This song reminds me of the thought experiment of the "experience machine" put forward by Robert Nozick: he describes a hypothetical machine that can induce all kinds of pleasurable experiences for the rest of your life, and explains the reasons why people shouldn't (and most people wouldn't) want to live in that machine when given a choice.
This can't have been the inspiration for the song, since it wasn't published until 1974, but the song may well be based on a similar thought. (Or maybe Nozick liked Simon & Garfunkel... ;-))
This song reminds me of the thought experiment of the "experience machine" put forward by Robert Nozick: he describes a hypothetical machine that can induce all kinds of pleasurable experiences for the rest of your life, and explains the reasons why people shouldn't (and most people wouldn't) want to live in that machine when given a choice.
This can't have been the inspiration for the song, since it wasn't published until 1974, but the song may well be based on a similar thought. (Or maybe Nozick liked Simon & Garfunkel... ;-))