Is reality real? These neuroscientists don’t think so | Big Think

Is reality real? These neuroscientists don’t think so, with Richard Dawkins, Heather Heying, Donald Hoffman & more
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Up next ►► Navigating reality: It’s all about perspective | Daniel Schmachtenberger • Navigating reality: It...
Is there an external reality? Is reality objective? Is the information your senses are feeding you an accurate depiction of reality? Most neuroscientists, biologists, and scientific leaders believe that we only understand a sliver of what is real.
Although we assume our senses are telling us the truth, they’re actually fabricated to us. Considering senses are unique from person to person, and through our unique senses we can only intemperate a fraction of what is real, there is no all-encompassing perspective one can have. Because of this, we need to take our perceptions seriously, but not literally.
Multiple perspectives have to be taken, as each will have some sort of truth lies within them. Seeing partial truth in multiple perspectives is fundamental to navigating the world and making informed decisions.
Read the video transcript: bigthink.com/videos/objective...
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Beau Lotto on how we perceive our external reality.
0:32 Alva Noë on how our reality projects into our nervous system.
1:20 Donald Hoffman on if our senses are telling us the truth.
2:58 Frank Wilczek on how we perceive color and sound.
4:41 Daniel Schmachtenberger on perception, choice making, and navigating reality.
6:01 Heather Heying on how to figure out what is true in reality.
6:28 Richard Dawkins on objective reality vs. science
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Read more of our stories on objective reality:
Did we evolve to see reality as it exists? No, says cognitive psychologist Donald Hoffman.►► bigthink.com/surprising-scien...
Is human consciousness creating reality? ►►bigthink.com/surprising-scien...
New hypothesis argues the universe simulates itself into existence►► bigthink.com/surprising-scien...
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[@bobhughes9628]

This concept is directly related to the phenomenon wherein most "intelligent" folk realize that the more they know, the less they know, i.e., knowledge evokes far more questions than answers.

[@prettypuffprincess]

💯

[@G0LD.]

Depends, if you talk about knowing more about what other people told you, yea then it counts.

[@G0LD.]

For example; the government or pharmacy companies or scientist can tell you everything about how a vaccin works and why its important. Knowing all that information indeed doesn’t make your more intelligent it just explains their perceptions of a vaccin. Yet, thats their truth, doesnt mean its the only truth.

[@chrisschurfeld4076]

Knowledge becomes an addiction to some.

[@yamesotericist4188]

GREAT. BUT. Try to explain the essence of the screenshot of my mystical game of ROULETTE, depicted on my icon? Hm.? This is the SECRET of all SECRETS, isn't it? *** Consciousness has only one property, it is the creation of reality. The process of creation (script) can be influenced, but the process itself (mechanism) cannot be changed!!

[@billross7245]

When I was a kid, one of my teachers said that every single person has a different perspective because no two people can occupy the same space at the same time. This stuck with me through the years.

[@chocoburgersenpai1627]

Fusion: let us introduce ourselves.

[@elenaefremova7463]

Has nothing to do with reality

[@brianstrutter1501]

Not true. Many people have the same perspective on many things. Maybe not everything but still many things. It's called common sense and unfortunately that's dropping significantly every year

[@brandonscott9281]

@@brianstrutter1501 i don’t think u read it correctly..it is true..no two people can share the same space at the exact same time physically so everyone truly has a different perspective

[@shandil9336]

For example : rose flowers are beautiful. But does the rose knows its beauty?

[@serenecatweather5694]

I finally found my people lmao. Since I was 6 I’ve been having these thoughts about reality. It started after my grandma died. Every year, my thoughts kept progressively getting more detailed and abstract, to the point where I nearly passed out ahahaha. That was the time where I tried to process the word ‘infinity’ and just how damn long it really is. Btw, I hate that word. I’m so convinced we all perceive reality differently, and that is why we like certain things more than others e.g. the color pink instead of yellow, loving maths instead of art etc. Orrrrrrr everything around me (objects, landscapes, people) are really just all in my head. Everything is just an illusion, a way to interpret the potential abyss I might find myself in. I might already be dead and living my life all over again. I just cannot understand life. I feel as if something is always off. WHY do humans have the need to explain our existence? This is something universal and something all humans in many cultures tried to figure out. Is this a sign that there really is a creator out there? Are we just existing by pure chance? Maybe I’m all alone in this world and every single one of you do not exist. Maybe I’m mentally insane, lying in a hospital bed somewhere, and imagining ‘this’ form of reality. Maybe everyone sees humans a little differently, and that’s why we are attracted to certain people. Have you ever thought about the fact, that maybe we just won’t die? We see forms of death everywhere around us, but have you ever told yourself ‘damn, I’m lucky I didn’t die from that’ etc? Maybe we’ll continue on living, surviving anything and we’ll just get older and older. We’ll think we’re immortal and we’ll be the only one who’s getting this old, because the reality ‘WE’ perceive, really might only be your reality. Ok I’m making no sense anymore and I can feel myself nearly having a panic attack. If you read this far, I hope you understood my ramblings and maybe relate lol

[@suhani8329]

I can relate to this so much , also you should really see this video called " The egg - a short story" . I think it talks about exactly what you mean

[@serenecatweather5694]

@@suhani8329 thank you, I'll definitely do that!!

[@somdattamajumdar889]

You should read up on Vedanta. You'll find a lot of validation for your thoughts and answers to your questions there.

[@kirbonotsus4304]

Why dang it are any of us real I feel the same way mate :]

[@FlyChigga]

Simulation theory and after we die we go to another world and get to create a new character

[@tomahzo]

Interesting that it was never once mentioned that the human brain synthesizes the impression that it consumes to a large extent. It doesn't just consume sensory signals from the outside world - it tries to predict impressions and if the external impression does not match up with the prediction then that's can be a very jarring event. That's why we sometimes do a double take when something unexpected happens. "Hey, I just entered the room and didn't see that you had moved the couch at first - my eyes just assumed that it was standing where it had always been. I had to do a double take". Obviously our reality is just what our mind conjures up in order for us to navigate the world around us efficiently enough to avoid dying too quickly. Of course, you can still do a lot of useful stuff with that very distorted view on the world but it really is incredibly limited and is largely fabricated in many ways.

[@dismalthoughts]

I love comparing it to the Australian Jewel Beetle. You might be familiar -- a beer company started making a bottle that was the perfect texture and shade of brown that the males started trying to mate with it. The company eventually had to discontinue the bottle because the beetles were taking such a population dip as a result! For hundreds of thousands if not millions of years, those beetles had a perception of reality that helped them survive & reproduce. It was clearly not a very _accurate_ perception, at least in some regards, but accuracy was never the mold shaping it. We humans like to think that our perception is more accurate, and our ability to build cool things and dominate other animals tends to give us some confidence in that belief, but our perception shares the same mold as that beetle. Being able to play a video game better than someone else does not mean you can necessarily see the game in any more detail than them or know more about the underlying code/circuitry (and even that video game metaphor isn't completely apt since "better" implies a predefined goal, and there very well might not be one in life).

[@dsbennett]

This reminds me of when I tasted something I thought was something different. Even though I actually like both foods, I was revolted at the unexpected flavor.

[@tomahzo]

@@dsbennett That is a very good example! You can also set up experimental situations where people are convinced that inanimate objects are part of their bodies (e.g. a plastic mannequin hand is actually their real hand) and then - as part of the experiment - you stab the object and the people experience what for all intents and purposes can be described as pain. For a short while. Until their brain catches up and it all subsides. The brain synthesizes the reality that we experience around us and does not like to be surprised ;D.

[@dsbennett]

@@tomahzo That reminds me of a story. My high school friend’s brother was so annoying. One day, my friend was in the kitchen and his brother was on the couch. His brother was mouthing off. My friend pretended to lose his cool, grabbed a butter knife, ran and “stabbed” his brother in the chest. Except that he rotated his wrist at the last second so that the butt-end of the handle hit him. His brother threw out his hands and threw back his head and cried out “I’m dead!” And then he looked so surprised when he wasn’t.

[@thiesenf]

I have been experience this many times while playing video games... I turn around and my brain expects to see my character turn around but suddenly the game stutters and the image freezes for a second... suddenly there's a conflict between what my visual cortex gets from the eyes and what my brain expects to get from the visual cortex... it's an dizzying feeling...

[@ergovisavis]

I remember laying awake at night in my early teens when I had a mind-bending epiphany. I had just learned that we perceive color by the wavelengths of light reflected off an objects surface - a red apple is not inherently "red", we perceive it such because "red" wavelengths are reflected when light shines on it. The implications of this sunk in as I realized that none of the objects in my room (or anywhere) have a color when the lights are off. I tried to imagine the true form of an object in the absence of light, but the best I could do was to see them as white or black. The truth is that they are neither, but I couldn't visualize their true properties independant of my perception. White, black or red are not properties that exist in reality, Color is just a construct of our brain's information processing.

