The Reality of Reality: A Tale of Five Senses

Your eyes and ears don’t tell you the truth. That’s not what they’re for. The senses evolved to enable us to survive and succeed in the world, not to represent it accurately. Now, for the first time, science is revealing exactly how the sense organs receive information, process it, and pass it to the brain, providing deep insight into why we experience the world the way we do-and what it might be like for future technology to transform such experiences, perhaps allowing us to see infrared light or feel magnetic north. Join an eminent group of neuroscientists and philosophers for an ear, tongue, nose and eye-opening adventure that challenges everything we experience in search of the true nature of reality.
PARTICIPANTS: Christine Constantinople, Donald Hoffman, Stavros Lomvardas, Beau Lotto, Anil Seth
MODERATOR: Elizabeth Vargas
MORE INFO ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND
PARTICIPANTS: www.worldsciencefestival.com/...
This program is part of the BIG IDEAS SERIES, made possible with support from the JOHN TEMPLETON FOUNDATION.
TOPICS
0:00 - Program introduction
0:40 - Beau Lotto perceptual biases demonstrations
9:01 - Panelist introductions
11:10 - What is accurate perception?
15:45 - Neural basis of decision biases
17:49 - The illusion of smell
19:07 - “The dress” photo illusion
26:02 - Has our survival relied on one sense more than another?
28:21 - Contextual nature of the brain demonstration
33:00 - Does an independent reality exist?
35:09 - The umwelt
39:50 - How we perceive change
42:40 - Expectations vs. evidence in the sensory world
43:46 - Do some senses work faster than others?
49:50 - How does high emotion affect our senses?
50:43 - Synesthesia
57:00 - Neural networks studying perception
59:34 - The rubber hand illusion
1:04:20 - Do we really only have 5 senses?
1:06:52 - Parting thoughts on reality vs. perception
PROGRAM CREDITS
- Produced by Andy Meyer
- Associate Produced by Matt Carlstrom
- Music provided by APM
- Additional images and footage provided by: Venturebeat, Upload VR, Your Discovery Science
- Recorded at Gerald W. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College
- SUBSCRIBE to our KZbin Channel and "ring the bell" for all the latest videos from WSF
- VISIT our Website: www.worldsciencefestival.com
- LIKE us on Facebook: / worldsciencefestival
- FOLLOW us on Twitter: / worldscifest

[@truthseeker7041]

So much knowledge and science , for free , on your phone , in your bed.... thank you to everyone who deserves to be thanked. ❤

[@prophet4332]

amen

[@hauntedhose]

Dork

[@kalmoranda4529]

I second that. So much free info. What a great moment in time. Where will it all lead I wonder.

[@johnholland6958]

How did you know I watched this in bed on my phone? Are you psychic???

[@truthseeker7041]

@@johnholland6958 because i watched in bed on my phone.. hhhh...i think most people do.

[@Keemo577]

"Imagine what would happen if we enter conflict with a question instead of an answer." - Love this

[@killacat7666]

Acceptance 💯is the end of every struggle inside

[@michaeldavis-fg4gn]

Apparently I swapped the definition of acceptance with approval…

[@Bleepoh]

I first thought of this concept at 5 years old in bed. How does a 40 yr old man just discover this way of thinking . Am i just an alien or should i be on tv too . th?

[@joshyphil4259]

@@Bleepoh I often find myself in situations as a 23 y/o with adults later in life (30-60), and I used to always give them credence that they have lived far more life, often specializing in whatever task is at hand, and yet I always find myself surprised at their ineptness or lack of sense at things they've done their whole life. Age is objective, it's how you grow and where you direct your mind during that.

[@landon9366]

@@joshyphil4259 this is because most tasks are easier for this generation with the help of technology that didn’t exist back then. So yeah, they had to find different ways to get shit done😂

[@natureswhisper1397]

The last segment with Beau is clearly something people could benefit from : when you enter a debate or trying simply to understand things better, the main goal is to find a way to learn more after the discussion than before and not to ''win''. But that's if you really want to learn more and not simply to manipulate people into your way of thinking.

[@spensert4933]

Arriving at New ideas together or new questions. All that happens in debate is entrenching getting stronger and is good for TV ratings.

[@natureswhisper1397]

@@SolidSiren I get your point about the difference between discussion and debate, but I think essentialy they both lead (or at least they should) to an end which is a better understanding of the topic discussed/debated. If really the only way you see a debate is in the eye of a competition, even if you "win" doesn't mean you win in reality. This can create a sterile situation where you don't grow in terms of comprehension, of understanding for you and for the other party. I feel like there's two major ways in interacting in a debate : 1- In a "fragile-ego" way, where you want to win at all cost even if you're wrong just to be "superior" in front of others. 2- In a "truth-seeking" way, where you only want to leave a debate in a better state of understanding than when you entered it by being totally open to what the other party has to say and even accept that you might have been wrong about your view on the subject and changing your opinion accordingly. That's where true growth emerge, not only from an intellectual standpoint but also from a relationnal standpoint where having these kinds of respectful debates let you see that, in fact, we all just want to navigate in the world in the best way possible and one of the best thing to do is to actually have a sense of cooperation with each other and not of competitiveness.

[@AudioPervert1]

while these corporate hacks and cherry picked verbiage specialists tell us whatever ... an average of 150 species go extinct EVERY DAY (UN and IPCC 2020 Report) World Science Festival is a perfect example of Collapse Denial.

