Total Recall the Experience Machine

I recently watched the popular movie 'Total Recall' on the plane, and I was pretty amused.

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I can't remember most part of the story, but the part where his memory was replaced (which is the main point of the whole movie). The reason why I found it fascinating is because it reminded me of the quite famous philosophical thought-experiment 'Experience Machine'.

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So what is experience machine? 

If I'm recalling the facts correctly, it is a machine that you can step inside at your own will and it will create all the happy moments- artificial happy moments. The catch is once you are in, you totally forget that you are inside the machine, and that in fact, all those people that you meet, all the things that you think are happening in your life, are mere digital bytes and particles. They do not exist any where in actual world, but only in their head. They also cannot get out once they are in. 


And I can still remember in the lecture, prof asked people to raise their hands if they are willing to step inside this machine. I was one of the few who did, and I must say I was surprised as much as they must have been surprised. 

The people who were not willing to get inside, basically said, it's because those things are not real. Thus, they don't mean anything. 

However, I wondered, and I still wonder, then, what is real, and what is truth?

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For the person who is inside the machine, the reality is no longer the self that's lying down in the machine; the reality is their happy fun life they are enjoying. And there will be no way to find out that actually it's all fake. 

Then, isn't that the truth as long as that's what they believe in?



Coincidentally, at that time I was also experiencing one of the toughest lows in my life. So honestly, I was even a bit disappointed to realize that experience machine actually does not exist. 

Now I don't wish for experience machine or anything like that in particular, but really.. Is it that horrible to escape from the dreadful life and step into sweet future? Is it that much of a coward? I mean, is the happiness NOT WORTH the cowardice? 

I know, theoretically people will say truth is worth more than fake happiness. But how about in real life? Is it still? 

I wonder.