[@lifeisbeautiful1562]

Thank you sir for sharing.

[@neilcreamer8207]

What you are describing sounds like what's called a dependent arising. You might be interested in Carlo Rovelli's exposition of relational quantum mechanics or the Buddhist teaching of Emptiness. Both suggest that nothing exists in itself but only by virtue of its relationships to other, similarly dependent objects.

[@thepericlesof8449]

The surface of the apple absorbs all wavelengths of light except what you perceive as red. That surface itself could very well be colourless. Maybe that's grey, I don't know *shrugs*

[@bred3862]

Suppose if we destroy mass and that mass is converted into energy (heat,light, sound) ... What do you think where that light (of destructed mass) came from 😎?

[@neilcreamer8207]

@@bred3862 Mass isn't a substance. Mass is a measure of inertia, which is a term we use for the tendency of matter to resist acceleration. So we don't actually destroy or create mass. We convert energy from one form to another.

[@deluuno7334]

I was once in a lucid dream and I told someone "This is a Dream, your Not Real!" He preceded to give me a long explanation on his entire life story on how he had two sister, a dog that didn't like his cats, a salutatorian in school, and he even talked about how he had a dream last night and more and more stuff and that if he wasn't real and if this was just a dream then how could all of that happened. It stunned me realizing that this person had this entire life they thought was real, and was in reality no more different then you or me, and they thought they were real. And when I woke up they were gone, dead, non-existent. That could happen to all of us one day.

[@samjam_]

wowow what an interesting perspective

[@samuelzins5089]

Hey, a fellow lucid dreamer! Don't see too many of us where I look outside of one channel I watch

[@EolosMusic]

Hmmm, sounds like an Astral projection to me

[@samuelzins5089]

@@EolosMusic astral projection is just lucid dreaming without believing it's a dream

[@danielmoore4024]

@Hakujo Ichin I believe that what we see with our eyes while awake is an outward projection. "Thoughts become perception, perception becomes reality. Alter your thoughts, alter your reality." (Psychologist William James) We don't glance at an entire building, we just see parts of it, so we don't actually see the whole building. Since we don't see the whole building, what did we see? I believe we see what we assume is there, see our thoughts and not what actually is there. As we know, we are not always "in the moment," this made me ask myself; How can we see the moment if we're not even in the moment? I think we only see what actually is there when we are in the moment, and when we are not in the moment we project what we assume is there based on what we saw the previous time.

[@dazparry1580]

My focal seizures give me experiences i can only describe as getting a glimpse of what's actually going on. Makes 'reality' feel like a simplified version at best.

[@indijanece8356]

This is very interesting.

[@dazparry1580]

@@indijanece8356 It's f'ing insane. Haha

[@indijanece8356]

@@dazparry1580 My deceased grandmother was an epileptic. She spoke 2 languages: Indigenous Yaqui and Spanish. I speak only English, for the most part. So I never really talked to her about it ... Her seizures. They were frequent- and it's genetic. I often feel strange symptoms I can't explain. But our minds are as vast as the universe. So what you said is so intriguing. People that have gone into cardiac arrest, or experienced loss of consciousness, or that were declared Dead, have reported peculiar happenings as well. If our mind can be altered to effect the body, surely our bodily occurrences can affect the mind? It's fascinating.

[@dazparry1580]

@@indijanece8356 My epilepsy wasn't even diagnosed until i was 32 and i insisted the dr's take me seriously. What are the strange symptoms you experience? I get crazy dejavus which have got more and more insane over the years, feels like either we go back in time and only i notice.. Or i experience/ dream about a moment in the future, it feels unreal so i take in as much info as possible, then one day we catch up to that moment and it hits like brick wall and turns my head inside out. 😏

[@fireteamomega2343]

​@@dazparry1580 It's not really that crazy we all have brains that also operate under molecular and ultimately quantum restraints. It's therefore not that unlikely that memories also might sometimes fall into that transfer threshold. Certain synaptic patterns synchronously entangled across what we perceive as time. And dreaming possibly setting up an even lower threshold limit for such activities to occur.

[@boywithoutaparachute]

So what they are saying is that since we all observe the world subjectively through our senses, it is impossible to experience the world objectively as it is.

[@veemaxine5257]

Exactly. We'll never know the world as it truly is

[@stanleyklein524]

@@veemaxine5257 Deep insight -- if you start out being myopic.

[@veemaxine5257]

@@stanleyklein524 no

[@stephenfrench3888]

@@veemaxine5257 But that supposes there is one way it truly is

[@brunoheggli2888]

Ur brains make the world come into existends!Where there is no subject there cant be an object!

[@defalt8122]

I used to think like this as a kid. But public school sucked that imagination out of me.

[@RedBloodBlueFrost]

ever think it's intentional?

[@lx4302]

@@RedBloodBlueFrost no they dont give a shit about your imagination just like they dont give a shit about their broken system

[@dahliaabi9433]

@@RedBloodBlueFrost take ur meds

[@Jona7Fer]

Hi, if you are not saved, and would like to be included in the rapture of the church. Believe that Jesus's death on the cross, was enough to pay for ALL your sins , yes ALL ,(past, present and future) That is what the Gospel is about. We are saved by GOD'S amazing grace, through our faith in Jesus's sinless life, death on the cross and resurrection 3 days later . No additional works needed. It is literally that simple. Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 10:9-10 Romans 4:5

[@RedBloodBlueFrost]

@@dahliaabi9433 never

[@avateraangshoe5025]

A lot of people need to watch this cause people tend to forget that the world exist outside their perception

[@castiel4338]

Amen

[@invisibruh2]

@@castiel4338 ?

[@invisibruh2]

Bruh

[@invisibruh2]

I wasn't expecting this. I was here for science

[@liammurphy9995]

@@invisibruh2 'science'

[@emmaabumere2870]

I truly believe The sense that "Nothing" is real leaves us in a phenomenon of everlasting nothingness.

[@sunsetpalms1923]

Can you give me an example of "nothing"?

[@mudskippa8958]

Motorcycle Empitiness

[@asideofaioli4630]

@@sunsetpalms1923 "everything" wiped from existence

[@sunsetpalms1923]

@@asideofaioli4630 And an example of that would be?

[@asideofaioli4630]

@@sunsetpalms1923 hmmm, let's say you have everything, and it poof, fades away. It's kind of like that.

[@JohnSmith-wo7ns]

I love these types of thoughts and theories even though I cant get my tiny mind around the concepts!!

[@mattmaes]

Basically: There's more than what meets the eye.

[@privettoli]

Duh

[@silvercloud1641]

"If the doors of perception were cleansed...."

[@inajosmood]

There's more than what meets the eye. And what we see is what our body/mind creates based on a mixture of incoming data and body+mind processes, making it look as coming through the eye. So in essence it's the most creative process, happening every moment.

[@bulletboy9748]

TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!

[@100Equipoise]

Or less. We add to what 'meets' it...

[@hadara69]

"It is not the aim of science to open a door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error." -Bertold Brecht

[@VennThuria]

I like that one. It is true. But I prefer the wisdom.

[@dblack8141]

the marcists are narcissistic slanderous perverts. they murder rational human beings in favor of nothing. evolution.

[@hadara69]

@@dblack8141 You meant to write “Marxist” I suppose, and ‘murdered’. Still, you’re using the “Atheist Atrocities Fallacy”. I encourage you to google that and spend AT LEAST an hour researching the term and why it’s a fallacy. Should go without saying but since I know who I’m talking to, DO NOT read any Christian propaganda sites and what they say about that fallacy. Also, no one has ever “murdered for evolution”. You are conflating your religion’s barbaric history with the secular world’s and “The Left”. And just to steelman MY argument: Abortion isn’t murder. You can’t take someone life when they don’t even have one yet (and you IGNORE the woman!). Bonus: Blaming evolution not only marks you as a science-denying Creationist (vaccinated?), but as someone who doesn’t understand science at all.

[@dblack8141]

@@hadara69

[@hadara69]

@@dblack8141 Do you think that you would know the difference between someone in a cult vs someone who isn’t? How would you know? Have the ‘billions’ you’ve “encountered” (note my punctuation, fundie) asked you questions you’ve flat-out refused to answer for fear of deprogramming yourself? ...Of allowing logic to destroy your worldview..

[@dmtdreamz7706]

So the value of the psychedelic is that it shows you the fluidity of consciousness. That's one of the key values, just the fact that you get to change states and change into very radically different states. That's a huge eye-opening experience. Do not underestimate the value of that. That alone right there will change your whole life. To be able to pop out of your life and look back upon it as though it was all an imagined hallucination. That's what it happens to be imagining right now. The next second who knows what it could imagine. It can imagine anything it wants but it just so happens that it keeps imagining something consistent so that we can get a sense of reality.

