Are we living in the Matrix?

I know that my blog is meant to focus upon business, finance and technology, but every now and again you start asking existential questions like:

• What is time?
• Why do we have borders?
• What is money?
• Do we live in the matrix?

So, I thought I would address these questions.

What is time?

Time is different on the moon, in space, on top of Mount Everest and under the ocean. Albert Einstein is one of the key protagonists in this space, asking about what is time. Time does not exist. We just made it up. If you travel across China, time is the same everywhere and yet, when you enter Afghanistan, the time change is three and a half hours, even though they are next door neighbours. Why? Because time in China is the same from East to West and back again. Time? We just made time up!

This then begs the question: Why do we have borders?

Borders don’t exist. We just made them up! This is why Europe's history is so amazing when you see how the map has changed ...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_AEtWY0hECU

Having said that, we argue and fight over borders all the time (reference Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, Yemen-Saudi … the list goes on, e.g. Sudan). Why do we have borders when they don’t exist? Well, it’s all about power and control. What’s interesting in this space is that the internet does not recognise borders. The internet is global and borders are local, a discussion I have often (it’s a theme in my newest book).

Yet, if we question these existential questions, if we don’t have borders then how does money work?

What is money?

Money is issued by central authorities under government supervision. It is the government’s central authority that makes money work. That’s why we have fiat currencies. Fiat currencies are issued by governments and backed by the trust in that government. This is why some currencies are more trusted than others. Compare the Zig from Zimbabwe with the US dollar; compare Venezuela’s bolivar with the euro; compare the Vietnamese Dong with the Japanese Yen … you get the idea.

In each case, the currency has been created by a government who are either trusted or not trusted. A bit like banks are trusted or not. The strength of the government and bank is based purely on the level success of their economies, and is based on the borders between countries which can change overnight.

This discussion is raging today as we discuss central versus decentralised currencies which, as it turns out, is a core part of the next US election.

Is the freedom of the people greater than the control of the country? That’s an interesting debate.

But, meanwhile, if we consider that time does not exist; borders do not exist; money does not exist; and, therefore, governments do not exist … what does exist? Maybe we are all just living inside a computer simulation? Is this the Matrix?

The weirdest thing is that, if you delve into that space, there are more and more scientists claiming that yes, we are living in the Matrix!

Do We Live in a Simulation? Chances Are about 50–50 | Scientific American

No way?

A scientist may have just proven that we all live inside a computer simulation | indy100

Oh, maybe way ... or are we living in a multiverse?

Here’s Why We Might Live in a Multiverse | Scientific American

No way?

5 Reasons We May Live in a Multiverse | Space

Oh, maybe way, but then we could just easily be living in a never-ending holodeck ...

Star Trek-inspired Holodeck AI model can create a 3D world from text | Tom's Guide

Or am I just going crazy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4jf6rtyuw