm not so sure though, I can see them doing that for anything that happened on a large scale, but events that are witnessed by individuals really pose no threat of discovery since most people will just write them off as mental aberration or delusion and in that case it might be better to conserve the systems resources and let the situation handle itself. You can read what Bostrom had to say about glitches here:

Déjà vu is a sign of a glitch in the Matrix, which is re-running a sequence to cover something that has changed. Some people have written to me that they have found signs that we are in a Matrix. One person, for instance, told me that he could see flickering pixels when he looked in his bathroom mirror. Another person wrote that he could hear voices in his head. But even if we are in a Matrix, it is far more likely that such phenomena are the result of imperfections in the reporters rather than in the Matrix itself. There are many perfectly ordinary explanations for why some people should report having these kinds of experiences, including mental illness, over-excited imagination, gullibility, and so forth. Dysfunctional brains could be simulated just as easily as properly functioning ones, and including them in the simulation may indeed add to its verisimilitude.

Building any kind of Matrix at all that contains conscious simulated brains would be tremendously difficult. Any being capable of such a feat would almost certainly also be able to prevent any glitches in their Matrix from being noticed by its inhabitants. Even if some people did notice an anomaly, the Architect could backtrack the simulation a few seconds and rerun it in a way that avoided the anomaly entirely or else could simply edit out the memory of the anomaly from whoever had noticed something suspect.

 

[exo_doc]

What about missing objects or changing landscapes? This is hard to explain, so bear with me please.
Have you ever driven by an area, or building, or field every day for years......and suddenly one day something doesn't look right,...but you just can't figure out what it is that has changed?
I'm not talking about a house with fresh paint, or a new telephone pole or something like that.
I mean something is off to the point where you stop and stare.
Example; There is an intersection near my work I've driven by for years. One day last summer I pulled up to the stoplight and was suddenly confused by what I was seeing, or not seeing in this case. There used to be....something...big and imposing there at that intersection like a huge tree or a multi-story building. I remember the "crowded" feeling or sense of something's prescence that sudddenly was no longer there. The whole area has seemed open, airy, & expansive since then.
I can find no evidence of any trees being cut down, or buildings demolished...no stumps, no foundations, no broken earth.....nothing. I even asked around if anyone else had noticed anything, especially at the Bojangles and Papa Johns right there.
It just bugs the hell out of me.

It's almost like something was there for a long time but encouraged people not to notice it, somehow. Does that make sense?

 

[flipper]

I think that objects disappearing and reappearing are the work of the tricksters. I know of at least 5 people who this has happened to them. It happened more than once with most of them. Sometimes it is the place that seems to generate this activity and sometimes it is the person. I believe it is not that uncommon.

Good Post.

 

[Randall]

Very interesting thread, thanks for posting it. In Bostrom's Simulation Argument, he actually addresses the subject of glitches in the Matrix, though he seems to think that most of these paranormal (for lack of a better word) events are the result of imperfections in the reporters, rather than imperfections in the Matrix itself.

For those not already familiar
Nick Bostrom - The Simulation Argument

He also hypothesizes that if we are living in a simulated universe, it would probably be a relatively simple matter for the architects to either rewind time itself and get rid of any anomalies or simply remove the memories of said anomalies from our brains. I'm not so sure though, I can see them doing that for anything that happened on a large scale, but events that are witnessed by individuals really pose no threat of discovery since most people will just write them off as mental aberration or delusion and in that case it might be better to conserve the systems resources and let the situation handle itself.

It makes sense that if Simulism is true, that the architects would have the capacity to perform error correction that would eliminate glitches. However if Simulism is true, then it also means that the presence of the glitches indicates that there are certain properties of the construct that give rise to glitches regardless of whether or not preventing them is or isn't possible. So for example, the Universe is a big place and 100% perfect resolution in small areas on the surfaces of planets may be so small as to be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

It's also likely that there are unavoidable side effects of manipulating the simulation. For example, for any change that is made there would be an unavoidable interaction with existing reality, and this would naturally give rise to the butterfly effect, whereby even small changes cause ripples that spread out over a much larger area. If Simulism is true, this brings up an interesting possibility. What if the glitches we experience are evidence of these ripples? If we could locate a number of glitches on a map, might we be able to plot where the epicenter is? I wonder what we might find by investigating these places?

 

[Randall]

What about missing objects or changing landscapes? This is hard to explain, so bear with me please ...

It happens. That kind of glitch happened to me and two buddies when we were in our young teens. Thanks for posting your experience!