[@EntirelyPointlessContent]

I agree. Often people think of those sorts of extreme drugs (extreme relative to caffeine or alcohol I mean) as producing some immense revelation in and of themselves, though it's clearer that the insight really comes from the experience of being in a different state and then, later, returning to your 'normal' sober state and acknowledging the many changes between the two. And the resulting realisation, predictable as it is, that not everything is observed in one correct way, is quite interesting.

[@GasMaskParade]

This is something I try to explain to people when they ask me what I "believe",and it's rarely understood,much less agreed upon.And there's nothing closer to any kind of truth,than this.

[@jessegandy7361]

As humans, we only perceive what out 5 senses are able to receive' or 'pick up'. There can still be plenty of other things out antennas can't pick up in, but they're still there 😳

[@kirstyjane5799]

6 senses...

[@LazyRare]

@@kirstyjane5799 more

[@smiles4fears]

And every single measurement we take MUST inevitably be observed and interpreted through these senses. There is no escaping our experience

[@fruitking6916]

Give me a few examples of some other things my senses can’t pick up..

[@andresnovoa6746]

@@fruitking6916 something as simple ultraviolet wavelengths is imperceptible unless you are one of the few women on earth who are tetchromats

[@whatthehellisthisname]

This reminds me of some questions I occasionally ask myself. Like about color perception. If I see the color red, I know exactly how it looks like to me, if you picture the color red (if you‘re not colorblind, that is), you see a color that you associate with the term red and if we both see red, we will obviously point at it and say: yes, that‘s red. But what if we see different colors, but simply both grew up knowing it‘s "called" red? It‘s something no one would ever be able to tell. The red I see, may be a different color to you, but we both call it red. My red may be your blue, my blue may be your green etc etc. It‘s a dumb thought, but I like to imagine how different we all perceive the world‘s colors.

[@habibakanar7849]

I have the same question and I’m telling my self always and I think it’s impossible to know the answer

[@milkingalmonds6816]

I had this exact same question for so many years

[@shoshannaalexandra1025]

It's possible! Mantis shrimp can see something like 21 primary colors (vs the 3- red blue & yellow we can see) think of all the colors we get out of just combining the 3 we can see..imagine 21?!

[@naturallyunbothered8860]

None of my experiences are unique it seems

[@Dija-says-freePalestine]

Omg this is something I am wondering about for years and even fiscussed it with friends. Thought I was the only one thinking like this guess not.

[@eirafukuda6477]

This is EXACTLY what I needed to help me articulate why it is vital for human civilization to embrace diversity of perception when it comes to anything approaching objective truth. Intersubjective verifiability is the closest we can get to grasping objective reality. Thank you for this! It needs desperately to be incorporated into our current society on every level.

[@TheForbiddenOne55]

I'm asking this out of pure ignorance/ curiosity because I'm not sure I follow; can you explain how incorporating this way of thinking into society on every level will be beneficial?

[@erikmorse5089]

Agreed. The "whisper campaign" referred to here isn't anti-science; it's anti-scientism, being the quasi-religious, cult-like belief in the inherent infallibility and uniqueness of the Newtonian European 18th century scientific method to be the unquestioned arbiter of truth. Wherein the official pronouncements of vaguely defined "scientists", using circular reasoning, are proclaimed infallible and unquestionable truth by the powers that be, in the face of the experiences of billions of humans.

[@helenamcginty4920]

When I walk my dogs early morning or late evening I quite enjoy 'seeing' people hiding in hedges. Or maybe a goat or dog or old lady half hidden down the road. My favourite was the goat, on its hind legs and carrying a cane basket. The tricks of the light, the shapes made by familiar things like tree stumps and hedges when seen in low light and from certain angles tells me how ghost stories come about. Even though I know what things are from sering them in full light and/or different angles I can still see the unreal image.

[@motaman8074]

Thinking about this is giving me a headache that I perceive to be real.

[@Amy-gn6zw]

I just feel dumb. 🥴

[@glennpennington2465]

@@Amy-gn6zw I hope that wasn't a very smart perception.

[@narieee2543]

Isn’t pain real though?

[@glennpennington2465]

@@narieee2543 When you feel pain you definitely know you are alive and kicking

[@marcdemell5976]

Man can never understand what YHWH has made .Ecclesiastes 3:11 Amein.

[@syedjafferimam5789]

Humnans have done really well to even get to this point of knowing that we actually don't really see/perceive anything accurately.

[@legalfictionnaturalfact3969]

lol. speak for yourself.

[@scambammer6102]

Humans have perceived that for millennia. Ever hear of Plato?

[@legalfictionnaturalfact3969]

@@scambammer6102 it's always the guy who is up to no good who needs you to think your perceptions are off...

[@dnr2089]

Humnans?

[@bigups2065]

@@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 your perceptions are off

[@lassoatrain]

I understand that people process information differently because I have been told that I have a form of dyslexia that where some people see words or letters backwards I have no words or letters in my head when I read I instead see pictures of what I am reading about. Which is ok but makes writing very difficult. It is if some people use an operating system like an IBM while other people operater with a system like a MAC both systems get you to the same place but by a different route.

[@darrenstansbury4433]

Some people say we won't know what reality truly is until we reach the other side.

[@user-qv6eb5wp9y]

No other side.

[@dimel1347]

Reality/consciousness is a curious thing: Have you ever said "Ah man..I did such a cool thing and no one was around to see it?" I once did a pretty cool thing...It was a small thing really..nothing dramatic, but it happened nevertheless. The person never learned about it and nobody around me was around to see it. Question: Did it actually happen? Well it clearly did. But nobody was around to see/observe it so as far as everyone in the world /existence is concerned, it didnt happen. It is only in my memory a this point. One could argue that as long as I remember it, it happened. Even if that was the case, what if I were to forget it one day? If no one including me, knows that I did such a thing a few years back, then could we say that it ever happened? Who knows how consciousness/observation relates to what we call "reality". Bonus question: "We only live once" It is true in a literal sense but is it really? Consciousness is a state of self awareness. If I was born 10 months later, then would I be me? The consciousness that resides in me, would it be me? If after 200 years someone identical in many ways to me is born, could I be him/her? I am having a headache..so I am stopping now.

[@melanieperez3751]

im so high rn i understand everything!

[@TayMadeItOut]

@@melanieperez3751 no frl literally every word 😂

[@Minecraftpro333]

Existential crisis activated

[@craigcpowell]

You only live as long as the last person who remembers you.

[@Johnny_Seven]

That last paragraph, about someone being born 200 years later and could I be him/her. I have thought about that a lot but have trouble fully explaining to people what I mean. Interesting that you feel it too.

[@MusicMissionary]

Culture makes things even trippier. A lot of what you think you know is determined by it.

[@Joskened]

your comment deserves more likes

[@jordanzamora422]

Ive been thinking the same, reality is dependent on your experiences which are heavily influenced by culture!!!

[@MusicMissionary]

@@jordanzamora422 Ancient Greeks couldn't see the color blue. That was cultural.

[@mudmagnet3249]

Jeez. Dude explains objective truth and reality in the video.

[@jordanzamora422]

@@MusicMissionary YES and I think in certain parts of Africa they have tribes that can tell distinctions between greens that are slightly off from one another but don't even recognize all the colors we would in the western world it's fascinating!! I imagine this is due to the utility of being able to tell different greens from one another in their culture because language is a tool and "reality" in a way is often time built to be useful rather than accurate.

[@michaelslater6839]

What we see is “realty” is only the perspective of our limited senses plus our minds limited ability to understand the input of our senses. Which combines our senses along with our life’s total experiences to form this very personal/subjective concept or picture of reality. I wrote this before I watched this video wondering how close to their idea I will get.

[@genjidora8742]

I literally argued with my military leaders because they thought "perception is reality." I was surprised at how often this quote was used by leaders in the military in general. I heard leaders, officers and seniors non-commissioned officers, touting this quote throughout the decade I served. Perception is not always reality, and I sleep well knowing I defended a lot of junior servicewomen and men when they otherwise would have been reprimanded for ridiculous reasons-which, in this day, would have preemptively ended their careers before they even started. And it would have been because of how many pushover NCOs I served with, and leaders who expected/demanded you submit to their title and ignorance.

[@JackRowsey]

I wasn’t the first or last one in history. But I thought up, then talked to my friend about the concept where I was the only real person, or conscious and everyone else was a figment of my imagination. In other words, the Universe, literally, revolves around me. He said he could see where someone might think that. I don’t believe it. But it’s funny people talk about it. One thing that gets me is people coming out of DMT trips. I’ll never try it because my family is known to get real screwed up after having psychedelics. But people coming out say that things were more real than real under the influence. This matches what people say after coming back from an NDE. Then there’s Roger Ebert, whose last words right before death, was “It was all just an illusion.” So I’ve got to wonder what the heck is going on?

