Matrix is a legendary and very influential science fiction film that, according to an astrophysicist, is almost perfect from a scientific standpoint. Almost – because the script makes a major blunder.
The Matrix was released in 1999 and is now considered an influential work that raises philosophical questions. It leads to the question of how realistic and scientifically accurate the depicted content actually is.
The story of machines keeping humans occupied in a virtual world seems absurd at first glance, but once you accept the basic concept, the film succeeds in presenting a not unrealistic portrayal of the whole.
The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who has also commented on Godzilla, considers The Matrix his favorite science fiction film, claiming it only makes one scientific mistake.
However, this mistake was necessary for the story surrounding Neo and Trinity to work at all.
Humans as an Energy Source
What is the mistake? Neil deGrasse Tyson commented on the film in a conversation with The Diary of a CEO and pointed out an important aspect.
The machines in The Matrix use humans as energy sources. They place them in capsules and keep them alive by providing them with food. At the same time, the minds of the humans exist in a virtual world, the titular Matrix.
The astrophysicist is puzzled by this point:
The machines feed the humans, so why are we feeding the humans and then using their energy for the machines? One should eliminate the intermediary and supply the machines directly with energy.
This is linked to a problem of thermodynamics. When energy is transformed, it is never 100% efficient, according to the physicist. Along the way, some energy is lost. DeGrasse Tyson explains this with an analogy:
For example, if you drive 80 kilometers with an internal combustion engine, the engine gets hot. This heat is wasted energy produced during the conversion of the chemical energy of gasoline into the kinetic energy of the car. It never runs perfectly.
In other words: the method used by the machines in The Matrix is far from perfect and borders on resource waste.
So why does this mistake exist? The astrophysicist can easily understand why the Wachowski sisters, who wrote the screenplay, overlooked this point.
Because without the mistake, there would have been no purpose for the humans in the film, and they could have been done away with. It’s unfortunate when the story revolves around humans and their fight against the machines.
The anecdote shows: Scientific accuracy is nice and all, but it sometimes stands in the way of a good story. If the Wachowskis had insisted on avoiding the mistake, they would not have been able to make the film at all, and we would not have received a genre milestone. A spectacular scene from part 2 cost a lot: A legendary film series sacrificed 300 cars for a single scene, and you thought it was CGI
In other words: the method used by the machines in The Matrix is far from perfect and borders on resource waste.
So why does this mistake exist? The astrophysicist can easily understand why the Wachowski sisters, who wrote the screenplay, overlooked this point.
Because without the mistake, there would have been no purpose for the humans in the film, and they could have been done away with. It’s unfortunate when the story revolves around humans and their fight against the machines.
The anecdote shows: Scientific accuracy is nice and all, but it sometimes stands in the way of a good story. If the Wachowskis had insisted on avoiding the mistake, they would not have been able to make the film at all, and we would not have received a genre milestone. A spectacular scene from part 2 cost a lot: A legendary film series sacrificed 300 cars for a single scene, and you thought it was CGI
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