Nature of Reality
Crotalus
Join Date: 2003-12-02 Member: 23871Members
Join Date: 2003-12-02 Member: 23871Members
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">How does one define reality?</div>Just last week, I had to watch the film, Dark City, and analyze it for symbolism. In short, this film deals with the nature of reality and whether or not it is concrete or relative. I really DON'T want to give away the plot twists in this movie, because it is simply TOO GOOD to be spoiled, it's practically known to be one of the best sci-fi films ever. I reccomend you watch it for a real head trip. For comparison, The Matrix (first movie) is practically a really watered-down remake of Dark City.
Now, how does one define reality? Some believe that reality is a concrete universe in which all experiences can be equally felt by all of of the universe's members. Some believe that reality is nothing more than the sum of our experiences. This presents a small problem, because if the second theory were true, we would have no way of knowing whether or not the experiences fed to us were real or fake (like The Matrix). How do you guys feel about this problem, and do you have any other interpretations of reality?
Now, how does one define reality? Some believe that reality is a concrete universe in which all experiences can be equally felt by all of of the universe's members. Some believe that reality is nothing more than the sum of our experiences. This presents a small problem, because if the second theory were true, we would have no way of knowing whether or not the experiences fed to us were real or fake (like The Matrix). How do you guys feel about this problem, and do you have any other interpretations of reality?
Comments
If you want to define reality as some "true" state or the whole picture of the sum of all existence, then there's endless arguments that you could use to show that there is every possibility that we do not sense reality. However, humanity defines reality based on repeated encounters using their sensory organs.
[edited insert] Ask yourself what your own reality is. How have you arrived at what you consider to be 'reality'? Aside from perception, you have memory of perception. You also have imagination; the ability to take what you have learnt and project it into different forms, effectively 'copulating' memories (events, colours, smells, forms - anything) to form new ones. Beyond this...I suppose you don't really have much. I consider myself the product of my previous perceptions, and I also believe that my view of the world is 100% the result of these perceptions. So, beyond that, I don't know what reality is - but I know what <i>my</i> reality is? Gah, my reality is not good enough to answer this question methinks <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" /> [/insert]
Beyond our perception, and those of others and the creatures of the world, the universe is a meaningless jumble of energy. I guess...
I'd love to discuss this and theorise, but it's late here and also, I don't think I'm intelligent enough to discuss it without finding myself in a web of contradictions & falsities. But, generally I think the term "Reality is what you make of it" is quite underrated.
It's ironic that despite all the philosophical ponderings I read, hyper reality comics I have divulged and psychedelic explorations of reality I have seen, I still am stumped with the question "what is reality?" and have nothing very useful to say.
[Semi OT]
If you're interested in a reality & imagination head-fission in the form of a hulking purple super hero who lives in a cardboard box, check out <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAjtYcBQqW4" target="_blank">The MAXX</a>.
Fantastic: Youtube has MAXX episodes! Watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEO5RVwv4S8" target="_blank">Episode 1</a> if you have a spare 10 minutes and think you'd enjoy it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" /> This is a cartoon made for MTV, based off of...well, not based on, IS, a comic book. The cartoon is frame-for-frame, word-for-word, recreation of the comic. (which is genius) Really you have to watch the whole thing to get a real idea of what's going on...it's not as straightforward as it seems at first, at all, in the slightest; it gets quite disturbing as well.
The episodes range from A to T, 10 minutes each. Don't skip forward any episodes or else you might hear some HUGE spoilers...and I don't know why'd you want to skip forward anyway unless you don't expect to ever watch it all.
[/Semi OT]
I feel there is the distinct possibility that there's more to reality than we can perceive. It strikes me that connections may be possible on levels we don't understand.
<!--sizeo:1--><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><!--coloro:#666666--><span style="color:#666666"><!--/coloro-->I mean... Einsteins theory of relativity is mind boggling. It's actually been used in the calculation and successful creation of fusion energy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_energy" target="_blank">(is it JET?)</a>. It just says all mass is energy in a different form! Huge amounts of it too!<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
There is an old quote I quite like by some buddhist monk or something it goes;
"I'm uncertain whether I am a man dreaming I was a butterfly,
or a butterfly now dreaming I am a man"
Basically, I see reality as being a comination of chemical impulses and synaptic transfers that tell me something is real.
I have no big conspiracy that someone is manipluating my thoughts to give me a distorted sense of reality, neither am I a believer in pre-determinism (but that's another topic).
Reality is what an individual sees with the universe. I see Depot reading this, and tearing my ideals to pieces (I can see you reading this right now <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />), with some crackpot, old fogies tale about reality, and how they see it to be a corrupt form of sensibility. Mainly because that's what he is in my reality. Now, I'm sure that he's not all that in person, maybe that's just how I interpret his posts in the forum, and how I remember him sounding on NSRadio, and also his chats on IRC. From that exposure, I've built up a possibly corrupt version on him in my own interpretation of reality. (<3 ya really Depot <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" />)
Basically, everyone's reality is different, based upon their experiences, and impression of the people, and the world around them.
I also believe there is alot more crap going down then anyone knows about. Our senses have developed in order for us to survive, so we don't develop anything else "special" to sense anything else. take for example our eyes, they can only detect a narrow band of radiation. Reality would be completely obscured to use if we were able to see radio waves, micro waves, heat, etc... with our own eyes. Or the fact that we describe ourselves living in three dimensions, but we just might not be able to detect the fourth one that we've been moving through this whole time?
If anyone knows anything about Quantum Mechanics, then they know that the theory has the most whacked out interpretations of reality ever. I'll post a few examples tomorrow, these are a real head trip...