[@starfishandroid]

I never did DMT, but I did shrooms which is one phosphate molecule off, and is more like a slow motion DMT trip since it is ingested. You understand everything. This world isnt the real world, and it is our own minds that limit us from seeing that. Its only been 38 days since U took them but you will never be the same.

[@RubelliteFae]

Now try this one. What if we all were the only real person, just playing different roles. Like a movie wherein every part is played by the same actor. And, what if we were so good at playing pretend that we actually convinced ourself we are separate, individual people. 🕉🙏

[@nacho74]

I had with psychedelics such experiences and often get this feeling of possibly being the only being or eg that reality could be a dream or nightmare. It is at the end philosophical. It is also a matter of question like "who or what are you".

[@nacho74]

You know, life is kind of a paradox, like, things somehow somewhat make sense. Is time real? Is space real? Is reality real? What is real? Are there answers to those questions or not? If you see something, what are you seeing? I once had a trippy experience that everything would come from nothing or even be a representation of nothingness.

[@gazzy9136]

I think life and consciousness has a big role of what we perspective as our lives. I’ve thought exactly what you have to, maybe other people see reality different in their perspectives but everyone all fits in with each other but everyone’s reality and conciseness is different

[@youpvandijk4144]

Haha now nobody will know what caused this huge discussion 😈

[@Meccarox]

Exactly. Because it’s physically impossible.

[@TechAscension]

That is useful to prevent overthinking but not entirely true. Some of our greatest inventions were once only existent in the imaginations of their creators until they made the transition into reality. Imagination can be a bridge between fantasy and reality.

[@robertdouglas8895]

@@Meccarox Yes. Physically impossible but not mentally impossible.

[@robertdouglas8895]

"Judge not by appearance but judge by righteous judgment." Jesus Christ.

[@wyett123]

@@robertdouglas8895 haha that's always confused me. Bc the brain is a physical object

[@kittcath]

Ah I used to think this way at my early teens. The things we do, we see, and hear are what the society and environment has taught us - the reason why civilization advanced rapidly from thousands of years ago to what it is today. What is the truth? How can I trust you that that is the true one? Those are the things I used to ask myself.

[@aisthpaoitht]

Nothing is "real" in our experiences except for the fact that we are experiencing something. That is all we can ever truly know.

[@TheRealBoof]

Because it is important to know, here are the speakers' names (from the description) with their credentials: 0:00 Beau Lotto - Professor of neuroscience at the University of London 0:32 Alva Noë - Professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley 1:20 Donald Hoffman - Professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine 2:58 Frank Wilczek - Nobel Prize (2004), Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT, Distinguished Professor at Arizona State University (ASU), and full Professor at Stockholm University 4:41 Daniel Schmachtenberger - A film actor, I think 6:01 Heather Heying - Former professor of biology at Evergreen State College, but resigned as a result of student protests in 2017. She is now an anti-vaxxer. 6:28 Richard Dawkins - Fellow of the Royal Society, fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, emeritus fellow of New College, was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford.

[@AynenMakino]

It appears the editors were aware as they cut Heather's segment short of where she was going to take her argument and replaced it with a sane one from Dawkins

[@Mickeycuatropatas]

Heather Heying said she is not an anti-vaxxer and has had her vaccinations, except the Covid-19 vaccines.

[@AynenMakino]

@@Mickeycuatropatas what's your point though?

[@thelondoners-lifeisart]

Thankyou !!!

[@Ethan-gb3zh]

As soon as I saw heather heying I was like holy shit I forgot about her and bret since before the pandemic. I just went down an hour long rabbit hole to see what they'd been up to and now I'm just disappointed. Its strange to watch how far the whole "intellectual dark web" has moved further and further right since the pandemic began. There's got a be a PhD in sociology or psychology or something just waiting for someone to write a thesis on covid causing shifting political stances

[@thehuntedpvp6949]

I was believing this…. My mind was kind of blown…. Then I remembered my mortgage. That’s reality.

[@skankhunt3624]

Unless of course this is all just an elaborate dream.

[@deepk91]

This is why I love comments section

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

Stick to apartments, much better overall.

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

Love the cat by the way. Hehe. Egyptology.

[@degummybear]

That's also just a human construct we could give everyone homes if we choose to but the way we've organized our society has introduced this concept of ownership and justifies why some deserve more than others eventhough we're all inherently the same with the same need for shelter. Introduce sentiment and then you understand why people become offended by this very logical notion.

[@dsbennett]

The student raised his hand and asked the philosophy professor "How do I know I exist?" The professor responded "Who asked the question?"

[@SunitVosdey]

Punch him on his face then he will know he exist and reality is real.

[@elliotball-dowling7127]

I think therefore I am

[@JackoBanon1]

Dogs are a great example. They only see a few different colors and will never know what the color red looks like. These limitations also apply to us humans. There are animals that can see far more colors than we will ever be able to see. Just imagine how many things in the universe will forever be invisible for us.

[@ChillGoodVibe]

Yogis have said this for thousands of years, this physical existence is nothing but Maya (an illusion) and if you trust your sensory organs 100% to live this life then you are not living this life fully. Everything that happens for you in this physical reality occurs within you! If you understand the profoundness of this sentence, you will start going inwards to look for answers and that is why Yoga and meditation is the answer to know the truth!

[@AnuragKmr26]

Even I was pleasantly surprised when I found this video. It looks like Yogis and Scientists on the edge of Science are in agreement on so many things.

[@ChillGoodVibe]

@@AnuragKmr26 Yogis are the original scientists. Wait and watch science will continue to prove what Yogis had said 1000’s of years ago. Here are some- This existence is nothing but an amalgamation of sounds, this isn’t the first existence and this isn’t the last, time is an illusion (Einstein has said this too), we live on multiple planes of existence however we have just tuned ourselves to physical plane and we only perceive physicality as reality, and, Duality is a myth.

[@philipthomas3938]

@@ChillGoodVibe what do the critics of the yoga standpoint say?

[@ChillGoodVibe]

@@philipthomas3938 Are you talking about Yoga or Yogis? Both are different. One is the practice and the second are practitioners.

[@philipthomas3938]

@@ChillGoodVibe yeah I've done some yoga but was just thinking out loud about the usual criticisms of the Yoga philosophy eg Christians get angry Buddhism is an impersonal philosophy and Hinduism is a pagan pantheistic demonic system etc

[@cjmacq-vg8um]

it all boils down to - yes we can percieve some realities. this is what our senses are for. to help us surive in our REAL environment. if we were unable to percieve this reality we'd be REALLY dead. we can experience reality to the limits our senses were designed for our daily survival. of course there are realities that we can't percieve but that doesn't mean that what we perciece isn't reality.

[@kingwormgusher5354]

Well said

[@spongeybobify]

If you perceive a car as an elephant, it doesn't matter as long as you jump out of the way when it's speeding towards you. Just because our perceptions help us survive, does not mean they have to correlate to reality (although what's really being said here is that there isn't any objective reality anyway, as nothing can exist without perception)

[@erikmorse5089]

@@spongeybobify To be accurate, they aren't saying there's no objective reality; they're saying a LOT of reality isn't objective. I'm surprised they didn't emphasize this. The smell or color of a tulip isn't objectively real, but the tulip is.

[@samuelcosta8189]

Great comment, even though i don´t believe reality is truly real

[@Viewaholicinfinity]

​@Erik Morse Objective reality does not exist, sorry.

[@benjaminzelahhoward430]

Imagine everyone of us become friends online. Because we know we're now from around here. And each time we try to explain nobody understands unless us

[@corbai]

i have always been fascinated by such a concept and seeing this video in my recommended absolutely piqued my curiosity and i had to watch it. absolutely beautiful. 10/10 video.

[@syrup-]

First guy is Jared Leto.

[@corbai]

@@syrup- ok

[@syrup-]

@@corbai He looks like Jared Leto

[@syrup-]

@@corbai Jared

[@syrup-]

@@corbai Iabroc is your name backwards. Are you brock lesnar?

[@paulguzman1022]

“You think that’s air you’re breathing now?”

[@Camelotsmoon]

Well, that's just what we call a bunch of loose atoms clumped together.

[@roy9064]

I appreciate this reference

[@angrydragon4574]

Technically, yes. 78 percent nitrogen, a few oxygen atoms and a few more assorted molecules.

[@shatterthemirror8563]

The matrix was great because it used super reality to show what Kantian ideas would look like in a non contradictory universe. So if that's the universe you live in, the pill you're about to take contains only magic and not really cyanide at all.

[@michaelhall7663]

Someone had to be that guy lol Love the Matrix references.

[@aiden.ramirez]

Nietzche wrote about this in a “On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense,” referring to the various levels of separation between our perception and objective reality as projections. He counted four. Really interesting short work, and really cool to see that before a lot of the science that these guys talked about in the video even existed, the same conclusion could be achieved by looking inwards. Definitely recommend to anybody interested in the subject of the video.

