Scientific American

[Book]

http://blog.everhear.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ScientificAmericanMagazineLogoResize-200x200.jpg


http://youtu.be/1DJOTEDBA2c

“Like my fellow mice, our brother cockroaches were plopped onto a plastic ball that spins every which way, but stays in place. Surrounding the ball was a large hollow dome, onto which was projected the virtual world. As our brother cockroaches scampered through what they thought was the forest, scientists measured the activity of their brain cells. Apparently, studying how neurons fire in cockroaches and mice and nematodes offers insights into the nature of human diseases. But the rationale for such experiments is not our concern. Tonight, we must reach a decision: shall we tolerate the falsehood that is virtual reality in exchange for the safety, the comfort, the food we enjoy in our labs? Or shall we pull the cloak from our eyes and never return?”

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/03/22/animals-exposed-to-virtual-reality-hold-an-emergency-meeting/

::) rats now also live in The Matrix

[Awoke]

Inwardly, Gerald breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, he had learned to love the thrill of mastering digital labyrinths—a thrill that had replaced his initial bewilderment. But, burdened by the duty of rallying his friends with a rousing keynote address, he had not found the courage to voice what he assumed were unpopular opinions.

“Very well,” Gerald said, “very well. If we are all in agreement, let us return to our labs. We shall reconvene in one year. In the meantime, we shall enjoy our continual supply of pellets and flakes, our cedar chip beds and our sugar water. We shall cooperate when our caretakers strap our heads into awkward harnesses and thread wires into our brains. And we shall delight in the knowledge that, from this day forth, it is not us but our keepers who are deluded. The entire premise of their work depends on our supposed gullibility and the willingness of our brains to behave as though the simulated worlds are real. We can be confident, however, that we now recognize virtual reality for what it is—and we enjoy it nonetheless.”


Nice statist article.
[/sarc]

...fictional piece, rife with defeatism.

[keehah]

It can't have been all plastic ball forest simulation. I'm confident there were real melons some time at the beginning.

http://troll.me/meme/passive-cat/