[@spensert4933]

@@SolidSiren yes.😁

[@spensert4933]

A movement is only as good as its dumbest member . One needs a master debater

[@coolbeatguy]

47:00 I actually noticed something similar in whenever i get attacked in a nightmare. As a kid I used to run away from whatever monster was attacking me, now as a 23 year old guy I notice that I tend to fight back. Which leads me to believe that my subconscious has much more confidence in my ability to defend myself currently, in contrast to when i was a kid.

[@angelg2638]

This is classic PTSD. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder reaction. In the Fight or Flight (self-preservation) response, Your childhood nightmares triggered your flight response. You ran away from danger. However, after a few "attacks" or assaults of your monster, It appears that your self-preservation switch has reached your threshold (everyone has a different threshold) - it turned OFF your Flight, and turned ON your Fight response. This is the reason that in Boot Camp, Drill Instructors scream, yell and abuse recruits - to turn off their FLIGHT response, and to turn ON their FIGHT response. Military training is filled with stressful scenarios to train otherwise REGULAR humans to become fighters, and run TOWARDS the enemy (and danger), and not run AWAY from it. Your subconscious was smart - it was training you to become a fighter, and not a flighter.

[@coolbeatguy]

@@angelg2638 Damn that's interesting, thanks for sharing. So people with PTSD have the same response? Don't people with PTSD have a stronger response to stress?

[@angelg2638]

@@coolbeatguy People with PTSD do not have the same response. First, different thresholds. If the threshold to turn FLIGHT into FIGHT is not reached, then the person will always FLEE, and not FIGHT. He will be stressed for being labeled a "coward", just like the fighter is srtessed for being labeled a "trouble-maker". They are both NOT a coward, nor a troublemaker. They just cannot control their prime directives. They keep doing the same things - FLEEING or FIGHTING, and they do not understand WHY. At the other end of the spectrum, some people have an accentuated FIGHT RESPONSE, the classic "Rambo" (he suffered from PTSD from his horrible treatment in POW camp in Vietnam). We still have many veterans from Desert Storm, Vietnam, Iraq, Afgh with this "illness". Some have killed their entire family, co-workers, others have committed suicide. PTSD is awful to have. There is NO cure. The military knows how to turn FIGHT switch ON, but not OFF. Only coping mechanisms like, management, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), DBT (Dialectic Behavioural Therapy), Self-awareness, medication (SSRIs, etc). You have to catch yourself when you are turning "nuKUlar", recognise it, and hopefully, self-defuse. Otherwise, you either go homicidal, or suicidal. Spare a thought for our veterans. They are still FIGHTING THE WAR long after they have returned home. And it is often a WORSE battle than actual combat.

[@amazingsupergirl7125]

You’re bigger and stronger now. Surely you’re able to stand up for yourself in life. Dreams are usually representations of something happening in your life, I believe. It might represent what you’re battling….depression, anxiety, a controlling wife, etc. about once a year I dream a tiger is tracking me down. Sometimes he kills me. I love tigers though. I’m pretty sure it’s actually about anxiety tracking me down and sometimes destroys me. The only way is to run and hide by not watching news, staying away from negative social media and conversations, etc. my dad used to dream he was teetering on a ledge then finally in one dream he put his foot on the ground to balance. The nightly dreams stopped. ❤️🤟🏻

[@tigerlilysoma588]

Had this happen on shrooms. As trips progressed I fought back against those devil dudes and won easily

[@failfection]

"Most of your life happened without you even there." -Beau Lotto

[@fortunateson101]

4east

[@tkonzl6059]

This is why death is the great mystery - because you've always been alive.

[@user-lj2zm2uo2v]

okay? okay. okay!?

[@OFOTCN]

Maybe, pretty sure I was here though.

[@HallieEva]

It all comes down to whether we are are the candle or the flame.

[@LoveAndPeaceOccurs]

"You can never leave bias and assumption ... you can expand them." Again, explained so well ... This discussion IS expanding how I perceive ...

[@markpearsall3964]

With exception of reality of weeks to me when th panel talk a through psychosis and perception they never take into account the understanding of a person's feelings and the ability to be at peace with space time boredom irrational continum of change spinning into an out of controlled understanding acceptance love appreciation of life light our sun just about sums up panel midway enjoyfulife

[@theamateurscientist160]

Nice wallpaper!

[@pathwithin8856]

If he understood Buddhism he would know that’s not true.

[@ritikarana4256]

@@pathwithin8856 how? would like to know buddhist perspective

[@Sean-ff9ic]

I took a break from the astro/quantum physics realm to watch this video, and I'm very glad I did! Thanks to Brian Greene and everyone else involved for making the WSF possible!

[@Sean-ff9ic]

@@skydaddy2692 don't forget to tell me I'm pretty too

[@Sean-ff9ic]

@@skydaddy2692 I wrote the comment because I enjoy the videos from the WSF. If being smart makes me pathetic in your eyes, so be it. I could not care less what some random person on the internet thinks.

[@raa9558]

@@SolidSiren I couldn't have said it better, brother

[@Sean-ff9ic]

@@skydaddy2692 bless your heart ❤️

[@raa9558]

@@skydaddy2692 take meds schizo

[@amydecker9049]

Goal achieved; I absolutely knew less by the end of this intelligent and enlightening conversation. A whole new way to approach conflict and everything else. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all.

[@SebiSzabi]

Tell me about colours... I'm a hairdresser, and clients show pictures of the hair colours they want. I always ask them where they want that colour to look like the picture? In the cold light of the bathroom, the warm light of the living room, under a green tree, in the autumn sunset... They just don't understand...