[@lacycek]

also: In philosophy, a noumenon is a posited object or an event that exists independently of human sense and/or perception. The term noumenon is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to, the term phenomenon, which refers to any object of the senses. Immanuel Kant first developed the notion of the noumenon as part of his transcendental idealism, suggesting that while we know the noumenal world to exist because human sensibility is merely receptive, it is not itself sensible and must therefore remain otherwise unknowable to us. In Kantian philosophy, the unknowable noumenon is often identified with or associated with the unknowable "thing-in-itself" (German: Ding an sich).

[@SerendipityInTheSky]

Also read Nagarjuna and pretty much all of Buddhism

[@donnaharris8097]

I think we all are in our own individual bubbles of reality , and we have an inbuilt type of bluetooth we use to attach and detatch from others realities , that's why when you reach my age , around your fifties ,and you look back on your life -nothing adds up , and you notice how everyone you ever met - had several different personalities through all that time .

[@armandocamacho611]

How do you know how everyone you ever met acted like all their lives? Lmao makes no sense

[@donnaharris8097]

@@armandocamacho611 , Because most of the people have been in my life all that time ! You make no sense , sense would mean giving evidence to dispute - you most likely are someone who often races in with nothing to anything you don't like because it makes you feel important 😂🤣

[@dimensionexo.]

Everything has an energetic frequency which is all around us all the time ✨

[@eightiesmusic1984]

Except the music of Adele which sounds dull to me.

[@dimensionexo.]

@@eightiesmusic1984 🙄😺

[@christinsongbird]

I have a gift to see objects vibrate. Everything vibrates.

[@eightiesmusic1984]

@@christinsongbird You don't but never mind.

[@dimensionexo.]

@@christinsongbird That must be rather intense huh ?

[@yinYangMountain]

In my opinion, the question, ‘Is reality real,’ is malformed-as that is the same (without translation) as asking, is something that’s real, real? (Ref. The Law of Identity) Of course it is. And before answering the question, a philosopher would rightly ask, ‘What do you mean by reality and real?’ If, instead, the question had been, ‘Do [all] our perceptions of the world we inhabit and experience match reality? then we can answer, “No.” And to know this, we don’t even need to consult Dawkins, Heying or Hoffman.

[@Purwapada]

yes!!! perfect thanks for adding that

[@tersemath]

I love this reply. You're right on the dot. Ten thumbs up!!

[@locutusdborg126]

But that is not as catchy.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

It is literally impossible to determine if reality is real. You have to go through life assuming that it is, and act accordingly, but you can never know for sure. Most dreams seem completely real when until you wake up. How can you be completely sure you're not dreaming now? You can't. Anyone claiming otherwise just isn't very bright. Saying "It's real cuz I perceive it to be real" isn't proof, it's still just your own perceptions, which you can't even be 100% sure are yours. You really just kinda have to go with it, and hope for the best.

[@Mr.Witness]

All of our perceptions are OF rreality. Not all of our CONceptions are accurate. You guys are conflating percepts and concepts, senses and ideas.

[@kelseytm6715]

"When you write down the theory, the theory then becomes your teacher. It becomes smarter than you in a way." How weird that intangibles like numbers and words can have a better grasp on reality than us humans.

[@glennpennington2465]

It still took humans to grasp that it does that.

[@Tarteh]

Essence precedes existence.

[@ridingboy]

There is an interesting theory related to your thought called "semantic externalism". Look it up.

[@bruh____784]

Numbers are the base of the universe so...

[@theletterm5425]

Our bodies and senses are built in order for us to best survive and reproduce. We perceive the world in a way that best facilitates these processes. A scientific theory transcends and individual's perception, even humanities perception as a whole. It tries to find a truth about the universe, independent of the observer and the circumstances. That is what makes a theory scientific.

[@chrisaitken8209]

I’ve been thinking about this for years and wondered how we call experience the same world as one another without being a collective hive

[@franco_21x24]

Damn that’s a good question

[@brianmartin7784]

Look up nonduality

[@Lauram618]

And we can have similar experiences

[@IAm_Chosen]

Because we are all connected, we are all bound to one point. And that binding is the universe. Maybe the phenomenon and our power is that we can imagine whatever world we want collectively together. And thus in this sense, nothing exists, whereas everything exists all at the same time

[@lookingintothestars8643]

Very interesting. But for the colors, if you mix green and red as shown, as they are complementary colors; like blue + orange,... that gives you a grey color that tends to black (theorically it should be black, but in fact it gets grey, more or less dark). Everyone has it's own reality, that's something I've learned. We perceive things in our manner; with our sens, then they are analysed..what should be kept what should not be conscious (the famous perception filter), then it will be linked to different memories, different emotions... That's why the language, and being able to write is something amazingly useful; but also source of missenderstandings. Between "what you want to say/express", "what you actually said", "what the other has perceived", and "how that person analyse the input infos", and "what they consciously ear", there is at each step information lost. Language is useful, yes, but it's also a limitation. You can't write down how much you love someone, how much pain you feel, the beaty of that little flower, the deepness of your thinking about a problem.. Emotions can't be expressed. We just can give a general, [large spectrum] idea of what we actually want the other to understand our point of view. So we are always wrong, never do we really fully understand each other; now the deepest and the stronger the relationship with that person, and the more you understand each other, because you know how "the information is processed, analyzed and how it's understood by that close person". The only thing we may be able to express and to understand the more are primitive emotion, like fear, pain, joy/pleasure and love. And actually these emotions don't even need words to be expressed, the body language is made so that these instinctive emotions are understood. Yes, even if one can't say "how much fear? how much joy?" We can't quantify these emotions, but we can express them, and the body will indicate "how much".. All good, that's a very interesting subject. Thanks for that video. You know there are so many interpretation of what is real or not, like hindouisme (like many other oriental philosophies) ; they think that things are, because they are perceived (famous proverb "does a tree that falls in a forest empty of any animal make sound? If no one perceives it") ; nice to point that aspect also in the vid, here in modern world where science is almost the new religion, we believe things are with or without a consciousness to make it exist.

[@prettysure3085]

Even if we're simulated, it's still reality. It's the reality that we're in a simulation. No one could tell me it's not reality when I'm feeling pain. The pain is real. I don't care if it's fron a simulation or not.

[@jpeg.600x2]

What if the pain is a simulation

[@michawojcik5903]

The fact that the sensation exists proves that it's real regardles of whether the origin is something hurting you "in real world" or your neurons being stimulated using some technology

[@evearcana2392]

For a split second you can choose not to feel pain and also with opioids you can block pain receptors- all interesting additions to the argument

[@turkishpunisher6386]

@@evearcana2392 Indeed. I can cut pain for solid 3 seconds without anything entering my body, but its still useless.

[@vladara7226]

In case if you will wake up after your death in this reality...

[@oa2621]

We live in our mind. What we choose to believe becomes real to us.

[@ian8084]

No…

[@oa2621]

@@ian8084 you just perfectly demonstrated my point. Thank you

[@thegoodseeker2248]

@@oa2621 That’s a smart answer.

[@rainyday9002]

@@oa2621 wow, that's really smart

[@vikenphonemobilreparatrisa871]

I’m just one Of your answer

[@spencerlintonsmith6596]

As a neuroscientist I believe this is a question for physicists not neuroscientists.

[@donadfull8887]

Another interesting nugget is that it takes time for stimuli to reach and be processed by our senses. And during that time, whatever objects or processes we perceived will have changed. For example, We touch something, but the “feel” doesn’t register to us until 100ms later. By then, a lot of things change. Most of the time we don’t perceive those changes. But the fact remains that what we perceive is old info, and not exactly what is “currently” there. So it’s impossible to know what is truly and exactly “there” or what is “happening” at the moment called “now”.

[@milliefusion7340]

I think what they are actually saying is that our senses have limitations. We cannot look at something and fully know it inside, outside, right side, left side, etc because our vision is limited to only seeing what is in front of us. There are limits to what we experience based upon our senses' ability to perceive. Also, what is reality? I think reality is what WE experience, so to ask if it is real, to me, that answer is yes.

[@hemavathi6357]

I too thought 💭🤔 that reality is our Soul. Reality cannot be measured, touched or seen but it can be felt it's an attribute. 🤔

[@dimitristsogas8689]

Many times, people get so deep into a concept of thought that not only they loose the point and the reason of the original though,they also forget of its purpose and ultimately become incomplete individuals while believing they are enlightened.

[@Wakka00Wakka]

As humans I think becoming truly enlightened is difficult because of our conditioning. Even though our minds aren't capable of processing everything we should make our best attempt and be humble about it.

[@triciahodges8261]

@@Wakka00Wakka Thank u...ur comment was put in a way that really puts me in check. We need each other to wake us up out of conditioning. As the video stated we need different perspectives to get the whole picture.

