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Since the kung fu program was simply "loaded" into his RSI, would Neo still be able to put that knowledge to use outside of the Matrix? Were these actual martial art skills, or just their computerized representations, à la video games?

In the same manner, after having received an "update", would Trinity be able to fly an actual helicopter if given a chance in the real world?

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    I don't see why not. Neo learned to walk and talk in the Matrix, and he didn't have to re-learn when they unplugged him. Without any evidence to the contrary, I'd assume uploaded skills work the same way.
    – Nerrolken
    Jun 23, 2015 at 18:48
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    He said that he knows Kung Fu. Why would he lie? Just to impress Morpheus?
    – user46271
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:04
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    @TheHonorableNedStark - I know how to pilot a helicopter (in GTA). That doesn't mean I can do it in real life.
    – Valorum
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:05
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    Taking the full trilogy plot into account there is no "outside of the Matrix". "The real world" of Neo is just another level in the Matrix and Neo himself is a program too.
    – hindmost
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:53
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    @hindmost No. This is a fan theory that has been debunked many times over the years.
    – Chahk
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:57

4 Answers 4

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Yes

In the third Matrix movie, Smith (as Bane) and Neo fight inside a ship. In the real world. He is still using his fighting knowledge that he gained from the construct program.

That being said, all of the speed and strength advantages he gained in the Matrix are not available to him (until he is blinded?).

It is also unlikely that he physically conditions his body with the movements and muscle memory that would be required for him to perform even close to the level he does in the Matrix. He probably never thought "I'll need this kung fu on the outside too."

Does he know how to punch? Yes. Does he do it well? No.

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    I thought this sequence was choreographed very differently from in-Matrix fight scenes. A lot less karate chops, roundhouse kicks, and flying side-kicks, and a lot more grappling and plain old face-smashing.
    – Chahk
    Jun 23, 2015 at 18:56
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    Because the real world has hard physical limits, not soft ones like the matrix
    – user16696
    Jun 23, 2015 at 18:59
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    @WadCheber - As I'm endlessly pointing out, the "Matrix within a Matrix" fan-theory is one that has been pretty comprehensively debunked.
    – Valorum
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:07
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    @Richard - that's exactly what the matrix would say.
    – Wad Cheber
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:08
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    @WadCheber - indeed
    – Valorum
    Jun 23, 2015 at 19:09
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would Trinity be able to fly an actual helicopter if given a chance in the real world?

That would depend greatly on how accurate The Matrix's simulations of real world helicopters are. I mean, what if the machines got it wrong? Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.

If, on the other hand, the Matrix managed to exactly duplicate the operation of a helicopter from the real world, then yes, Trinity now has the knowledge needed to fly the thing, and not just the book knowledge either, because it seems they can upload the training experience directly into her brain. Which makes sense in a way - if you have a direct computer-to-brain interface readily available, you should be able to copy other people's experiences and store them digitally.

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    Trinity also knows how to pilot the ships out of the Matrix. While some of the skills would of course be different between say a ship and a helicopter, there would be some translation of the concepts.
    – Jane S
    Jun 23, 2015 at 22:51
  • "would Trinity be able to fly an actual helicopter if given a chance in the real world?" I think the answer is Yes, but with a lot less confidence. Flying a helicopter mainly requires disciple and knowledge, and not IRL routine. Kung-fu however... I won't type it again. See my answer on that topic.
    – mg30rg
    Jun 24, 2015 at 9:41
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    Well, considering that Trinity downloaded this knowledge 15 seconds before getting her own experience doing it, then immediately gaining combat experience flying said helicopter, I would say that her downloaded knowledge, plus her practical, personal knowledge would combine to allow her to fly a real helicopter in the real world. If they still existed in the real world (which they didn't) and if the Matrix's simulation of a helicopter was even close to the real thing.
    – Ernie
    Jun 24, 2015 at 16:14
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Just an educated guess, but I think the answer is a "yes" with a "but..."


I mean kung-fu is obviously uploaded into his brain (or to an interface inside his brain), but there is more to martial art than "dry" knowledge; there is muscle memory, reflexes, physical condition, etc. So I think he knows kung-fu like somebody who have practiced it years ago but since then suffered (and recovered from) a serious neurological damage/trauma. He remembers how to do it and maybe able to defend himself from an unskilled attacker, but is nowhere near the level of masterity he has in the matrix. (Not counting his - in matrix - superhuman abilities of course.)

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  • Just like Jack B Nimble's answer outlined, he is much more clumsy when fighting in the real world in Revolutions. Jun 24, 2015 at 9:47
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    @JuhaUntinen I might be mistaken (I'm not a native English speaker) but I interpreted that answer more like "Neo does not have his superhuman abilities in the real world, because it [the real world] has its physical limitations." and not "Neo has never had a kung-fu training IRL, so he is just trying to mimic what he has done in a video game." which was my point.
    – mg30rg
    Jun 24, 2015 at 9:56
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It appears that the skills learned via the uploading process actually show up in Neo's brain, as in the sequels he fights using Kung-fu outside the Matrix.

Muscle memory/reflexes are stored in the nervous system. If you are uploading data to one cluster of nerves (the brain), doing so to the spine (and other nerves) as well hardly seems unreasonable. So even the reflexes should show up.

The physical condition of the people stuck in the matrix is atrophied, but the process by which they fix the bodies of people who leave the matrix seems to duplicate their physiology inside and outside the matrix.

In the Matrix, Neo (and the other free humans) also cheat (to a greater extent sometimes than others), and for the most part that ability to cheat (pre-blind Neo, if you think they ever got out of a Matrix) won't be available outside the Matrix.

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