[@casey2806]

Are you able to change the lighting you show the picture under? Have a series of cards in a range of strong colours. Show the hair against that strong colour and see if it changes.

[@SebiSzabi]

@@casey2806 I actually started taking pictures of my clients haircolors outdoors in direct light, indoors, and outdoors in the shadow. When someone comes in with a request, I just show them how different colors can look, and now problem is solved. :)

[@petermiesler9452]

I've done quite a bit of house painting, and developed a golden rule early on: "I don't do colors, don't even ask me for my opinion." A colors are fickled, same color looks different on every wall, plus tastes change so fast. Seen on client pick out her perfect colors, was loving it - until she had some friends over, one made a rude remark about colors, that totally changed the clients feeling and she wound up having a second color painted over the original. Colors are too subjective on many, many level, way more levels than you can shake your conscious agents at. Food even more so. As every restauranteur can tell you, the eye's eat along, not to mention one's emotions play another big role in how we perceive the tastes of food. (That's why a smart snappy enthusiastic waiter can make 100+% different in how any meal tastes in a customers mind.)

[@fjames404]

@@casey2806 qq

[@casey2806]

@@fjames404 ??

[@shrinivasansarangarajan8658]

Excellent discussion, to the point presentation, and a wonderful conclusion. "Understanding perceptions is the key to conflict resolution. Enter a conflict with a question, rather than an answer, because neurological systems are evolved to win rather than agree, and our perceptions are based on our evolutionary history."

[@bosnino420]

Who else thought about this as a kid and thought you were crazy and never thought about it until you realize every human contemplates reality and what consciousness truly is

[@jbgomez5970]

Before this video: “Perception is reality.” After this video: “Perception is an illusion.”

[@SamSam-xx6dv]

And further after, perception is not an illusion, but an interpretation of reality. Our best guess survival process, based upon what we need for our particular species to survive. Not an illusion nor reality but an naturally selected evolved accuracy approximation based upon the Law of Physics that our species can perceive and interpret.

[@casey2806]

I suggest part of our problem is our language/vocabulary. It has developed in a certain consciousness, to use it to accurately describe a higher consciousness MAY not be possible.

[@akmand009]

The Eastern philosophies told this long back which is being proved in the present scientific environment.

[@mkh2799]

😲

[@casey2806]

@@akmand009 It is my understanding that Eastern philosophies typically take a more holistic approach than the Western, which break things down. I am not aware where they talk about language in this way, but it is nice to hear others have had this thought also. Thank you.

[@entropia34332]

The contribution of Dr. Lomvradas to this panel was absolutely invaluable!

[@deckearns]

The host in this discussion has done an excellent job. Allowing discussion, intelligent questions and great banter. Also incredibly smart, researched and knowledgeable. Well done. Loved this discussion.

[@goshart]

There is a fascinating talk about syneasthesia ... I’m the one who has it! I taste music, hear music when looking at colours and mostly I’m super sensitive to colour. I see the world in vivid colours, even in the dullest of the places, even at night I can see lots of colours! No wonder I’m an artist! 🎨 And in my mind I see the words and numbers in colours... Every letter has its own set colour and a word’s colour depends on the combination of those letters. The first letter is important as it is giving a word its colour scheme... the vowels are always bright and have qualities of light - they shine and illuminate the other letters. Eg, ‘O’ is white and shines like a light bulb... ‘a’ is shiny red, ‘e’ shiny blue. As consonants have solid colour in my mind, eg: ‘c’ is ochre yellow, ‘s’ is earthy green ... there’s some interesting thing about ‘y’. I’m Polish and in Polish language ‘y’ is a vowel but it is a consonant in English language. So, in my mind ‘y’ is white and it is solid white when I think about an English word, but when I think about a Polish word which contains ‘y’ then that letter in my head becomes transparent - like frosted glass...

[@loislane7958]

Wow! So special! You've got a magical ability. I wonder what the reason behind it is

[@aroseinwinter05]

One of the most compelling things I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. I’m a general psychology grad & this makes me wish I had the means to go back to school to focus on one of these specific fields. Absolutely brilliant. 🙏🏻✨

[@JackRowsey]

My wife received her degree in general psychology. She was supposed to go back to get her graduate degree in psychology but never did. After realizing her job, as a pharmacist technician, had a pretty low pay cap, she decided to go get her teaching certificate. She’s now a high school history and civics teacher. .She loves this job which she never predicted she would ever have.

[@aroseinwinter05]

@@JackRowsey ❤️this story! I wish her all the best!:) I’ve dabbled in many fields, myself, since working since age 15. My BA is a foot in the door, so to speak, as I run my own private writing instruction biz(I also work retail part-time during “off season,” lol). Sometimes our lives take us in completely different trajectories than intended: if you feel fulfilled in your career, you’ll never “work” a day in your life!

[@JackRowsey]

@@aroseinwinter05 Congratulations! It’s a good foot in the door, I agree. I wish you well in whatever you chose to do. I’ll let Joy know. Thanks.

[@aroseinwinter05]

@@JackRowsey Bless you! Happy Holidays to you & yours!❤️❤️

[@Eric-yj5xg]

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” ― John Lennon

[@vvitagi]

I'm

[@OFOTCN]

Wow 🙄

[@deathchilde]

A dream you dream together is called The Matrix

[@johnbaldwin8340]

Someone needs to watch.

[@StaYcalm3]

I absolutley love listening to Don Hoffman. His view on consciousness I think is revolutionary.

