"Don't Think it, Know it"

"You have to let it all go: Fear, Doubt and Disbelief"

"Free your mind"

Movies such as The Matrix have popularized the idea that we may be living in a virtual reality. In The Matrix, people think they are living in a modern city, but they are really bodies stored in vats, wired to a central computer that immerses them in a world of illusion. Although the story is wildly fictional, it may contain a core of truth. Military simulators routinely place soldiers on a virtual battlefield for training. Over the last few decades, computers have increased greatly in power according to Moore’s law, and we can envision computers that will vastly exceed the complexity of the human brain and sensory system. Could we already be living in a virtual reality? If so, what is the “real” reality? Are we bodies in vats, or something else entirely?