Experience Machine.

Are people familiar with the thought experiment called the "Experience Machine"?  (Here's a link if you haven't heard of it before.)

I came to a weird realization today:  The Experience Machine exists and we've already chosen it.

Things like video games, television, movies, cosplay, books... aren't those as good as the Experience Machine, and haven't we already chosen them?

(I realize this is not exactly the argument of the Experience Machine, but bear with me.)

I bring this up because whenever the idea of the Experience Machine comes up during discussion, people (at least a few) always seem to get really vehemently angry about it and insist that they would never take part in such a machine.  I have never understood, because for me the choice is really easy: I would always take the experience.

In my mind, whether the experience is "real" or not shouldn't matter; I have no idea if the things I experience are real or not, or if I'm just living in the Matrix or something anyway; at least by choosing the Experience Machine, I acknowledge that I am not actually doing anything, but I at least receive the experience.

Which led me to today's realization:  People play video games (or watch television, or observe art) because we want the rewards of experiencing life without the risks.  And as an artist, it is my purpose to provide that experience.

... here's a picture of action figures.