[@Wakka00Wakka]

Thanks for your reply, best of luck

[@emeraldfox7175]

Unless you're a indigo child

[@shaheerhyder8617]

This dude doesn't even know that after thinking this much uniquely he is also under his own attack. No offense just jk 🙃

[@tensa-]

life is literally a dream... were dreaming when were awake... under some sort of conscious hypnosis but that doesnt take anything away from what life is

[@THEE_Kisywisy]

I’m autistic and one way it affects me is my dreams are just as real to me as being awake. I find it very difficult to disconnect from bad dreams

[@ma2i485]

Yeah dreams can be ridiculously real but then I know it's not my concious reality

[@chrisdeli4334]

I think the right way to phrase this question is, "Are we living in reality?" Because Reality, by definition, is the realm of what is objectively real isn't it?

[@iosefka7774]

we exist so of course we live in reality.

[@chrisdeli4334]

@@iosefka7774 "Existing" and "belonging to reality" are two very different things.. Think of how often you have dreams with other people in them, only to wake up and realize that the experience, including the other people in the dream, were all created by you and your unconscious imagination. The dream existed, because you had it- you remember it, you experienced it- but it didn't belong to objective reality, which is the reality that exists independent of your possible experiences.

[@iosefka7774]

@@chrisdeli4334 You said that reality is, by definition, what is objectively real; now you are saying that objective reality is a certain kind of reality, and that there are non-objective realities. Which is it? You're being unclear. To me, "Dreams are real but not objectively" is a bizarre statement. If you're referring to the mental state of dreaming: it is entirely material and observable. If you're claiming that the things experienced within a dream correspond to real entities, then you really need to justify this claim. Do you think that the water one sees in a mirage is real, just not 'objectively real'? I, like most people, believe things in dreams are mere ideas in the mind, and do not correspond to anything at all.

[@chrisdeli4334]

@@iosefka7774 I made a distinction between existing and being real, it's not that complicated- just think about it. Re read as well, I said dreams exist- but that they aren't real. I also used the term, objective reality because, yes, there are multiple types of reality. You're clearly not well versed in the topic of philosophy.. I suggest starting with the basics- maybe platos theory of forms, to introduce you in more depth to the concept that reality is separate from what you perceive through your senses.

[@iosefka7774]

@@chrisdeli4334 You are the one that said that reality is definitionally equivalent to that which is objectively real. Look at your original comment.

[@thejedi5079]

DMT has shown me that reality is most definitely a illusion and nothing is as it seems..

[@richardri3619]

Just because you experienced another realm of existence does not mean the one you were in to begin with is an illusion.

[@rickjames9507]

@@richardri3619 he is mistaking illusion with his own delusion.

[@rcnhsuailsnyfiue2]

@@rickjames9507 Not necessarily. Do you have any experience with DMT? I’ve seen and felt things on DMT that truly confounded me, in a way no other experience could match. It was one of several catalysts that turned me from a highly-sceptical materialist, towards non-duality. I would’ve dismissed anyone else saying that, too - until I experienced it firsthand. It was very humbling, and totally life-changing.

[@rickjames9507]

@@rcnhsuailsnyfiue2 well until we prove that what we see touch and feel isn’t all there is to it. It is just a delusion. I am all for proving all of these theories sparked by DMT and NDEs. I just lost my father and I am having a hard time not believing that this is it and we just Perish forever when we die. This is even after having my own experience with mushrooms and having spiritual experiences throughout my life. I am still skeptical and really frustrated with spirituality and faith right now. Please tell me something that will give me some hope. I am all ears.

[@rcnhsuailsnyfiue2]

@@rickjames9507 hey Rick… I just spent a while writing you a long reply with some things I think you’d find really helpful. But for some reason, KZbin doesn’t seem to want to let me post the comment (unless you can see it?!). I have it saved as a draft and would love to pass it on, do you have any other way I can get it to you? If not, I’ll try and figure something out. Thanks 🙏🏻

[@observer7418]

I used to commute by bike. I would track the weather, traffic, speed, and my times. There have been times when my 20min ride took 45 mind under the same circumstances, traffic, weather. I always found this odd.

[@qhyirrghsteinne3109]

We’re discussing this in philosophy right now based on rationalist reasoning rather than physics but it’s still so interesting

[@shadw4701]

You can use similar questions and reality checks to find out if you are dreaming. Lucid dreaming has actually taught me that reality can just as easily be an illusion as any dream since we can so perfectly recreate this world in our minds. I honestly highly recommend lucid dreaming to everyone. It takes practice and its 100% worth it. Honestly its the most underrated skill in the world

[@Vizorfam]

Dude I wanted to try that but I just fall asleep, you got any tips

[@shadw4701]

@@Vizorfam You mostly just need a dream journal and mindful daily reality checks. Meditation can help allot as well but it isn't a requirement, same with the techniques. If you do use a technique I would use it for a month or two and if you dont see any results id switch to another. A common misconception about lucid dreaming is that its really easy to do but ot actually takes time for most people unless you either get lucky or are already a natural lucid dreamer. Some good channels I recommend are lucid dream portal, tipharot and giz edwards

[@Vizorfam]

@@shadw4701 gotcha thanks a lot

[@SaintBrianTheGodless]

I've been in a lucid dream, and tested "reality" while in it. I have turned lights off and on, and they work fine, so that's not true as people say. I've pinched myself and felt pain. I've looked at the sun and it hurt my eyes. Everything is as real as reality is. Reality could be a dream. Absolutely.

[@shadw4701]

@@SaintBrianTheGodless Reality checks can work based off expectations. If you think it will work like the real thing it likely will. This is less likely to happen with time and reading, you can look at the time or a word and look away then look back to see if its changed. Pinching yourself is the most popular reality check however its one of the most useless. I honestly don't think that has ever worked for anyone

[@mofamofa7100]

One said if we can see and hear everything we might get crazy in minutes!

[@johnd.2803]

Thank goodness we can’t read minds. Ours are more than enough

[@blackroute1527]

True, people get overwhelmed with the limited senses we have already in extreme situations

[@dewisarah7495]

Yes. Thats true

[@cristianm7097]

The other extreme is true too. No sensory input leads to hallucinations.

[@johnd.2803]

It’s like, we can’t even understand our own minds. Why would hearing other thoughts benefit us at all? Makes no sense

[@helenamcginty4920]

As kids my sisters and I used to wonder if what each of us saw was the same thing. It passed the time between getting into bed and falling asleep. We wondered about lots of stuff that I have since discovered are questions pondered by adults calked philosophers. These questions are also pondered by other adults who live ordinary lives but dont get paid to think these thoughts. The advances in science have been the most interesting advances in answering these questions. Not professional philosophers.

[@richardconway6425]

@helena you are so right! Philosophy is the playground where pretentious twerps tie themselves up in semantic knots. Once the clear light of science falls there, they leave quickly, and try to find something else that science has not yet explained.

[@soldier09r]

This was a great watch! Loved every second of this!

[@soumyagupta1085]

It’s actually really fascinating because this topic reminds me of the concept of ‘the world is a dream, in Advaita Vedanta in the religion of Hinduism. It actually talks about we been in a dream state and this world is a dream.

[@sensiblehistory1265]

Many of these people have read Vedanta but will seldom give credit to India and it’s philosophies which debated these things thousands of years back when many were busy destroying cultures and civilizations

[@TheSamuiman]

Well, well, well - if it is so stop eating, drinking and you'll see how real things will become! It doesn't matter what we think - thinking, thought projections all together are the problem and the resulting false identifications - it is what is and as is!

[@machineelf4107]

You and I are like the Dreamer, who conjures up dreams and then lives inside those dreams. But which one of us is the dreamer?

[@samuelcosta8189]

More like an illusion that the brain translates as truth.

[@Arianne3011]

​@@machineelf4107both within a greater dream that has dreamt both of us ≈ māyā (pronounced as maa-yaa), _literally_ "that which is measurable" and the derived meaning is "apparent reality devoid of unconditionally real".

[@JohnWilliams-channel]

I think perception not only reduces the information, but it increases the information, there is both attenuation and gain, attenuation of detail and gain in meaning. This means not only is it important to see multiple perspectives, but to understand the extra meaning we've brought in to it with our expectations and biases.

[@tenstepsfromhell]

I think perception by definition is a distortion - reduction, gain, and subjective processing. We can't perceive something exactly as it is, since the perceiver is part of the perceived system as well - adding data the more it collects - up to infinity. Probably that's why we are nowhere close to decipher how our consciousness works.

[@cat1196]

I've always thought that if I see the color red, it could be completely different like another color no one can think of or it could be red but a little different. I always think that what if you get both of your eyes removed what would you see? Or what if you replace your one eye with someone else's, do you see another color or you see "your" red color. Or what if I see my red because that's how the brain sees red through the eye? Another thing I think about is how to explain a color to someone, try to look at any color and think that it's the color "[that you see]" and what it looks like.

[@mattskelton7471]

I recently had the epiphany that we are all in complete and utter darkness, even on the brightest day; like bats in a cave. And our eyes are simply sensors that detect certain wavelengths and give us the perception of light, in the same way the bat "sees" through echo location. Light, and all sensations for that matter, is all in our heads.

[@grant1739]

None of that makes sense but um cool..

[@mattskelton7471]

@@grant1739 why not? The only difference between a dark room and the same room where someone turns on a flashlight is that the latter has electromagnetic waves flying around and our eyes/brain process that as light. Those waves don't have any inherent properties such as brightness or colour. It is our brain that produces those emergent properties.

[@IAm_Chosen]

I agree with u

[@unknownstranger2621]

​@@mattskelton7471🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@joellara239]

Woke up half asleep one day and the floor in my room which is usually messy and has cracked tile, was immaculate. The most gorgeous tile and spotless. I realized that nothing we see is what really is.

[@bradleyjones8897]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@eightiesmusic1984]

Perhaps you were in a newly tiled kitchen.

[@knowone9075]

Something so simple. To gather information, processing it and tell the world how you see it has become such a big deal; thus leading to overthinking. My OCD was driving me crazy after watching this video. I have to remind myself, “it is what it is,” and call it a day.

[@TheSamuiman]

“it is what it is,” and as is....!!! exactly my thoughts after watching this Vid!

[@robertcarhiboux3164]

I'm thinking of the music of numb finger, "it is what it is" and this sentence at some point despite perceived by some as pointless, can encompass more valuable information in life than all science put all together.

[@mattstevenson5849]

From a quantum mechanical point of view , do wave functions collapse, or is it just we misunderstand what we 'see'? Measurement apparatus is limited by our cognitive abilities, and the design is based on what we can interpret with our existing senses.

[@Alex-hf6vj]

That raises the question of if humans will ever perceive the universe accurately asides from judging the world from our own limit of knowledge and conception of universe

[@chinookvalley]

I live with dogs, a lot of them, for decades. They are the proof I need that there is more out there than we can even begin to comprehend. Don't scold a dog when he's trying to tell you something by barking or jumping or going wild. We humans have lost touch with Nature. You can find the truth to all things in a dog. Praise Dog!

[@myoung48281]

As long as humans poop, we'll be in touch with nature.

[@angrydragon4574]

LOL

[@lilbich6576]

Awooo!!

[@98r860]

They are speaking to us and it's astonishing once you make the connection to what they are saying. Dogs are absolutely wonderful!

[@chinookvalley]

@@bksvdb Thank you. I will look more into Diogenes. Heard about him all my life but never sat down and read his work. Woof. (Thanks.)

[@juglishjohn8986]

I’ve never had the experience, but I would bet having to go to jail for something would definitely define reality.

[@johnhulsker9123]

Would still be a subjective experience,

[@scambammer6102]

It's boring. You mostly just play cards.

[@iosefka7774]

some people have elaborate delusions about tremendous suffering. it would tell you nothing.

[@evilpandakillabzonattkoccu4879]

"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises." - Samuel Butler

[@nicholaspikos7012]

When you mix the pigments that make blue and yellow together a different amount of energy is absorbed by the new chemical combination and a different amount reflected which corresponds to the colour green so this is not the same as hearing two different notes played at the same time because each string is a different energy source communicating the amount of tension or whatever potential or kinetic energy that corresponds to itself

[@kayskreed]

This reminds me of the notion that reality, or _our reality_ rather, is but the product of our perception, of our subjective experience of it. We cannot know of any reality beyond the bounds of our experience of it, but we can certainly imagine that there could exist such a thing. For instance, we are aware that others experience a somewhat different reality than us, or perspective, one which we will never truly be able to experience for ourselves in first person. The way I view our consciousness and senses is like this: Each of us is like a small lamp illuminating an infinite dark. And the things and objects that are illuminated by our "light" take form and become real to _us,_ even though they may not be seen and made real to another. But as small pinpoints of light in an infinite dark, no matter how many of us there are, conscious and perceiving lifeforms that is, the darkness will always obscure the light, and what it hides--if anything--will never be seen in its entirely and thus never fully understood.

[@loshay3325]

“We have to take our perceptions seriously but we don’t have to take them literally.”

[@fourthmusketeer221]

It's difficult for humans not to take our perceptions literally because we don't know how to do otherwise.

[@vivianlyn]

The senses can distract from spiritual reality, which is Spiritual qualities and values. Peace, love, Joy, Beauty, Life,the Oneness of the Universe. It is entirely separate from material life, and can never be measured or proven by science.

[@josejose2001]

It is impossible describe what we are or what we experience, since language is limited. Anything we ascribe a label to is a product of the mind.

[@cmvamerica9011]

All consciousness is connected in some way; but how it works is a mystery to most of us.

[@sugarcane4648]

Why do you think all consciousness is connected?

[@nathannathan44]

@@sugarcane4648 is information fully discrete when analyzed from all perspectives? Our neurons are connected they give us consciousness from the macro perspective but from the perspective of a singular neuron very minimal consciousness is contained. Or you could take the information contained within the connection between two neurons. How are we connected? Look at Society one giant organism from a macro perspective. What about gravity between two objects? There are relationships between everything, seen and unseen. And there are multiple interpretations of the same information when looking at it from micro and macro perspectives.

[@sarah_jane9131]

One day someone explained to me that other living forms (dogs and cats for example) don't see what we see but see what they need to see and sense to exist and survive. On that day I became aware that must also be true for humans. The next logical question would be then how real is what I believe I see and sense? Comparing memories with siblings made me aware we didn't see/interpret much in the same way.

[@radiantrenee406]

Exactly. I love how you pointed out siblings see and experiencing a difference yet you guys obviously were at the same space and time...life is so interesting!

[@sarah_jane9131]

@@radiantrenee406 "No one sees what you see, even if they see it too." And now I wonder whether cats and dogs see the same thing as other cats and dogs? Or does it vary by level of developed awareness based on association, for example, with humans?

[@quixotica726]

@@sarah_jane9131 Fantastic question!

[@Ddub1083]

Its not that what you sense isnt real.... its simply that what you sense is not always the most accurate detector of what is real. Hence why multiple people can have different observations of the same thing. Not because that thing itself isnt real...but rather because each person's senses of that thing are not truly accurate, or are influenced by other things.

[@fayis4everlove]

So you expect other people to have the same experience as you even though you aren't the same person and they have different life experience, i.e friends, routine etc etc? haha ..

[@Narko_Marko]

As kids, My friend told me that if i was cloned the clone would do the exact same thing as me always, but its impossible since a clone can not percieve the same things as you if it isn't occupying the same space, even if everything else is exactly the same.

[@petermartin5030]

A useful analogy is making a string puppet react realistically to the world. The sequence of strings you have to pull is quite different from what the world is. It is just that strange pattern of pulling of strings that works well enough.

[@mikrascally]

Reminds me of a true story I once read or heard... don't recall. , but vaguely goes like this: person who was blind most of their lives had eventually their sight restored. The person was asked to draw the bus he was standing in front. He started to draw the front of the bus quite accurately but as he continued to draw down the length of the bus, the drawing got distorted and incomprehensible. They (scientists I assume) asked why is the front of the bus perfect and the remainder is basically scribbles. He answered that he had never touched that part of the bus. Mind blown.

[@davidlodge681]

This has been an issue for me as I’ve been a mental health practitioner for over 40 years. We diagnose others as having hallucinations, delusions etc. but, although the majority view agrees with our diagnosis, is this in fact true? A conundrum given our decisions affect others lives.

[@trollbagginsphd1110]

True story: one time when I was in the sixth grade I was asleep in my bed. I was not dreaming it was just darkness then all of a sudden a purple flash that streaked down and exploded. The sound shook my entire house and I woke up to my mom screaming. Outside it was beginning to rain and lightning had struck one of the pine trees. This was in sync with my bolt right? I think about this almost every single day. Like, how tf did that happen. I also had spontaneous mystical experience a few years ago. Thinking about that lightning and my dream and knowing that actually happened is one of the things that keeps me sane when I start thinking about the more intense, and confusing, experiences I have had. There is something about the soul and the “natural” world that is connected. I think this video touches on that by explaining these things do not exist as we perceive them. Our minds are simply reading a signal, but where does this information come from?

[@joeswampdawghenry]

Wankaaaa

[@nathannathan44]

@@trollbagginsphd1110 the soul is perhaps the natural world. This discretness you hypothesize is what many consider to be free will though I do not as I believe free will to be the output of a system that is determined by its processes while having input from the external.

[@nathannathan44]

@@trollbagginsphd1110 these misconceptions on there own are quite fascinating as well.