[@simonrodriguez4685]

No, it’s not. It’s just the logical conclusion of all of the aberrations here presented. He’s conveniently upping the ante in this nonsensical approach in order to be celebrated, that’s what top notch repeaters of nonsense are looking for: to become a celebrity. Pathetic.

[@StaYcalm3]

Pff.

[@allseeingry2487]

@@simonrodriguez4685 he come up with this 20 years ago. All the other guys studies are over the last 10 years. So how do you figure that?

[@Artby777]

@@simonrodriguez4685 LoL!

[@davidh9354]

@@simonrodriguez4685 straddling the line between being considered a proper expert/scientist or a peddler of "nonsense", as you put it, certainly is a difficult thing to do (however, it certainly helps to have a degree(s) and peer reviewed research if you're hoping to be taken seriously). In regards to topics that are far beyond our own cerebral capacity to easily understand or ones where we have only really scratched the surface in terms of actual scientific evidence acquired, it can be an insurmountable task at times to attempt to offer any kind of truly influential "proof" to an interested audience without also being seen as partially manipulative. In this case, then, your opinion of what is actually being discussed or what you believe the intention of the individuals holding the discussion to be is ultimately all you can really take away from the discussion as a whole. There is only so much evidence and/or performative language that they can use in order to make a case for their theories. At the end of the day, however, I do think Hoffman (or anybody really) can be capable of intending to further his own career/popularity while *also* genuinely attempting to scientifically analyze (and teach others about) the "true nature" of reality and perception. His particular approach can be considered to be useful in certain ways and can/should be iterated upon, as it need not be the only one... The most helpful concept I've been able to take away from this video has been that it is possible and highly beneficial to a person to be able to reliably alter one's own perception of themselves, others, events, their environment, etc. Albeit an idea I'd already come to believe on my own before viewing, it has at least reaffirmed my views to a degree via their elaboration on their particular fields of knowledge and has slightly expanded the ways in which I know that this ability can be useful. Seeing perception as a highly useful tool that can be studied/harnessed to some degree, rather than it merely being a passive lense with which we use to experience or interface with reality, has unlimited potential for being useful to every human being (both on the level of our entire species as a whole and on the personal/individual level). It does not necessarily matter to me what the intentions are of the people involved or the level to which they experience "success", only that their words/actions have a positive impact. Edit: fixed a few grammatical errors

[@Gordesm]

Reality IS the physical form of consciousness. The human body is a flesh and blood vehicle for the Spirit, an avatar for consciousness. We are all one in the same !

[@feYslYa]

last time on acid I had a sense of being a mushroom trying to explain itself

[@edduardozamboga4082]

Thank all of you for being intelligent and interested in topics like this Peace and Bless to you all.

[@peterlloyd4447]

I love the last guys explanation. I believe that the questions we ask are far more important than the answers we find. Provided we are able to free up space for further questions.

[@LoveAndPeaceOccurs]

Thank You All ... best video I've seen yet in explaining perception and reality. The explanation of why the one guy believes that, while there is one true reality BUT that we are not programmed to see it is certainly the best explanation of that to the point I will have to go deeper into those ideas. Excellent! Love & Peace (However you may perceive them to be ...as long as it's good) to All

[@kapilchaudaha9679]

We are truly living in a free world of knowledge. Thanks to digital technology!

[@jonathanwhite5697]

No matter how many times I watch this video speaks volumes and I can watch it like I never saw it before

[@paradoxicaluniverse]

Mind blowing. So there's a difference between reality and truth! Reality is agreed upon perceptions/hallucinations. Reality is relatively subjective and truth is objective.

[@joeborysko423]

What is your objective measure of truth?

[@DonH_Zeroth57]

I would have liked to have heard more from Stavros Lomvardas.

[@yinafrentz]

Me too.

[@jonmo111]

i see the same thing as u and hoffman and i also believe i have some type of autism, when i tell people what i think is goin on-they cant comprehend. life is a diabolical system-mentally and physically(in every way) and with 100% paradoxes and contradictions. i am workin on a book called WHY WE ARE NOT SMART, WILL BE A VERY BIG BOOK. MOST people are compliant sheeple and they have stagnated our progress greatly, the few that think outside the so called box are the ones responsible for all our progress and

[@alicjakiwak2167]

We need to update with the world most definitely ❤️💐💐💐

[@BrettCovey]

Considering Schrodinger's Cat: Dead or Alive? I asked my professor if anyone wondered what Schrodinger's Cat may have been thinking while he/she was inside that box the whole time. My professor responded after a short pause with, "Now, you're starting to get it." What does that mean?

[@markbivins8418]

Your perception is determined by past experience, current physiological state and your expectations of the future

[@quantised1703]

including this one?

[@Ziggy_Stark.]

but whose perception is that on the perceivers perception? maybe it's different in anothers reality? I don't know just putting it there that maybe people can experience the same thing together however remember it in different ways.

