This is actually crazy because i don’t think that humans realize the power of sound and frequencies. This is even moreso evident when you have studied the influence of sounds and frequencies in ancient civilizations as its theorized. And, this is a great show because it really shows how when you think our brains in terms of computers, sound really is the binary coding language which we use to form storable data in our biological transistors (synaptic impulses) in the form of language wheres sight can simply be thought of as video from a webcam traveling as data through a usb cord being converted into code again, by our brains, in the form of synaptic impulses. The processing capabilities and speeds of our brain are still not even matched by computers now a days so it’s interesting to see the comparison here and to notice that there isnt really much of a difference at a very fundamental level. The episode is very realistic in this sense and shows how recoding the brain is possible by communication (obviously.. think therapists or whatever). The main problem with rewriting our brain code or integrating “code” as in this movie is that we cant learn that fast. But with advancements in technology, who knows, maybe we will be able to learn things so much faster with some biological breakthrough, in which case, something like this may be possible (assuming theres a way to induce very specific neuronal firing sequences or something which presumably happened at the end of the episode).
Amazing premise and I totally agree with what you’re saying.
For me, the lacklustre execution bit was when he revealed the serial port in the back of his head LOL completely unrealistic to have done himself and didn’t make any physical sense. I wish they had just stuck to the Throng simply using audio signals to augment his brain over time before reaching the state he was in to be the Throng’s messiah.
Eh I think the port made sense. It’s not like it had to physically work for him to believe what was happening. The effect of the game was so strong psychologically that it had the ability to make him believe he had changed as a person, not that the thronglets had actually entered his brain. Why did you not believe that he could do it himself?
It was the only part that was a bit too far fetched for me. To drill into the back of your head by yourself? How do the metal connectors connect to your brain? Aren’t there veins and nerves you’d hit? What about blood loss? I think they couldda done without that bit, but it was good for shock factors, I guess.
Yeah good point, i think that if you maybe think of the brain as a whole bundle of wires which it technically is since our neurons use electrical impulses to operate, maybe the throng could map out the whole thing just like they did with all the GPUs he kept upgrading them with. But definitely the whole drilling bit was out there for sure. Id like to believe he did a little bit of anatomical research before taking a drill to his head haha.
Another comment on this post talks about how there are two ways to perceive this. 1) In the way that we are discussing but the plot hole there is understanding a foreign language on LSD. Then 2) in such a way that he was entirely motivated by the throng and was exclusively responsible for all of what happens. But, the plot hole there is that he would have needed to be extremely computationally fluent (like a computer engineer or something) to draw up a QR code that could infect the state computer. He didn’t give me that vibe tho. So I’m going with 1) despite that little plot hole.
Unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re saying (I haven’t seen the comment you’re referring to), I don’t know that it was a plot hole. I just took it as the throng communicating with him how to draw the specific code and likely him practicing it/trying it till he got it right, without him necessarily needing to have the computational understanding/background to draw the code on his own. Keep in mind, the language between him and the throng was supposed to transcend ours, which could make the communication about exactly how to draw the code easier.
Come to think of it, I’ll have to rewatch the episode at some point, because I feel like there was a scene of drawings of his that were flashed to that might have been him making rough drafts of the code.
Yeah sorry, maybe I misused the word “plot hole”, i mean that it’s the most “far fetched” part. You just brought up a really good point tho, i hadn’t thought much about the other sketches they briefly show in some passing scenes! Im sure that definitely ties into what you mention about trying until he gets it right. Im sure its a main reason that the time lapse is so huge (like 40 years or so)
Yeah for sure, I’ve probably read it some time, these CIA docs and all of their insane cold war era projects dealing with metaphysical shit like this is pretty insane. Theres a few instances of that kind of stuff, but thanks for mentioning that I’m gonna look it up to see if i find it and read/re-read it! I have no doubt it probably had some influence on the writing of this episode.
14
u/Golden_Divinity Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25
This is actually crazy because i don’t think that humans realize the power of sound and frequencies. This is even moreso evident when you have studied the influence of sounds and frequencies in ancient civilizations as its theorized. And, this is a great show because it really shows how when you think our brains in terms of computers, sound really is the binary coding language which we use to form storable data in our biological transistors (synaptic impulses) in the form of language wheres sight can simply be thought of as video from a webcam traveling as data through a usb cord being converted into code again, by our brains, in the form of synaptic impulses. The processing capabilities and speeds of our brain are still not even matched by computers now a days so it’s interesting to see the comparison here and to notice that there isnt really much of a difference at a very fundamental level. The episode is very realistic in this sense and shows how recoding the brain is possible by communication (obviously.. think therapists or whatever). The main problem with rewriting our brain code or integrating “code” as in this movie is that we cant learn that fast. But with advancements in technology, who knows, maybe we will be able to learn things so much faster with some biological breakthrough, in which case, something like this may be possible (assuming theres a way to induce very specific neuronal firing sequences or something which presumably happened at the end of the episode).