In his 1971 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick introduced a “thought experiment” that has become known as “the experience machine:”

Suppose there were an experience machine that would give you any experience you desired. Super-duper neuropsychologists could stimulate your brain so that you would think and feel you were writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book. All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain. Of course, while in the tank you won’t know that you’re there; you’ll think that it’s all actually happening.

•  Would you plug into the machine for life?

A note about facilitating discussions around a philosophical thought experiment like “The Experience Machine:”

Though experiments are intentionally artificial and strip away real-world complexity in order to isolate the values that guide our choices. These playful, but high-stakes “what-ifs” act as mental laboratories that help us practice important thinking skills like: identifying stakeholders, unearthing unconscious biases, listening to what other people find important, and clearly articulating why we make a particular choice. Naturally, people want to try to outsmart the scenario by looking for loopholes or exceptions, but it is important to play along with the scenario and stay with the forced choice presented. It can be helpful to remind ourselves that for this hypothetical scenario: “If I was forced to choose, what truly matters to me, and why?”