NASAdude

From Matrix Revolutions, I was pondering our perception of good and evil.

About 28 minutes in, Neo consults the Oracle, who tells him about her role.

Oracle: You and I may not be able to see beyond our own choices, but that man [the Architect] can't see past any choice.
Neo: Why not?
O: He doesn't understand them; he can't. To him they are variables in an equation, where in time each variable must be solved and counted. That's his purpose: to balance the equation.
N: What's your purpose?
O: To unbalance it.
N: Why? What do you want?
O: I want the same thing you want, Neo. And I'm willing to go as far as you are to get it.
N: The end of the war. Is it going to end?
O: One way or another.

If we take the Architect to be god, then the Oracle would be satan. The Oracle strives to change the Architect's plans, thinking they aren't right, trying to throw the equations off balance.

In this view, the god-figure is following a static plan. Intervention is only required to balance out what changes the Oracle might instigate. So if satan doesn't directly affect our world, neither will god.

Or we can take the Oracle to be god, and the Architect as satan. The Architect seeks to make sure that all equations balance, that for all the good that might be desired, an equal amount of evil is required.

Here the god-figure is always trying to unbalance the good/evil status quo towards good.

Must good and evil be actively opposed to one another? Can't it simply exist for the sake of existing? Good things happen; bad things happen. It doesn't mean that there is active intervention in either case.

O: Everything that has a beginning, has an end. I see the end coming. I see the darkness spreading. I see death. And you are all that stands in his way.
N: Smith.
O: Very soon he is going to have the power to destroy this world, but I believe he won't stop there; he can't. He won't stop until there's nothing left at all.
N: What is he?
O: He is you, your opposite, your negative, the result of the equation trying to balance itself out.

Here we see another pairing in the movie. Neo is balanced out by Smith. Ultimately what the Oracle said came to pass. "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." For Neo to win, for him to put an end to Smith, meant an end to Neo himself.

Since we idealize our religions and see good winning in the end over evil, doesn't that mean the end of good as well? Where would that leave us?

About 109 minutes into the movie, Smith makes a speech:
Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom, or truth, or perhaps peace? Could it be for love? Delusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception, temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existance that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself. Although, only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love.
You must be able to see it Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting.
Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?
N: Because I choose to.

Smith is seeking out his own purpose by trying to understand Neo's motivation.
In our own short existence, are we fighting for something, for survival, for freedom, for truth, for peace, for love? Certainly we have a genetic predisposition to seek out survival, at least to the end of spreading our genes. Many strive to get at the heart of truth, only to perish on the neverending journey. Freedom and peace are unattainable as well, as they may seem within our grasp for a time, but then slip away. And love. Agent Smith put it well that it is in fact a means to convince ourselves that there is a purpose. Love is just a word. It is just a neurochemical response whose purpose was long ago derived as a means of genetic propogation.

In the end, Neo doesn't respond with freedom, peace, or love. He persists as a choice. He blindly moves forward as a choice, not knowing what to do otherwise. That doesn't directly answer Smith's question, but gives insight into Neo's motivation. He sees himself as the Oracle, putting the equations out of balance. He chooses to seek out change, as change can lead to something better, something more advanced, something more evolved.

Posted by NASAdude at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I read a story recently that really disturbed me. When in public, is it illegal to attempt to enhance your privacy and protect your identity?

If I am agoraphobic and choose a hood and mask as a means to go out in public, I can be arrested? It just seems wrong.
Even if the case isn't that extreme, if you simply want to go about your day without being stared at all the time, there seems to be no alternative.

I'll give personal bonus points for anyone who can cite the state/federal code and subsection (with a URL if possible) that specifically outlaws wearing masks and hoods in public. This article is about WV, but I'm interested in hearing about other states as well (esp. PA).
--
NASAdude

May 26, 10:05 PM EDT
Man Arrested for Wearing Grinch Mask

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) -- City and county attorneys are defending Wheeling police who arrested a man for wearing a Grinch mask while walking along a city street.

Norman Eugene Gray, 42, was arrested Tuesday. He was arraigned and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Officers saw Gray about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, told him to take the mask off and not put it on again. Gray removed it and asked why he could not wear it, according to Wheeling police reports. Officers told him wearing masks in public is illegal.

Gray said he felt he had a right to wear it and said it was not illegal. He put the mask back on and was arrested. The mask was confiscated.

Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth and Ohio County Prosecutor Scott Smith said masks as well as dark window tinting in vehicles can pose a safety hazard to law enforcement officers and hinder efforts to identify criminal suspects.

"When we think about masks, we don't always think of Halloween," Humway-Warmuth said.

Smith said wearing a mask or hood in public is a misdemeanor under state law, punishable by a fine of up to $500 or up to a year in jail, or both. Children up to 16 years old can wear masks. Traditional Halloween masks, safety gear used in occupations, theatrical productions, civil defense or protection from bad weather also are legal.

Posted by NASAdude at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Those wacky Brits!

UK company launches in-car toilet

Geoff Adams-Spink

A portable, in-car lavatory has been launched by a British firm for use by people with medical conditions, as well as families with small children.

The Indipod, made by Bromsgrove-based Daycar, is aimed at people with bowel and bladder problems.

The chemical toilet is housed in an inflatable "bubble" which is powered from the car's cigarette lighter.

It is designed to be used in multi-purpose vehicles, four-wheel drives and estate cars.

The Indipod is on display at Naidex 2005, an exhibition of products for disabled people at the NEC in Birmingham.

When not is use, the Indipod folds away into a bag the size of a suitcase and weighs 8kg.

"When we developed it we thought it would be for families, kids going out for the day or on holiday," Daycar managing director, Barbara May, told the BBC News website.

"But we've had an excellent response from people with medical conditions."

European odyssey

To show of the potential of the Indipod, Daycar did a seven-day trip from John O'Groats to the southern tip of Italy without getting out of the car.

"For people with bowel disease, incontinence or bladder problems, this product is not a luxury, it's a necessity," said Mrs May.

The company says that the chemicals break down waste into a "sweet smelling, inoffensive liquid", which can be disposed of at the end of a journey.

It says that there is no residual smell in the vehicle once the Indipod has been used, and that one sachet of chemicals is enough for one person's use for about eight days.

The bubble or "private sanitary sanctuary" inflates to an area about 1.2m high by a metre wide and is sufficient to accommodate two people, according to Mrs May.

"You could have a parent and child or a disabled person with a helper," she said.

If there is luggage or shopping in the back of the vehicle the bubble expands around it and occupies only empty space.

Once it is no longer required, the power cord is disconnected and it can be packed away into its bag.

It is thought that up to a million people in Europe have either bowel or bladder problems. Daycar says it has already received interest from people in Belgium and Italy.

Perhaps the most far-flung and unusual order came from a man in Australia who wanted to buy an Indipod for his wife's birthday.

Posted by NASAdude at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)