[@whoknew4722]

@@Ziggy_Stark. Perception and Memory (recalling the past) are two separate processes. However, Perception USES Memory (which is a complete collection of our past experiential & sensory stimuli plus previously-stored memories). Memory modifies itself (a newly perceived stimuli "merges" with past memories of that same stimuli, and the merged version creates/forms a newer memory that replace/merges with the earlier one). Thus, any person perceiving does so using their collective past memories. A collection of past memories form based on everything they experienced from birth onward - but also on the "strength" of each experience (since things "shocking" tend to build stronger memories and replace weaker ones -- e.g., if a child has 20 memories of their mother hugging them, then only 1 "strong" memory of their mother punching them will replace many of their 20 positive memories of hugs... leaving them with 1 strong negative memory with few (maybe 5) "moderate-strength" memories of hugs). Only if two people have experienced EVERYTHING IDENTICALLY (which is impossible)... only then is there the possibility that their perception of a new "object" or "situation" will be similar/match (e.g., their perception of a strange newly discovered "sour ultraviolet scalding-hot flower"). The more exact explanation is: even in this scenario the two peoples' DNA are probably different and so such differences will cause differences in the memories they formed throughout life -- thus impacting their perception. Even if the two people were identical twins, their memories will slightly differ since they cannot "see" things from the exact same place (angle) - they cannot occupy the same physical space (even if they went through life always standing side-by-side looking at everything, their views are always slightly skewed in angle compared to each other's "view" -- and so their raw-perception will ever-so-slightly differ... causing their "memories" of the world to ever-so-slightly differ... causing their "new perceptions" to be shaped by their slightly-different memories -- giving them slightly different "views" of what's in front of them). Bottom line: For two people, the closer to each other that their individual memory (the totality of THEIR memories) matches, the closer their "perception" will be of a "new thing". Since no two people can have the same existence (spatially, temporally, DNA-wise, in all aspects), they will perceive differently. Another aspect of perception: For some perceptions, the effect from one "strong"/"highly emotional" memory (either from an evolutionary "memory" encoded in DNA or from a single strong memory of an experienced event) will outweigh other past "weaker" memories. For example, their experience of seeing the Twin Towers collapsing may impact their memory of talk twin buildings because that event was so emotional for most who saw it. Similarly, their collected "weaker" memories of many many hugs can be reduced/erased by 1 or a few "stronger" experiences/memories of being punched by the same person who had hugged them.

[@Ziggy_Stark.]

@@whoknew4722 Yay... Thanks

[@Ziggy_Stark.]

Is the color red the same for all of us? There is no way of understanding this which is the understanding of not even knowing if we are alive at all agreeing with what a silly person is.? or not?

[@najibkahiye2687]

I really enjoy how engaging and simple to understand this lecture is. Thank you all.

[@twosongs7396]

Yes, thank you to everyone who makes us smarter for free! This is absolutely brilliant!

[@PCthesecond]

They articulate their ideas so perfectly.

[@SambathKumaar]

Donald Hoffman had the prefect ending monologue. We need to perceive that which was causal to the formation of space time resulting in the formation of neurons which then results in the very act of perceiving. Brilliant! 🙏🏼❤️

[@kurtsimon7530]

1:08:37.....THAT was an incredible funny moment of silence for all brains in earshot lol

[@lightspeed388]

So much knowledge in the palm of your hand. scholars of past couldn't even imagine such things...how lucky we are.

[@tycengreen999]

I honestly enjoyed this! Informative and fun at the same time. That will always keep my attention. It covered so much of my curiosity that I've always wonder about when it comes to the reality of Perception and the senses that align with it. Or that WE align with it.

[@guidwyn]

Please change settings so KZbin community of volunteers are able to translate to other languages. Super interesting subject.

[@bspus]

"In finance or recreational gambling..." I love that association!

[@memeswereablessingfromthel3942]

It's very interesting how Carl Jung gave an explanation for what is said in the introduction about "the meaning we give to data". Jung defined this tendency to percieve, using the same explanation that you just gave (which he gatherd by studying his patients), as a cognitive function called 'introverted sensing'. His genius really is scary!

[@blaxxun75]

1:10:05 One of the best parts in this video. NICE!

[@penumbraman99]

I have seen many World Science Festival programs. This has to be one of my most favorite ones. Very interesting and fun. Great panel!

[@Syltpasta]

listening for 'brain needle' worked aswell, so cool how our brain can manipulate things by us just thinking about it.

[@grammasgardenofideas5081]

so far i hv only listened to the intro with beau and i am blown away. settling in and here we go. thanks.

[@parabellum4622]

*_I can remember remembering a form of great agony, the true darkness wasn't the absence of light; but the concept that there may never be light again._*

[@daviddisch4709]

Maybe quit worrying about what you don't have and be grateful for what you have.

[@parabellum4622]

@@daviddisch4709 *_Words from a sheep._*

[@___Truth___]

@@parabellum4622 lol

[@katherinegordon8088]

Wow I can imagine that.

[@rikashayrushed5176]

@@parabellum4622 is that being sheep-ish. Sounds like sound advice. He may not be on subject with his response. Your sheep-ish response is even further off subject than his response was. He was technically on point. I'm not sure if there was supposed a massive amount of implied content beyond these words. I added this implied content though. The next minute of your reality is basically null and void of you only have now and remain content with this minute. Thinking about what could be is what drives us to n be unhappy inn our present moment. Absolute darkness is great for now. We can't be positive that absolute darkness would be great forever. So we ruin our "content now" moment concerning ourselves with the mere possibility of a "discontented next" moment. If we were grateful for what we had more often, being ungrateful for what we have would rarely occur.

[@dimomarkov8937]

That is definitely one of the best lectures I've ever seen! Also - haven't laughed that hard for a looong time!

[@MrFrak0207]

Fascinating Talk! Elisabeth did an incredible job in hosting / interviewing in this conversation. Asking the right questions at the right moments to make sure the listener knows what the specialist is talking about!

[@Micscience]

That diamond part was crazy. I immediately got the double pyramid to flip but did it again but this time with the assumption. I told myself not to blink and pay attention to the interior and it never flipped. Tried it again paid attention to its top portion and it flipped that blows my mind.

