Got Reality?

[AikiDale]

• "For me, it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
  • --Carl Sagan
    

[Flexmoney]

Nice.

I just had my gf read that one. She didn't really respond. I said, "that's a pretty good one".

She said that she didn't really think so...that, "the universe is an illusion".

So I pinched her.

[Jim Rusert]

The Universe, or Outer Space? If it's The Universe, we're all a part of that, so, I had to pinch myself.

Outer Space is real. I saw it on Star Trek.

I've wondered, has there been a discussion of Space Travel on this forum? Might be a fun topic to start.

Whatever happened to the popcorn?

[Chris Keen]

It wasn't real popcorn ..... just virtual :popcorn:

[gunsablazin]

It wasn't real popcorn ..... just virtual :popcorn:

Popcorn is an illusion, the butter is real.

[Miranda]

It wasn't real popcorn ..... just virtual :popcorn:

Popcorn is an illusion, the butter is real.

and I get thwacked for talking to myself...

Illusions are more comfortable.

everyone has a set of illusions, most often they are used to pad against pain.

So do you think Mr. Sagan was talking about how hard it is to grasp the universe as is in reality

or how hard 'tis to let go any illusion?

[dajarrel]

What he (Sagan) may be saying is that the satisfaction and reassurance you have about anything may be shattered when you finally accept the reality surrounding that issue (universe.) Kinda like Brian's "Maku mozo" Do Not be Deceived.

Of coarse that "universe" can just about apply to anything....up to and including the tooth fairy and Santa Claus.

I hate being philosophical. Just call me a "D" class philosopher

[redmanfixit]

As near as I am able to tell "reality" as most people think of it is a consensual hallucination. It is negotiated through nothing more than language. (Is the sensation you call blue on your retina the same as the sensation on my retina that I call blue?) Smoke. We are the little monkeys that name things. What is it possible to know about a thing when what you are allowed is a reflection of photons from a loosely affiliated cloud of particles? This is seeing? We are clouds of probability waves moving among clouds of probability waves. Inventing names. This is a lot like trying to understand how a printing press works by reading a cook book. We can 'kind of' figure out some of the "rules" about how some of the particles move among the other kinds of particles, kind of work....kind of. I think the big question is "What the hell am I looking at?" When you throw away all the power and control bullshit heaped onto the writings of Real Holy men by lesser beings, they consistently say the same things. Don't get too wrapped up in the illusion of material reality, if you do, you miss the point. Isn't it pretty? Be nice to one another. Have a nice time. Watch closely now!! Now, if I could just learn to concentrate! I might be able to forget what I was taught about "reality" and figure out what I'm looking at here! Jeez, ya believe ANYTHING when you're a kid! Not that I'm mad about it or anything, they meant well. THEY thought it was real.

And my front sight, if I could just remember to look at that without distraction! Press, don't jerk. If I do figure out what I'm looking at, am I still allowed to be here? It is pretty. Isn't it?

When they figure out you don't see things the way they do, they'll come, they always do. They will think it's real too. They always have!

"Always store your clothing and weapons where they can easily be found in the dark."

Lazarus Long

[Flexmoney]

Is the sensation you call blue on your retina the same as the sensation on my retina that I call blue?

How does it matter?

As near as I am able to tell "reality" as most people think of it is a consensual hallucination. It is negotiated through nothing more than language.

The good folks at the LPGA seem to have an opinion on that.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70269

[redmanfixit]

Is the sensation you call blue on your retina the same as the sensation on my retina that I call blue?

How does it matter?

Except insofar as it illustrates the point that language is a pretty ephemeral way to try and articulate internal experience, or for that matter negotiate the structure of what is real, it doesn't! I think it's interesting that we do it anyway in spite of obvious failures to connect! Must be an antidote to loneliness! :roflol:

As near as I am able to tell "reality" as most people think of it is a consensual hallucination. It is negotiated through nothing more than language.

The good folks at the LPGA seem to have an opinion on that.

Whoa!! If I may quote Keanu Reeves. I had a peek there. Looks a little like a fire ant nest right after you stir it up with a stick! Money is interesting stuff. I have offended economists I know by pointing out that it's mostly a way of transferring time back and forth simply. As a result of that energetic load, it attracts vampires if there's too much of it around! Also causes bizzar structures to emerge in space time, whatever that is!

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70269