488
Plato's cave rule (sopuli.xyz)
submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
top 40 comments
sorted by: hot top new old
[-] [email protected] 99 points 3 days ago

Human CPU originally, but the directors thought people were too stupid to know what that meant at the time (which might have been right, nobody I knew had a computer at that time) and changed the human brain neural network into “you’re all batteries actuallly”

[-] [email protected] 76 points 3 days ago

That makes way more sense. Whenever I watched it I always thought that there must be way more efficient sources of electricity.

[-] [email protected] 47 points 3 days ago

It makes way, way more sense in my opinion.

Humans are terrible batteries, but the processing power of our brain on the other hand is amazing.

Based on the FLOPS (Floating point operations per second) today's supercomputer powered by a nuclear power station does not match the processing power of a single brain, powered by a few potatoes.

[-] [email protected] 24 points 3 days ago

It has to be potatoes though. That's very important.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

I had 7 large ones yesterday. So basically I am a potatoprocessor

[-] [email protected] 18 points 3 days ago

It also makes the plot a bit more meta, where the simulation they're all in is simulated using the brains of the people inside it.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

It even explains why the agents can jump between people. They are already running on their brains.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago

Even checks out on the allegorical level. The matrix is the capitalist system we're stuck in.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago

A super computer performs independently of its power source. Power is power.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

I think the point was more about the quantity of power required to achieve results, rather than the specific sources given. IE: you can run a brain on a few potatoes, but you can't run a super computer on the same due to a lack of sufficient power output.

Consequently you can't really run a human brain on nuclear power either, though that's probably due to radiation poisoning moreso than a lack of required power generated.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago

What if you use the nuclear plant to power grow lights in a hydroponic potato farm?

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

I like it, if we can look to harness all of the potatoes processing power, which I'm sure alone is not much (but according to the physics in portal 2, is enough to power a minor AI instance), we can do away with both having to incubate and feed the pesky human processors as well as having to run a matrix at all. I presume a potato is content with its life regardless of manipulation.

Would've made the films far less interesting though.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

independent of its power source

Power: aight I'm out

Computer: fucking dies

[-] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago

Yea, that's akin to a perpetual movement machine : you can't get more out of the system than what you put in ! So the squid's power grid would be in deficit. And they would have to borrow from GERMANY because THEY invested in renewables

[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

We thought that to but turned out no it's humans.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

To be fair, I have no idea what a CPU is

[-] [email protected] 21 points 3 days ago

They could've dumbed down the CPU explanation into something as simple as "the human mind is creative enough to make connections robots can't conceive of, so the machines need us to build new patterns to sustain the matrix" and that would've been enough. At least it wouldn't violate the laws of thermodynamics.

Also I heard it wasn't the Wachowskis who wanted the change, but they got pressured from some suit who said it was too complicated.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

They didn't even have to use the term, just say the machines use human brains to process data or something.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Ok I could have grasped that

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

I was told it's rocks talking to other rocks.

[-] blarth 24 points 3 days ago

Buncha Ciphers up in this bitch.

[-] [email protected] 45 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I mean, he didn't really have either of those things.

His boss at the office was tearing him a new asshole over being a few minutes late, and he definitely wouldn't have gone to the club with those people he sold the virus to if he didn't get that cryptic "follow the white rabbit" message.

Of course, the solution to that problem was definitely not to follow Morpheus and Trinity into the real.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago

He also had gender dysphoria, if you listen to the subtext in Morpheus' speech near the beginning

[-] [email protected] 34 points 3 days ago

Cave!

Orgy!

Cave!

Orgy!

[-] [email protected] 18 points 3 days ago
[-] [email protected] 32 points 3 days ago

I disagree. Like, maybe cipher was right for cipher, but from an objective moral standpoint betraying your allies in order to eat steak and be fancy is considered a dick move.

And dick moves are never right.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago

Speak for yourself. My dick has all the right moves.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago
[-] [email protected] 19 points 3 days ago

Cypher was the greedy guy who sacrificed everyone but himself to take the easy way out.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

You think the machines kept that deal they made with Cypher? The one about being rich and famous? They shoved him in as a homeless bum to save power

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Why wouldn't they? I haven't seen a reason why they wouldn't keep it. They don't need to lie and it's just a change to coding for them. Not to get pro-machine, but during the animatrix they were honest and the humans were lying.

As long as you don't count keeping humans in a fake reality 'lying'.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

I do count that as lying!

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

I've never met a Bill I didn't like

[-] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

"Active social life". 😅

[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

10/10 looked at this while eating my porridge

[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

He had the choice of pills. What a sucker.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago

Should have boofed them and then scared everyone with his dance moves 😏

[-] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago
[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

that's how they made the silver surfer

[-] [email protected] 0 points 3 days ago

That sounds like something a current famous politician from the USA may say. Can't recall exactly who...

this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2025
488 points (98.4% liked)

196

5563 readers
192 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.


Rule: You must post before you leave.



Other rules

Behavior rules:

Posting rules:

NSFW: NSFW content is permitted but it must be tagged and have content warnings. Anything that doesn't adhere to this will be removed. Content warnings should be added like: [penis], [explicit description of sex]. Non-sexualized breasts of any gender are not considered inappropriate and therefore do not need to be blurred/tagged.

Also, when sharing art (comics etc.) please credit the creators.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on our matrix channel or email.

Other 196's:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS