Reality, a Fantasy

The image, by the way comes from a pretty good article that has not much to do with what my point is here. It is a great article that makes a different point concerning reality: one that is not at all inconsistent with what I am saying here. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/virtual-reality-could-it-revolutionise-higher-education. 

"Reality" is for all practical purposes, something that our brains build entirely within our heads. In this sense it is a fantasy. It may be based on real experience, but it is a fantasy nonetheless.

The construction of a 3-D model is one of the primary functions of our brains; it does this so that we might move through space and time too. All animals do this too. It is an abstraction concerning the information that our bodies encounter with the five senses. That's it, just five things. From color patterns and smells and sounds and tastes and physical contact, all independent of one another and all coming into our brains on different channels at different times. Sometimes sensory data relates to one another, sometimes they do not. Sometimes they do and we miss the relationship entirely and sometimes they do not relate at all but we think that they do. It is a big job, a huge job; and the model that the brain puts together I call a Reality Model or just Reality for short.

Every individual has a different Reality which, is constructed from the memories of what we have stored about our experiences, not the experiences themselves. Not only that, but we only remember a very small number of the things that we observe and experience. Our brains choose what to remember based on its Reality Model and the strength of the emotion associated with the input.

We each have different memories: therefore the reality space in which one person manages is not at all the same reality space that another person lives within. All of this is completely unconscious. We have no conscious control over the process. Some people are more fearful than others; it is not a choice. Some people frame people as lazy and stupid, some frame them as productive and smart. The words lazy and productive, of course, mean nothing outside of comparison and who easier to compare with but ourselves.

The stories that others tell us and the things that other people point out to us are also important in the construction of our personal Reality. I did not discover by myself that light can be broken apart into a rainbow; it was pointed out to me and has since become part of my reality. People pass their observations to other people so that other person might experience the same 'reality' as they do and in such they construct what I call Communal Reality.

My favorite story illustrating the point comes out of the Internet, of course. It is true in the sense that this is what happens as people interact with each other but it is probably not true in the sense that this probably never happened; it is a story to illustrate a concept. Every person experiences these types of interaction every single day, provided that they are not in solitary confinement.

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A friend, who worked away from home all week, always made a special effort with his family on the weekends. Every Sunday morning he would take his 7-year old granddaughter out for a drive in the car for some bonding time. Just he and his granddaughter.

One particular Sunday however, he had a bad cold and really didn't feel like being up at all. Luckily, his wife came to the rescue and said that she would take their granddaughter out. When they returned, the little girl anxiously ran upstairs to see her grandfather.

"Well, did you enjoy your ride with grandma?"
"Oh yes, PaPa" the girl replied, "and do you know what? We didn't see a single dumb bastard or lousy shit head anywhere we went today!"
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So what is the difference driving to school with Grandpa vs grandma? Well, with grandma they don't pass through a world of idiots and lazy people and drunks; they pass through a world of hardworking handsome boys and flowers. The realities really are different even though they take the same streets in the same town.

What people see and how they behave and what they show others is determined by their Reality Model. All Reality Models are incomplete and all reality models are fraught with errors. Maybe we should compare notes to forge something that works well? Maybe not. Maybe we should take the traditional approach and kill all those that have Reality Models that conflict with our own. Your choice Conservatives and Liberals, your choice readers.

The Liberal/Conservative Divide

Russell Square, London, England. A Street View photo I found in the Square named after the philosopher Bertrand Russell (my favorite) I thought the photo appropriate.

There are a lot of people and I mean a lot of conservatives, who see Donald Trump as the only real leader on the presidential stage today. For the Republican side, I agree with them. Many of these conservatives think that the Democratic candidates are idiotic *liberals* that are ruining the country and that they should not even be considered seriously. Based on factual history, Clinton and Sanders and the liberals in general are totally destroying the country; this is evident and clear to anyone that cares to take even the most superficial look around. The United States of America needs to be taken back by people that can discuss issues as they really are; people like Sanders and Clinton have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt their intentions and approach. This really needs to stop. The liberal elite is killing the country dead and if we do not get it straight the US is finished as the worlds leader. This is as clear as day to a large number of people. Huge numbers of people.

