Scientists are considering the idea that our perception of reality is shaped not only by our senses but by our brains creating an internal map or model of the world around us.
This means our perception of what’s true or real is malleable, and we are at risk of losing our grasp on it. The result can be tragedies like the Jonestown mass suicide and Nazi Germany.
Some philosophers think that evolution cares more about how to survive than about any accurate version of reality, which can lead to “useful fictions” about the world.
I thought the article did a good job of introducing the fact that consciousness and perception are a hallucination, a trick of the mind as it assembles various datastreams and updates the model constantly. “Reality is a Lego tower all of us continuously assemble, fix, and adjust bit by bit.” This is a standard neuroscience perspective. It’s as ‘true’ as anything else we know about the brain.
And then … well it was some evocative writing, but I think they failed to bring home the final point. When they say ‘reality’, they mean ‘society’. Just substitute that word, and suddenly the whole article makes more sense, is relevant, and has teeth. They were trying to be poetic, when a more direct statement about the cha0s in our streets would have been more effective.
The title does suck.
Yes our brains make “sense” of things. If you’ve taken Salvia you’ll know this (i haven’t).
I have and it sucks ass. It’s like a disassociative panic attack for ten minutes in plant form. I do not understand how people can even pretend it’s anywhere near a competitor to weed.
I felt like my chair wanted to eat me, but I was okay with it
It’s OK to be a little suicidal. Understandable, even, just accepting that warm ebrace…
I can only explain it as the 4th dimension. It’s weird to say the least. It’s okay but I got the gist of it after doing it a few times.
Paywalled article. Here is a cached version. https://archive.is/eKlVv
This is very obviously true in my hallucination of reality.
What a stupid headline for a 300-year-old idea
PopMech has been too heavy on the pop side for too long. This is just Plato’s cave all over again.
So the simulation theory has a grain of truth to it? Just not in the way we thought?
Reality is a rendering of the hivemind
Do I still have to go to work tomorrow?
You never had to go to work. Still don’t.
If this is The Matrix, then MAGA is gonna be really upset. They don’t even know it.
Why? They’d just be like dipshit Cypher and murder to get back to their dumbass ignorance.
… no wait, they are like dipshit Cypher, no matrix required…
I was thinking of the trans allegory. They wouldn’t like to realize that is what is symbolizes.