[@lisaratley4858]

People like these researchers and sciences are the real superheroes!

[@thomasvieth578]

Perhaps an interesting thought: If your perception cannot be fooled you are either an alien or a robot. This may create a whole new aspect of aesthetics

[@whoknew4722]

They talked about this at time 46:50. They said that when people are in "empowered" states, their perception more closely matches objective reality (the true world outside). Thus, they said that someone who's "empowered" has a perception that is less fooled. So maybe when one reaches nirvana, their perception can't be fooled at all? They see "true reality". Many philosophical treatises suggest the same view the panelists presented. You've suggested the most "empowered" & "attuned" person would be like an alien or robot. That's an emotion-laden view, popularized in pop movies.

[@JuliaHelen777]

'Field' woke me up one-summer-03:00am-day to tell me that (senses as in the example of the pictogram) ... No clue as of what the nature of reality, really is. Mission accomplished: I do know less about it than before starting watching the talk. 🤗

[@kaz3d]

After many years of watching videos on neuroscience, conciousness etc and understanding our true nature of reality, I can never figure what to do with such knowledge. How can I use this understanding to better myself? My life? My actions? My love ones? My thinking? My behaviour? It all seems so arbitrary unless I COMPLETELY remove myself from ego, identity, personality, experience, dreams, wants, needs, memories and restart as if I am new born again. It always boggles my level comprehension 😭

[@TheStarBlack]

Maybe the only seriously useful thing we can do with this information is use it to inform our interactions and relationships with other people, as the last guy said.

[@morgancolella]

I really enjoyed this discussion! A lot of people should watch this and realize that the world is only so far beyond one’s own perception- and that perception differs from person to person. Thank you!

[@antoniowilliams6533]

That's if you get caught up in man kinds idiotic way of thinking cause none of this deals with the knowledge of our Heavenly Father & you shouldn't put man over God

[@morgancolella]

@@antoniowilliams6533 and you shouldn’t put man over your God either, yet here you are- going against one of the many things your God preaches: not to judge thy neighbor and embrace walks of all life. Hope you also don’t eat shrimp or wear two different materials of clothing. Repent, sinner!

[@niyigenr]

So glad I discovered this channel 🙏🏾❤️

[@danielovercash1093]

I love these guys, you can tell they're having fun explaining these things

[@Eudjier]

Scientists always have fun. They're kids just older

[@HashknightGaming]

When she said we sometimes see the same reality that hasn't been more true then the last two years at this point.

[@williamharper5132]

We make our own realities but the truth is we know nothing. That is reality! 💯🎯‼️

[@dawsonhadley729]

Perception is Judgement. Things are there but then we judge it to perceive. ☯️

[@zasde35]

I can explain it in one sentence . Our reality is just a translation of the real reality by our senses and that translation is a learned agreement .

[@Jerome3693]

Perception is relative to the observer. Which makes each perspective truly unique. Thus, every observer is neither right nor wrong only in concordance to the thing being observered.

[@stupidas9466]

You're wrong, sorry.

[@crenaud590]

Very enlightening talk. I really resonate with Dr. Hoffman's perspective.

[@FaszomTelivanGecivel]

Donald Hoffman is the only one that has some form of deeper understanding of ultimate reality, all the others are barely scratching the surface with their superficial grasp. They're like kids trying to impress with their skills, like "Look at me doing a somersault". Wow, that was amazing! Thanks Don for having the courage to speak openly about something that the world is not yet ready for, you're WAAAY ahead of your time, much like Jacques Fresco. We need more pioneers like you to prepare the sheep for something that'll hit them in the end no matter what. 100 years from now your words will be common knowledge le "We knew this all along".

[@Charity-vm4bt]

Yes he dresses like a serious prof

[@HayleydeRonde]

I feel slightly verified, as I had a similar discussion with my physics tutor when at school about the fact it cant be possible for us all to see the same things, even colours. I put my knowledge to good use being able to communicate and work with animals, who have very different perceptions of our world.

[@Lets_talk_about_that]

I used to be of Christian faith for many, many years. Now though I had an epiphany a while ago - for those Christians who have a book and each one talks about the God they know and how if anyone else doesnt see the same one then they probably will be damned for being deceived etc - one book - imagine the number that is the amount of interpretations which could be read from each different perspective on each different passage leading to each different construct of their image of God. There is literally (in any specific faith) ONE God. That cannot possibly exist because each one is different in the mind of the individual. I personally do believe there is a higher intelligence because any other theory doesnt make any sense to me - but I don't think it's anything remotely like what we THINK it is.

[@amazingsupergirl7125]

@@Lets_talk_about_that I left the Christian faith when I actually read the Bible cover to cover….twice. It’s a different perception than reading two verses at church and discussing them for an hour. A very, very violent and misogynistic read. But, everyone believes whatever they were raised with and don’t really question it unless something happens. For me, it was in junior high when my preacher dad taught that dinosaurs didn’t exist, yet I saw crocodiles, turtles, ostriches…modern dinosaurs. Also, reading tons of fiction made me see how fictional the Bible is. Not to mention, knowing that if I lived in Japan, I’d be raised Buddhist and if I was raised in Afghanistan, I’d be Islamic. I think truly being a good person is more important than following certain rules in fear of hell. Love ya! ❤️🤟🏻

[@Lets_talk_about_that]

@@amazingsupergirl7125 Thanks for the reply... Yeah exactly, and what if was brought up by a violent person and abused but they believed in God...I would grow up to hate God. Many are in this position - and apparently according to the Christian and Catholic faith they would go to hell. Real loving God right there. Also - Romans says the cross happened outside space and time - SO either God KNEW his creation of hell would be where the children he says he loves would go OR he is not a God who can see that far ahead. You have to pick one - either he is NOT God OR he knew his creation would go there for being human and not understanding shit and loving him enough, lol.