I know personally people that are highly intelligent and understand the use of maths and logic and have studied the issues and political systems for years that believe the above with their whole hearts and souls. To them Obama and Clinton and Sanders and "Liberals" are total idiots that are in the process of destroying the country. I exaggerate, but not by much. This is not new; it has been simmering on the back burner for a very long time. So what is happening? Here is an idea that at least fits the data and renders coherent the strange twist that vocabulary has taken in the last few (50 or so, at least) years. No, I do not "believe" this idea. It fits the data and may even lead in a productive direction. Hell, it might even be correct but I don't know. Allow me to put some paint on the canvas.

People have been attacking the concept of 'political correctness' for a long time. This has always seemed appropriate to me, at least in the sense that it does not seem productive to insult the people around us, but hey, that is just an idea floating around in my head; I could be wrong, evolution is a powerful force. Another strange concept to me is the idea that 'the press is liberal' when, almost by definition, the press is not liberal with any generally accepted dictionary definition of the term. The concept of 'elite', the term was a positive attribute at one time; it no longer is. The words 'liberal' and 'conservative' have morphed radically in their meaning as well. There is a powerful force at play here; what is it?

All of this comes together if one considers that many people have been feeling oppressed because the ideas and desires that float around in their heads have been impossible to express in public without being viciously attacked by the *liberals* and the guys the run the newspapers, the *elite*. *Conservatives* are called racist and stupid for traditional ideas and *facts* that anyone can *observe*. There are many who have been hiding in their closets with thoughts running around in their heads that have been deemed 'inappropriate' by the culture as a whole. They have been hiding in their closets fearful of the repercussions of even discussing the important issues of the day. They see the country falling apart and they cannot even discuss the major causes of this without the liberals destroying their social existence.

It has been considered politically incorrect for quite a few years, for instance, to call black folks as a group, "lazy niggers" but those indeed are the thoughts that rattle around in some peoples brains (oddly enough in some black brains as well). It the same with poor people (lazy) and sick people (bad lifestyle) and Homosexuals (evil aberrations). Many want to isolate those that they consider a detriment to the human race; they want nothing to do with them; they want the gone. This is true with many other animal species as well. Isolating and/or killing those that are annoyingly different is common; it would be foolish to think that humans are totally immune to what affects the entire animal kingdom. Why the devil would one encourage the traits that will eventually destroy the culture and/or the economic engine that feeds it? Clearly it would be silly to encourage that which will destroy one, either slowly or quickly.

Evolution is a powerful force. Heck, It is so important that it has been dictated by God himself; destroy that which will destroy you; one must throw the first stone to survive. Practically speaking and theoretically, this is good advice; at least I think so. Unfortunately, in order to follow this practical survival technique, it is necessary to *know* what is going to destroy/damage an individual and/or a civilization; it is necessary to understand motivation, etc., at least when dealing with other human beings. Unfortunately because these items are impossible to know. All we know is that they violate our own personal take on reality. And it has been definitively demonstrated that personal interpretations of reality are heavily flawed and mostly wrong. Understanding motivation and good and evil and morality is less important when eradicating the non-human microbes that kill people.

*Conservatives* see nothing wrong with their ideas because their ideas are well supported by observation, look at the *data*. It is clear as one's own eye color that the homosexual lifestyle will indeed destroy the family as they know it; they find the concept of one of their children choosing to be homosexual abhorrent. It certainly would not have come from them so, it must come from homosexuals that trick their children into a life of sin. Of course homosexuals need to be isolated and eliminated, it is a disease. This is clear for anyone to see, yet these idiotic *liberals* behave in a way the will spread the disease. They are clearly nuts. They will destroy the culture. The homosexual lifestyle must be stopped. We are commanded by God to destroy that which will destroy us, are we not?

I do not know, but I suspect the many conservatives find it annoying that one cannot speak frankly about other important topics concerning the reality of the world as well. Another example of might be 'the way the people are'. 'Playing the race card' is now a popular expressions when it comes to responding to liberal accusations. Why is that? What does it actually mean? Perhaps this will help. It is impossible to openly discuss the observable fact that blacks are indeed lazy and violent at least statistically; the *liberals* will have nothing to do with it and make it impossible to discuss the fundamentals of differences between the races. These things need to be talked about, it is important; but they cannot be discussed in this atmosphere that is controlled by the *liberal elite*. They will destroy the country by turning over hard earned work to lazy people; it will destroy incentive and will eventually kill the American spirit. The US was built on hard work and now it is impossible to even discuss the issue without very negative social consequences. These things are important and need to be discussed. This is one of the major reasons that the country is going to hell. The weak and lazy have taken over and they will destroy the country. The country needs to be taken back by the people that understand and can see things as they really are. These topics cannot even be discussed properly with the liberals in charge. Liberal want to pretend that everyone is nice and hard-working and capitalism is evil. Liberals live in a fantasy land. I am pretty sure that this is the way the argument goes.

