# Why did Neo have an office job in the Matrix? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443 "2005-07-27T18:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/21 "2005-07-28T01:26:56Z")
😕 > [@middleman](#): > > Is that the spammer who now looks like spam? ---
**Author:** ![Earthing\_Continuity\_Resistance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9f8e36/32.png) [@Earthing\_Continuity\_Resistance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthing_Continuity_Resistance)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/22 "2005-07-28T01:34:39Z")
That was [Vardan Kushnir.](http://mosnews.com/news/2005/07/25/spammerdead.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/23 "2005-07-28T03:45:12Z")
> [@rexnervous](#): > > Trust me, it’s not all it’s made out to be. It’s better. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/24 "2005-07-28T04:29:52Z")
I never liked the perpetual motion machine aspect of the Matrix Humans-\>electrical energy-\>feed dead humans to Humans-\>electrical energy… repeat I always wanted the machines to be using the computational power of billions of human minds as their resource. All the jobs people did in the Matrix were actually doing part of the computations or problem-solving the machines wanted to do. That’s why he has a desk job - so the machines can benefit from his mental work. Alas, the movie was not written that way. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/25 "2005-07-28T06:14:21Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > Wasn’t he this badass hacker that had people pay him for information? I always thought the disks he was selling were some kind of virtual reality drug, but maybe I’ve just watched _Strange Days_ one too many times. Drug dealers often have regular jobs, because the black market isn’t a steady source of income at such a low level. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/26 "2005-07-28T14:14:08Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > I never liked the perpetual motion machine aspect of the Matrix > > Humans-\>electrical energy-\>feed dead humans to Humans-\>electrical energy… repeat Well, combined with a form of fusion. I get the impression the Wachowskis like to indulge their tastes for two-bit philosophy and kung-fu fighting, while nitty-gritty detail bores them. > [@](#): > > I always wanted the machines to be using the computational power of billions of human minds as their resource. All the jobs people did in the Matrix were actually doing part of the computations or problem-solving the machines wanted to do. That’s why he has a desk job - so the machines can benefit from his mental work. That was (vaguely) a plot point in the _Hyperion_ novels, which I’d like to see filmed one day in epic mini-series fashion. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/27 "2005-07-28T15:54:58Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Well, combined with a form of fusion. I get the impression the Wachowskis like to indulge their tastes for two-bit philosophy and kung-fu fighting, while nitty-gritty detail bores them. Yeah, hopefully they didn’t let the inattention to detail ruin _V for Vendetta_. > [@](#): > > That was (vaguely) a plot point in the _Hyperion_ novels, which I’d like to see filmed one day in epic mini-series fashion. I liked _Hyperion_, but I haven’t read the other novels. I agree that it would make a fabulous mini-series. Wasn’t the Sci-Fi Channel or someone going to do that? ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/28 "2005-07-28T20:37:52Z")
(Geek Mode On) I still think that the Matrix would have worked a lot better if everybody was slowly conditioned to cartoon-world physics, generation by generation. As the old cranky “back in the day…” folks died off, the humans would have no basis on which to judge whether it was normal for people to get squashed by falling anvils. 😃 (Geekier Mode On) Or, just turn the Matrix into a huge virtual reality MMORPG, a la the .hack series. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/29 "2005-07-30T10:48:43Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > What’s _really_ odd is the bit about not liberating a mind after a certain age. Isn’t adulthood when one begins thoughtful examination of the nature of the world? Nah, children, with their still-developing brains, are much better at adapting to huge amounts of change in their lives than adults, who are more set in their ways. ---
**Author:** ![MadderMitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e7dd6/32.png) [@MadderMitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadderMitch)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/30 "2005-07-30T13:57:26Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > What’s _really_ odd is the bit about not liberating a mind after a certain age. Isn’t adulthood when one begins thoughtful examination of the nature of the world? I think so. I have a few friends who studied philosophy as children, and thier outlook on life is really quite muddled. They don’t appear to genuininely _think_ about anything, let alone carefully. They just quote chapters and verses. I always thought philosophy isn’t worth shit until you’re ready for it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/31 "2005-07-30T15:07:39Z")
So let’s recap. Reaction when an adult learns he is the Chosen One that will lead the world to balance: “Whoa” Reaction when a child learns he is the Chosen One that will lead the world to balance: “Yippee” It’s a toss up. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/32 "2005-07-31T00:36:55Z")
It’s been a while since I watched the matrix, and I never saw the sequels… 😉 but here’s a thought. Maybe the problems with taking an adult out of the matrix aren’t so much existential/philosophical?? Maybe there’s a serious biological or neurological component to it too?? I mean, as perfectly as the matrix is supposed to reflect a fairly calm ‘ordinary’ life, it’s not your real body, and you’re possibly not controlling it with the same kind of synapse connections as you do with a real body. The shock of finding that the body, the entire world, that you’re used to has gona away and you have another one that doesn’t really work the same way… well, I’m not quite sure how to finish the sentence, but does that make any sense?? Children haven’t gotten so used to their worlds, they haven’t finished learning the rules, so it isn’t as traumatic for them to start all over again. The younger the better, possibly. Philosophy, as such, would only be useful for adults as a tool to make the psychological elements of the transition easier, maybe. Kids wouldn’t, I think, need it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443/33 "2005-07-31T00:44:12Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > It’s been a while since I watched the matrix, and I never saw the sequels… 😉 but here’s a thought. Maybe the problems with taking an adult out of the matrix aren’t so much existential/philosophical?? Maybe there’s a serious biological or neurological component to it too?? Interesting point, but I think Morpheus said something like “We don’t usually free a mind at this age.” Makes it sound like a mental thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-neo-have-an-office-job-in-the-matrix/314443.md?page=1)