It is always the case, with mathematics, that a little direct experience of thinking over things on your own can provide a much deeper understanding than merely reading about them.

I'm pretty tenacious when it comes to problems.

We have a closed circle of consistency here: the laws of physics produce complex systems, and these complex systems lead to consciousness, which then produces mathematics, which can then encode in a succinct and inspiring way the very underlying laws of physics that gave rise to it.

Consciousness ... is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very existence is made known.

Well, gauge theory is very fundamental to our understanding of physical forces these days. But they are also dependent on a mathematical idea, which has been around for longer than gauge theory has.

Understanding is, after all, what science is all about — and science is a great deal more than mindless computation.

Well I didn't actually see the Matrix but I've seen other movies where with similar sorts of themes.