»How could the Oracle see the future?«

Ok, I understand why she was able to see the events leading up to Neo's meeting with the Architect because it happened 5 times before. But this time Neo chose the other door so everything after that was new.

How could a computer program see the future?

Howdy. The Oracle could not "see the future" per se. She is an intuitive program. In that she is intuitive, she has insight to the human psyche, as she was designed to. She is a guide. She tells individuals that seek her out what they "need to know" to not only advance themselves, but to advance the process of what is to be. She understands that the only way to the future, for survival of machines and humans, is together. Each has stagnated in it's present format.

These theries are based in a couple scenes- the most recent when the Architect and Neo met in Rev... The Architects' "Please" was not a denial that she was the mother, but that she was an Oracle. Remember, the Architects' perspective is perfection, and by pure definition, the Oracle is not an Oracle, she is an intuitive program. As Morpheus described her in The Matrix as a "guide" and that is what she does. Recall this scene between she and Neo:

O: "Don't worry about the vase." Neo: "What vase" as he turns and breaks it. Neo: "How did you know... " O: "Oh, what's really going to bake your noodle later on is if I hadn't said anything, would you have broken it."

It's quite simple, actually. The program "Oracle" can "see the future" because she understands the humans and their choices. She is the master and (in the Matrix) the creator of CHOICE. Remember that in reloaded, the architect explains that the oracle gave the humans choice. This is also why the oracle always thalks about choice with neo. She can predict the future events in the matrix because she understands the events that led up to them. "We can only see past the choices we understand."

I dont think the oracle is just making hyptheses based on her understanding of the human psyche...at least, that isn't her only method. You must remember that we dont know if He truly chose the right or wrong door in the Architect's room. who is to say what is right and wrong? you must remember that in the final battle, the Agent Smith that had taken over the Oracle used his powers to see how things turned out, so it must have occured in the past...after all, Neo always ended up being re-assimilated to reboot the program as he did for a seventh time, but since the oracle pushed things in a drastically different direction, the had to be major changes for the next version. Personally, I think the cycle of refinement was the Oracle's intent...after all, she is a program as well

The oracle can only see as far as choices that people don't understand.

If they understand them, they probably already sub-conciously know which way they will fall.

The Oracle has obviously got seriously high levels of psych 101 pumped into her program, as well as major number crunching available to her.

She gets the information and extrapolates the most likely outcome of all the variables.

Thats why she can't see past the choices that aren't understood.

No clear leaning = no definite variable.

KBK

What? The machines don't have time-extrapolatin' technology?

Actually, what it sounds like is a simulative program called Predictive Modelling. If you input enough info about a given situation or person, you could predict within a small margin of error what that person may do next. Its what allowed the supercomputer Deep Blue to kick Gary Kasparov to the curb in Chess, and its what the military uses to model nuclear war scenarios ^)__^ Its wicked awesome stuff. Makes me wish I had a supercomputer. I would use it to see what (or if, or when) the Wachowskis would do anything next!

JustJohnnyMnemonic wrote:

If you input enough info about a given situation or person, you could predict within a small margin of error what that person may do next.

Would that include what they would dream about, too?

JustJohnnyMnemonic wrote:

Its wicked awesome stuff. Makes me wish I had a supercomputer. I would use it to see what (or if, or when) the Wachowskis would do anything next!

Considering you have to input info about them first, I hope you have the storage space.

Would that include what they would dream about, too?

Considering you have to input info about them first, I hope you have the storage space.[/quote]

Since we have strong evidence that minds can be tapped for information, we can assume that their dreams can be tapped for data.

However, if you have a strong record of a pattern of behavior (of course Neo is going to save Trinity. what self-respecting red-blooded male wouldn't?), coupled with some projective estimates, and narrowing them down to 'most likely to occur', you won't need dreams. Its quite possible the matrix is one big sensory post, where anything that happens is watched, regulated, and even filtered by the machines.

And Quite. I dont have the storage space, nor capacity for perfoming such functions. That sort of thing requires a supercomputer, and very few people hav access to those (as I recall, only governments and large scale businesses have the capabilty, power, and cost for such things). Still, If I had access to it, I'd probably hope to see if anythign more crops up.

Quote:

However, if you have a strong record of a pattern of behavior (of course Neo is going to save Trinity. what self-respecting red-blooded male wouldn't?), coupled with some projective estimates, and narrowing them down to 'most likely to occur', you won't need dreams.

No. I mean how would you explain her knowledge of what Thomas Anderson was dreaming about - - outside the matrix?

^)__^ two theories on that, that have been rolling around in my head.

1) The Predictive Modelling is godlike in the machines programming.

2) it is possible that Neo is still connected to the machine world (this was proven in revolutions, the train man bit), and that his dreams can still be accessed. Or it could even be possible that they use predictive modelling to the effect that even dreams can be guessed at. With the failure and running of several other 'One's, they could definetely do some serious stuff with dream precognition. In fact, even the Archetict (sp?) had said that very slight differences where between the current One and other Ones. The only thing that was different was the approach towards their destiny.