If you were given the opportunity to choose between the real world and virtual reality, which world would you choose? Through an exploration of the differences between the two worlds and the nature of humanity, we consider where we can find true happiness.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind, would you like to talk about it?”
One day, you’re approached by someone who has a familiar vibe and tells you a familiar story. You try to shrug it off as a matter of course, but he’s really a sage, and he explains to you the difference between “reality” and “virtual reality” and offers you a choice to live in either world, just once. He shows you the blue pill and the red pill, the familiar ones from the movie ‘The Matrix’.
Here’s how Doyin describes reality and virtual reality “Reality” is the world you live in right now, and “virtual reality” is another world that someone has created that looks like reality. Everything that is in the real world is also in the virtual world, and everything that is in the virtual world is also in the real world. This virtual reality is so perfectly implemented that all of the human senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch – are present, and the people who live in it never realize that they are living in a virtual reality until they die. The virtual reality realized through ‘ The Matrix ‘ is probably similar to this. Moreover, what happens in virtual reality has no effect on reality, and what happens in reality has no effect on virtual reality. Even though it’s called “virtual reality,” it’s best understood as another world.
At the crossroads, you can distinguish between virtual reality and reality, but once you’ve chosen one or the other and taken the pill, the fact that you’ve made this choice will be erased from your memory, and you’ll firmly believe that the world you live in is the “real world” and that no other world exists. You only have one chance to make a choice, what choice will you make? The blue pill, which allows you to live in this world and forget that you ever met the Master, or the red pill, which allows you to live in the virtual reality world that the Master described? But wait, do you have to choose?
To simplify the choice as much as possible, we’ve assumed that the only difference between reality and virtual reality is that one is real and the other is virtual. However, no matter what other assumptions you make, one thing remains the same: if you live in one world, you live in the belief that it is the only world you live in. So what are the implications of distinguishing and choosing between virtual reality and reality? Just as an ordinary human lifetime is a speck of dust in the 13 billion year history of the universe, it doesn’t matter what the reality of the world is to you, the tiny unit that makes up the world. Just as an ant can be moved to another colony and after a while it will naturally blend into it, so you can live in the world you live in for your own happiness. That world, that time, is your reality.
Some people may be uncomfortable with the artificiality of the word virtual reality, or they may feel that it is against their nature to choose virtual reality, so they choose reality. But you never know if there’s another world outside of the two choices you’re presented with: “real” and “virtual”. The fact that there are two worlds, ‘reality’ and ‘virtual reality’, was only revealed to you by the Taoist as an option, and you have reason to doubt that the world you are living in is really ‘reality’. The world you live in may have been referred to by the Taoist as “reality,” and even the word “reality” may have been used as a proper noun, not in the sense of the word. A “virtual reality” may not be a reality in the sense of the word, but simply another world, or a parallel world. “We don’t know” is not synonymous with “there is no such thing,” so it’s certainly possible that there are countless worlds just like the one you live in. The only thing that matters is that this world is “real” to you, the person living in this world.
Next, let’s talk about the nature of humanity. What is the essence of humanity? Is Homo sapiens sapiens a human being? If there is something artificially created by combining the substances that make up the human body, can it be called a human being? This is not an easy question to answer. This is because there is no set definition of what ‘human essence’ is, but rather, human essence is a social consensus. If we look back at the history of humanity from ancient times to the present, the scope of what is recognized as human has been constantly changing. In the movie ‘300’, there were 300 Spartan warriors and thousands of slaves on the battlefield, but it is said that there were only 300 warriors on the battlefield. Slaves were not considered “human” by the standards of the time, and women did not have the right to vote until about 200 years ago. In effect, they were not recognized as human beings. In this way, the essence of being human can only be explained by how society treats you as human. Are you treated as a human being in the world you live in? If so, that is the essence of your humanity. Whether the world you live in is “real” or “virtual” has no effect on the nature of humanity.
Some people may choose virtual reality because they are frustrated by failures in the real world, or because they are curious about a world they don’t understand. However, as we’ve said before, virtual reality is a mirror image of the world you live in, and the person you’ll be living in it hasn’t changed, so if you think you can escape your current frustrations by going to another world, you’d be wrong. Even in small virtual worlds like online games, which are not the perfect virtual reality we’re talking about here, people experience frustration all the time, whether it’s having their avatar killed by someone else or having an expensive item stolen from them. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that the virtual world you choose is everything you’ve ever wanted. Sure, you might be very happy with your world right now. But can you guarantee that what you want now will be exactly the same as what you want in 10 years? Just as what you wanted 10 years ago is different from what you want now, what you want 10 years from now will be different from what you want now, and you’ll have to work to get it, and if you fail, you’ll feel frustrated all over again. No world can be a utopia free of frustration unless people are completely indulgent of all their desires. What matters then is your achievement in overcoming the frustrations that will inevitably come your way, and this has nothing to do with whether the world you live in is real or virtual, but everything to do with you. There is nothing more to be said about curiosity about unknown worlds, as it presupposes that they are exactly the same as this one.
Now, it is your turn to choose. Do you take the blue pill and live in your world now, forgetting only that you ever met the Master? Then this world is your reality. Do you take the red pill and live in another world that is exactly the same as yours? Then that other world is your reality. The important thing is that whichever world you choose, you must be prepared to be happy in it.