[@JCSAXON]

When Constantinople said “because I work with rats” my mind raced through a series of horrible coworkers

[@AnneliedeWet]

Yes, the mice is paying a high price for humans to become human.

[@prithviprakash1110]

What an amazing talk. Fantastic panel, great moderator, and a responsive audience. Can't really ask for too much more.

[@0ptimal]

It's people like Hoffman that end up branching science ahead in its evolution

[@LoisSharbel]

Superb discussion! Thank you! Opening my eyes and thinking processes to try imagining inconceivable connections in this universe.

[@perumalnarayanan2975]

Extraordinary discussion thank you

[@joshuarodriguez4921]

No matter how many times I've watched this. I love the circle

[@VladTepesh409]

Did you know that through touch, as you experience the sensation of holding onto a warm object, for instance, a nice hot cup of coffee, you believe you are experiencing heat from the coffee through the cup. No. You are experiencing yourself in reaction to the coffee through the cup, but you are also projecting that experience of yourself onto that cup of coffee. Now, lift that cup of coffee to your lips, take a sip of it. You know you want to. You feel that warmth of the cup, the anticipation of how good it'll taste, and the sensation of the coffee heating your lips and tongue as it enters into your mouth. You taste it, or so you think. But you really aren't. You are experiencing yourself in reaction to the coffee, and then projecting that experience of yourself onto the coffee as its' flavor. So, now the coffee is you, and you are the coffee. The two of you are now married. Congratulations. The same can be said for being sympathetic. We can sense when a person feels sad, and we, in response, feel sad. But their sadness is not our sadness, nor is our sadness their sadness. Yet somehow we think the two are either linked or the same in some sense (pun intended) when they are not. It is our experienced reaction to a perceived sensation, projected back upon what we perceived. This endless cycle encapsulates both the neurological as well as the psychological default of our natural human condition within the environment of perceived reality. Isn't that something? Now, I realize some of you reading this might be thinking that it's either one or the other, but that is not the case. It's both because your bias _is_ part of that equation, but you can also set aside your bias to see outside of your bias. It's no different than watching a horse ride by one moment, and listening to a horse ride by the next with your eyes closed. Yet what happens? You experience the sound of the horse's hooves smacking the ground as it rides closer to you, and then farther from you. Again, setting aside your bias, you are also experiencing yourself in reaction to the horse riding by while projecting that reaction of the horse riding by back upon the perceived horse riding by. The ability to look beyond your own bias is akin to opening your eyes, and to experience your perceived reality through the lens of your bias is akin to experiencing your perceived reality with your eyes closed. Just because our eyes are closed does not mean our eyes are now gone. Likewise, just because our eyes are open does not mean our eye lids are gone. Whose eyes are open while their eye lids are closed? Knowing that by default you view everything through your own bias, as well as the conception of looking beyond your bias, can assist you in understanding the full depth of your own experiences as well as being able to empathize on some deeper levels with each individual you encounter in your life. Because you are not the only individual in existence, don't you think they can experience something similar to what you are experiencing? Or do they...? >_>

[@nakinajay]

And when is your Ted talk going to be uploaded? *Waiting....*

[@ThomiX0.0]

And so we come to the most important question for ourselves: can I loose my own accumulated bias??? With 'loose' I also mean, ' not to take my own perception for granted.' As this bias is created by earlier experiences, in time I wasn't sensitive or very selfish as we usually teached to be, there is an unclear content (bias) which comes up in automatic mode.., everytime I translate the other when I meet! In this way, my bias is incomplete, as my translation of the former experience was incomplete ( which as a fact, it always happen to be) And as we know for fact; I am the experience with I have, without me..there is no experience. Wich makes me question seriously in myself; can the experiencer be FREE of his bias? If not, this 'world of us' is done with, it deteriorates till heartlessness.( which we already see today) If yes then, it would be the solution to all our problems. All of them, don't you agree? Thanks for your post, enjoy the moment👍

[@willbephore6178]

Why is this comment not at the top

[@sydnines7344]

This is fantastic. Thank you for this brilliant panel.

[@balancingstarsncards]

7 minutes in, the demonstration of the circle, and two triangles with a box clearly defines what we are programmed to feel and think. Absolutely brilliant. I’m a new subscriber, expanding my knowledge in areas of the unknown. Topics that should be discussed and explored. Thank you for this information.🕯️🧘‍♀️🪷

[@r.katiekane252]

Nothing like triggering a full existential crisis right outta the gate! 52:20 The ability to view auras may be "obviously fiction" to you Elizabeth, but it is NOT fiction for everyone. 1:10:15 Solidly good advice!

[@VisibleMRJ]

I'm watching this while drinking soju, relaxing. Anyone else also relax in a similar way?

[@JnZiBns]

2 Smirnoff Ice 😎

[@a123464]

I love her hair! The study of smell is interesting, with so much application potential.

[@sohamjoshi9527]

it seems to me like they had rehearsed this with the panelists in advance... they are so fluent and quick to answer almost like speaking a learnt answer.

[@dixon751]

remember that time when u breathe out or wheeze and some obscure sound effect in the background perfectly times with you...