[@draculamaxxed]

Reminds me of Kant’s idea of synthetic a priori knowledge and the categories

[@pumpkinpepsi]

My favorite quote, "we do not see things as they are, we see them as we are" (orig. Talmud, reiterated by Anaïs Nin)

[@manifestgtr]

One answer I have to this is that our senses were “given” to us by the universe in such a way that we can experience it while best preserving ourselves for long enough to reproduce. Since we’re made up of the universe, therefor *are* the universe, I think there’s probably at least some small semblance of objectivity there. Yes, we don’t experience the entirety of reality…the electromagnetic spectrum, alone, is far more expansive than we can sense. But we can sense enough to keep ourselves functioning successfully. The issue is that, as a species, we’re too smart for our own good. We’ve learned that “reality” is almost infinitely greater than we perceive…and make no mistake, the fact that we’re sheltered from that by our senses is unquestionably a good thing. If you could feel all the pain/happiness of the world simultaneously, your brain would probably explode…and I mean that in an almost literal sense. EDIT: I *do* agree that our human perception of time and “duration” is almost completely subjective. You can see that by observing other animals. When you look at a dragonfly, obviously experiencing time in chunks of milliseconds or a turtle who lives a much longer, slower paced natural life…it’s obvious that we perceive the passage of “time” in a very human way.

[@THE.N1KO]

This made me think: at least for me: I don't want to have kids. In history of humanity there were tons of humans whom never reproduce themselves. And there's still an evolution in the species. That instantly makes myself freaking nothing. But immediatly makes me everything because I'm still here. And I'm still doing a butterfly effect. It's beautiful how we are just no ones and at the same time the universe itself.

[@manifestgtr]

@@THE.N1KO Regarding the last thing you said…the deeper I get into my 30s, the more I start to wonder if consciousness is this cosmic phenomenon and we’re just the conduits. There’s a Sam Harris lecture on free will/consciousness where he poses the idea that our thoughts don’t appear to be “our own”. We’re not really in control of them…they just occur to us. If that’s true, it makes me wonder if consciousness is just this component of the universe and life/death doesn’t really mean much. It’s just a product of our physical manifestation and consciousness rolls along regardless. I don’t know why but I suspect that’s the case on some level or another.

[@THE.N1KO]

@@manifestgtr I have read somewhere that everything that the brain process is out there. I mean it makes sense. Easily explained with: We are who we are because of our environments and because of how we respond to everything that crashes into us. But also: there's the evolution, the thoughts, the energy floating around. And that we just catch it if we want. Like when you go to buy an couple of apples. They are right there. Everything has its flow. And then there you are exchanging matter (money for the apple). And it's the same when you search a song in KZbin or in your collection. It is the same with ideas. That's why I think that there's movements. Like the new wave. In music. In cinema. That's why The Beatles were something big. Then Pink Floyd. Then Radiohead (just examples). Everything change and in a way. If you not bring that idea that you had somebody else will. Because you are not the only one experience how the world changes. And it's beautiful. Everything influence everything. And it's always beginning and ending. I love to believe that. Even if it's not true. Because it made me feel connected to my sorroundings and with everyone else. I watched The Thing from John Carpenter when I was 17. That was in 2017. The film is from 1982. And I was like: "oh, I would love to have watched this film earlier in my life". But now I just believe that I watched it in that moment because of something. The film was out there. Floating around. And I catch it at my 17 years old. Now I'm 21 and I remember all this while I write to you. And that's how I feel everything is connected in some way. I'm sorry if my english is not good by the way.

[@dblack8141]

your perspective is quite primitive. the censorship and marxism keeps the people pig like 🐷

[@slapmyfunkybass]

I get your point, but if the purpose of the universe giving us our senses is just to stick around long enough to survive, why give such extremes as to create difference of opinion? Why not make us all interpret everything the same way? Why is difference of opinion even needed if objective reality does exist?

[@Dialogos1989]

This resonates with Schopenhauer’s will and representation or Kant’s phenomena vs noumena

[@asecretturning]

Does it?

[@Dialogos1989]

@@asecretturning it does

[@leandrosilvagoncalves1939]

That's true..... I'm so glad that Bernardo Kastrup is making us see what Schopenhauer was really talking about

[@Przemekk701]

Before that... Stuff like hinduism and hermetic principles

[@jackhat6936]

It also kind of reminds me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave from book 7 of the republic. For centuries philosophers have been telling us that the world we see is not the world as it actually is.

[@patriciamcnamara9821]

As a child I would close my eyes and think that the non ending blackness of what I was 'seeing' was what endless space and eternity looked like. No begining or end, just being

[@startracker5895]

Nah it was just dark in your room! 😂

[@patriciamcnamara9821]

@@startracker5895 not as dark as your brain.

[@sydneybean123]

Me too! I would wonder “where I was” before I was born and all I could come up with (after wracking my brain and asking countless adults around me) was the same thing: blackness. I never really accepted it as the “right” answer, and kind of just gave up/ forgot about the whole thing and continued on. Now (23) the whole thought is resurfacing and I wonder again about the blackness. Do you think that consciousness as we know it exists in the blackness?

[@patriciamcnamara9821]

@@sydneybean123 blackness has as much right to exist as brightness, so yes you could be right.

[@graciism]

sometimes i just feel myself like disappear from my body. its like.. am I even real? like wow I'm actually hear right now. and then i look in the mirror and its like getting used to my face all over again. like wow. this is actually me, this actually what i look like. what even am i? what is life?

[@pranay561]

This video, personally is very calming to me. Last year I lost my taste to covid and later got a distorted taste and now it's again no taste with no distortion, I told my sis the other day,"I'm thinking if taste is really just a perception, then how do I know if it's even real, like why is the taste I'm getting rn is any wrong then what I used to get." I pondered about this whole thing of how I thought taste is just a perception and not reality but couldn't further move because of lack of resources but this video gave some answers to my questions...thank you ! I want every human to understand this video

[@buttnakedman5320]

Weirdo

[@mongoharry7765]

We see the world accurately enough to be able to survive in it; and given the fact that we're pretty fragile, the accuracy must be pretty high.

[@caseytailfly]

Accuracy no, utility yes

[@kolikari3813]

@@caseytailfly exactly

[@kolikari3813]

Life is agenda based you see. And the agenda isnt seekinh truth its to survive and adapt

[@stephendavis7112]

You are accurate enough to say that there is a wall in front of you and so you should not run into it, but you are not accurate enough to detect the Hepatitis-D someone spread on the wall and which is going to kill you.

[@uncanalmenor]

People misjudge distances, velocities and forces on a daily basis, sometimes with fatal consequences.

[@mosienko1983]

"we have to take our perceptions seriously, but we shouldn't take them literally". That about sums this up. The title is MORE than misleading.

[@kimberleyferreira3477]

When i think about the universe i get anxiety.

[@gimmiethatswing]

Stop thinking about it and do something that makes you happy

[@PROTAGONIST_48]

That goes to show the incredible complexity of the universe. It could certainly be overwhelming if you think about it long enough.

[@xbeavz]

the anxiety is the fun part

[@eightiesmusic1984]

When I think about money I get anxiety. When I think about the universe I don't understand. Not thick but a relatively simple soul, that's me.

[@monsterguyx6322]

This put me in mind of the Cubist period of modern art, which attempted to show more about the subject than could be captured from a single viewpoint.

[@Spreadshit101]

In short: objective reality can be achieved through multiple perspectives.

[@TheDoomWizard]

I learned this talking about climate change on my channel the past year.

[@meneeRubieko]

No. Objective reality can only be achieved through literally all perspectives which is impossible for a human mind or even a super ai Edit: you can of course get close to objective reality through empirical analysis which may result in treatments and innovations of all kinds of things but true objective reality cannot be achieved I think

[@Spreadshit101]

@@meneeRubieko . yeah true. It's like getting the whole 7 billion world population to take part in a height survey to get the 'big picture' of human height. Well, there is no need for that. Getting a proper fraction of the population (aka sample) would be sufficient to 'get close' to the true reality.

[@sjacks3281]

objective reality is nothing to be achieved. it is. objective reality can be perceived through multiple perspectives...

[@BulentBasaran]

Look at a sphere like the earth. No physical perspective can give you the full picture. But, math does. We know the shape, even though we can't perceive ot fully accurately with our eyes or instruments. Therefore, Plato was right. Aristotle was also right. He wanted to measure how long was the equator, etc. Too bad we thought they conflicted each other. They don't.

[@spadeworksproduction]

what i understood from this is that What we see is not reality but an infecient translation of reality that our Being Can comprehend, and its interesting cause reality is Always objective but our perception of it is subjective

[@PhotoTrekr]

"Reality" is as "real" as it's going to get for us whether we are living in an internal or external simulation or not. It's all we've got.