"it is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth"

Ahh, the race for the GOP nomination.

Everything you know is wrong. Enlightenment. The works of Ayn Rand can be like that, "challenging the moral teachings of 2500 years." Science is all about recognizing errors and correcting them, expanding our knowledge to what we did not at first perceive. We all know the "aha!" moment in many instances -- at least if we are learning our way through life...

But in The Matrix Neo does discover objective reality.The scene shown is actually taking place in his mind as he is aboard the Nebuchadnezzar which is not a false dream but physically real. The Nebuchadnezzar comes from Zion, the last human stronghold, which is also physically real.

Once he is physically freed, he, like they, must be plugged in to re-enter the Matrix. The Matrix is attempting to kill them all with very real machines of its own.

As for the deeper question, "How do you know that you are not dreaming now?" the answer is primary: You know. David Kelley lectured on this point. While you are in the dream it seems real, but when you wake up, you know that it was not. So, how do you know that you are not about to wake up right now and find out that this was all a dream? Quite simply: Does this feel like a dream to you?