[@sirvapalot]

My mother who suffered a stroke threw herself out of a chair or bed , it was a strange thing it seemed to be a kind of protest from shit nursing in the hospital before I took her home for 15 years.she was always safer at home.

[@shanaynay333]

🙏❤

[@joesmith9139]

So our biggest fear is from the unknown. And now we know that we will never be able to really understand, see, feel what reality is. Great. Thanks. I will definitely sleep better. 🙃

[@dataexpunged6969]

More like, you know enough to make it through life fairly comfortably, unless there are circumstances that aren't within your power to change. Basically you have been given all the tools you could need to have a life that isn't always fraught with danger (as much as possible ofc)

[@TheStarBlack]

We have been evolving to survive on this planet for billions of years. Your senses are reliable enough to keep you safe most of the time. There have always been dangerous things out there that we have no perception of for example carbon monoxide or certain toxic chemicals.

[@mukeshjadhav8798]

Super super super beautiful, meaningful conversation. We should do discussions like these more often. Very lucky that I got link to this.

[@arialaw9456]

I felt more scammed by my own senses than real scammers after watching this. So much ideas! Thank you guys!

[@romanvice]

You ever wake up in the middle of the night to receive a phone call? Except it's not really a call; it's your own auditory senses? And they're trying to reach you about your extended warranty?

[@nikolaosdimitriadis15]

Plato's Cave Allegory is perceived by some (no pun intented) as a description of the gap between reality and what we experience within our heads and bodies (what we believe is real is just shadows projected on a cave's walls; we see the shadows, not what's creating them). Notably the Stoics, and other philosophical schools in antiquity, disputed the reliability of our senses to capture and transmit real world data without errors and serious distortion. That's why for Stoics the importance was not on reality but on our attitude towards the world. It's fascinating how modern science confirms such early ideas!

[@soubhikmukherjee6871]

Beau is charming 😍

[@angelg2638]

Dear Miss America, World Peace is now possible. Just get everyone, or at least the leaders of nations, to sit down and listen to Beau Lotto. He gave the best approach to conflict - to approach it with a QUESTION, instead of an ANSWER; To understand the point of view of the other, instead of trying to convince the other of YOUR point of view. Outstanding!

[@chefhomeboyardee8]

Talks like these are what makes KZbin grrrrrrrreat!🐯

[@rbr1170]

Each of us experiences the same world differently. Our realities--though we only "hallucinate" outside reality--overlap to form an "objective reality" that we can agree on. Some think it is super strange but this should be expected since we are basically made of the same biological matter (are perceptions based on our organs: eyes, ears) which chemically and physically follow the same principles. The difference then comes from our conscious self trying to interpret our experience based on the gradients of our experiences of the same thing.

[@Guide504]

Consciously induced smiling is a technique I use to rapidly alter anxiety escalation in imminently existential risk scenarios, i.e. while climbing, ski mountaineering, even twice while dealing with bear attacks.

[@killacat7666]

Peace is the greatest desire of any mind. The definition of a word is not the same for everyone! But peace over all!

[@cirseflor1499]

My frustrations about those years with her and the final out come was becoming overwhelming since the divorce. The Holy Spirit aka - Comforter has answered my need for understanding as to how she manipulated and controlled my perception of reality and the reality perception of those around me. Praise Yahweh for setting me free from her and my frustrations with these understandings. UNDERSTANDING IS FINAL CLOSURE !

[@cmac8169]

could I get a certificate of completion

[@itzyourbwoytchybooxuur6475]

This content is nothing short of priceless! thanks!

[@jedgould5531]

40:55 Great point. He means the center of your vision, which is actually quite small. Our peripheral vision temps us to think we see more than we do.

[@outlier1284]

After listening to these people, I felt gratitude for the guy who picks up my garbage.

[@skyeranch8109]

"It's the first time I've been right about science." Nice hire.

[@propertymanagement5242]

The colour perception is so true. I'm colour blind and I don't know movies are black and white until someone tells me. Untill then, I see colours but assume it's just poor quality lighting. When I find out it's black & white, the colours all turn to shades of grey. The Giver was a very confusing movie to watch because I couldn't tell when it flipped from colour to Blk & white, then back to colour, etc..

[@propertymanagement5242]

@Free My Grandma Example: I see a grey wall and think it's pink until someone tells me it's grey; at which time, it stops looking pink and suddenly looks grey. I once threw out my favorite 'grey' pants (I truly thought they were grey) when I found out they were green, because I didn't like them in green, yet when they looked grey to me, I thought they looked great!

[@propertymanagement5242]

@Free My Grandma NP! I'll have to Google that.. I'm brand new to the world of science:-) EDIT.. I do know that experiment but didn't know the name!! Whoa... IT IS LIKE THAT!!!

[@HashknightGaming]

The world should probably watch this and take it to heart.

[@bremensname6057]

The first guy full on pulling the rug out of the climax is a legit rick roll troll, Way to go!

[@Flyturism]

Could you enable KZbin auto generated English subtitles? This is so interesting we will be able to share with friends and family who don't speak english and by doing so they may select their captions in a language they prefer.

[@willbephore6178]

Is the Closed Captioning "CC" button on the lower right corner of the frame available? I know it's not great, but it's something?

[@ferkinskin]

Brilliant. thank you for uploading. Could have gone on for another few hours!

[@SambathKumaar]

Totally agree

[@loriw2661]

The gentlemen who gave the final statement was brilliant. I can’t remember his name right now but wow, well said. This was incredible.

[@thelabyrinthofperception2518]

Great discussion 👏