 

[Randall]

I think that objects disappearing and reappearing are the work of the tricksters. I know of at least 5 people who this has happened to them. It happened more than once with most of them. Sometimes it is the place that seems to generate this activity and sometimes it is the person. I believe it is not that uncommon.

Glitches in the Matrix may indeed be an explanation for some of the phenomena attributed to @Christopher O'Brien's Trickster element. Good observation .

 

[Stagger Lee]

When I was a child, I would see particles racing down through the air, as if it was pouring rain. This happened mostly when I was indoors. I have a memory of trying to tell my mother, not having the words to explain she took it to mean that I was seeing tiny bugs in the room we happened to be in. At about the age of 5 or 6 I stopped being able to view this. I was curious if my two young boys would describe something similiar, but at the current ages of 6 and 8 they have never reported such a thing.

 

[flipper]

When I was a child, I would see particles racing down through the air, as if it was pouring rain. This happened mostly when I was indoors. I have a memory of trying to tell my mother, not having the words to explain she took it to mean that I was seeing tiny bugs in the room we happened to be in. At about the age of 5 or 6 I stopped being able to view this. I was curious if my two young boys would describe something similiar, but at the current ages of 6 and 8 they have never reported such a thing.

I believe the reason that your children may not have the same psychic ability as you do is because of their exposure to fluoride. It is in our water, toothpaste, processed food and at our dentists offices. I believe that it attacks the pineal gland which is believed to be involved in our psychic abilities.

A Fluoride-Free Pineal Gland is More Important than Ever - Waking Times

 

[Wade]

I believe that your children do not have the same psychic ability as you because of their exposure to fluoride. That is in our water, toothpaste, processed food and at our dentists I believe that it attacks the pineal gland which is believed to be involved in our psychic abilities.

A Fluoride-Free Pineal Gland is More Important than Ever - Waking Times

I have heard about the calcification effect that flouride has on the pineal and I don't think anybody here would argue for the use of fluoride in water but am I not correct in saying that a few hours exposure to sunlight takes care of this problem.

 

[Bob Watson]

The only time I ever experanced something like this I recall a news brodcast that said nelson mandela had died at 68. The brodcast was I think CNN. I recall it planly and when he was ill. This year I told Rikki "I thought he died"she just said "no but he has been ill"
So there it is. A memery of an event that never happened.

 

[Stagger Lee]

I believe the reason that your children may not have the same psychic ability as you do is because of their exposure to fluoride. It is in our water, toothpaste, processed food and at our dentists offices. I believe that it attacks the pineal gland which is believed to be involved in our psychic abilities.

A Fluoride-Free Pineal Gland is More Important than Ever - Waking Times

I've never thought of myself as having any type of psychic ability- but long before the Matrix series, I figured that because of my young age and newness to this reality, that perhaps I was able to see the "building blocks" of this realm(so to speak) And very curious to see if my own kids would describe something similiar. Interesting the flouride exposure thing..

 

[exo_doc]

In thinking about this, I remember other events in my life. And I also remember other people talking about seeing or experiencing things that were seemingly form another reality.
I was stationed with a women named Kathy at Ft. Meade, Md back in '89 who was in the NCO club and saw a news flash program on TV that New York and Washington had just been nuked and we were at war with Russia. She had only one beer, no one else in the club saw this, and she really freaked out. Everyone in the club watched the TV, but it was some common programming, not a dramitization or anything. After a few quick calls determining everything was in fact ok, she cried about it. It affected her that badly.

My neighbor Ed when I lived in Georgia back in '90 claimed he found this store that had really good stuff at very cheap prices just a couple of months earlier, but couldn't find the store again. He was positive it was on a particular stretch of road just outside Augusta, right beside a pizza delivery place. He never did find it again, even after driving all over Augusta, although he did find the pizza place. He thought he was going crazy..........I just blew it off as him having memory issues, but now I'm not so sure. He was only in his mid 30's, and seemed to be in good health.

Now that I think about it, I've known a lot of strange people......makes life interesting!

 

[Randall]

The only time I ever experanced something like this I recall a news brodcast that said nelson mandela had died at 68. The brodcast was I think CNN. I recall it planly and when he was ill. This year I told Rikki "I thought he died"she just said "no but he has been ill"
So there it is. A memery of an event that never happened.

Interesting. I and my other half have both heard reports of some celebrity or another who had died, only to find out they were still alive. One is George Takei, another is David Crosby. Of course news reports can be just plain wrong as well.