Some conservatives would agree with the statement that "Liberals are dumb and do not live in the 'real world'." This statement is true, in my opinion. But, I can say the same of 'Conservatives' as well. In fact, I can say the same about everyone on the planet, including myself and including all species that have the structure we call a brain; it is a consequence of having a brain and consciousness and physical devices that record a portion of what happens around us. It should not be considered an insult to say that a person or group of persons do not see the world as it is; no one does. None of our interpretations of 'reality' are correct. We do not experience existence as it exists independent of our own personal existence. We do not understand time and our entire 3 dimensional interpretation of space has been demonstrated wrong, definitively. Everyone lives in a fantasy land to some extent and many of us know that. That is why we have developed physical and intellectual tools to help sort all of this out. We have thermometers to end the arguments about the temperature. We have developed logic as a way to identify fallacious arguments. We have developed the scientific method to help choose between different ideas. There are a myriad of physical and intellectual tools to help create a reasonable reality model that can by supported by the entire population without bloodshed. We have developed tools because no one, not anyone, sees the world as it actually is, everyone lives in a fantasy land.

No, I do not know what is rattling around inside another person's brain no matter how clear that it seems. No, I do not know what another persons motivations are, nor can I know even if they tell me; people lie to themselves all the time; they don't really know themselves. I can only guess at my own motivations. 'Facts', that which can be measured independently are a bit more reliable for constructing our Reality Models. But, our interpretations of these facts are astoundingly unreliable. Yes, a stranger gave me the 'thumbs up'. I assume he meant good job, but ... it also means 'stick it up your ass'. So, hell, I can't even be sure of that; I really don't know what he means with his "thumbs up" gesture; I make an educated guess which in many situations will be accurate. But to actually *believe* that our interpretations are absolutely correct and build our entire reality structure on the *fact* that a stranger gave me a sign that I interpret as meaning that I have done a good job seems like madness to me. Sure, we think that is what he meant, can act on it and often,it will work but often it will result in disaster as well.(innocent gestures that can get you killed overseas). So how to figure it out? Like I said we have a catalogue of tools. Pity that so many people don't know how to use the tools or even that they are necessary. Some do not even know that they exist.

I suppose that it is normal that many people think that what they see is real and if the interpretation makes sense then it is true. I suppose that it is normal that people think that others emotional response of most people is the same as what they themselves feel. That being the case there is no real need to define terms like: liberal, conservative, fact, opinion, lazy, elite, Christian, hot, cold, good, bad. We all know what we mean. Well, we all know what we mean by those terms but we have only the vaguest notion of what other people mean by those terms. What is hot for you may not be hot for me. What is good for you may be bad for me. A leader for you may not be a leader for me. So what the hell are you talking about? This is where facts come into the picture, they help straighten out what is real from that which is a personal sensation and nothing more. They help us sort out what is real for both of us.

I suppose it is normal to believe that our ideas are the best ideas, they are the ones that are correct. After all they are based upon what we see clearly in the world and they are coherent, they make sense, they are correct, at least to us. Here is how the discussion goes for someone that *believes* what they think. One can see this played out every day in almost any political/religious discussion between 'believers':

--The other guy has not been paying attention; he can be shown. Did not work?
--He has missed something, one can teach him. He still does not agree?
--He is thinking about it wrong? one can demonstrate the correct thought process. Still not there?
--He is just not very smart and can never understand? Oh, he is smart?
--He has an economic investment? No?
--He is lying to fool me. I expose his lie. Still not convinced?
--He is evil, he does not care, he wants to destroy for the sake of destruction.
--He or his idea needs to be destroyed. Evil must die. We have war.

Belief Kills Thought, by definition.
Opinions are different than fact.
Emotion and thinking are different processes.