3 Realities You’re Not Aware Of
Which of them are you living in?
Look around you. You’re probably reading this article on your phone, tablet, or laptop. You’re holding the device in your hands. You’re most likely sitting (or perhaps standing) at home, at work, at a cafe, or in the park. OR ARE YOU?
Albert Einstein once said:
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Let’s think about that for a second. How can reality not be real? Look around you: is your house, your office, the park real? Is it part of your reality? It appears so, but is it actually real?
Reality #1: We Are All Part of a Computer Simulation
Are we living in a computer simulation? According to an article by Scientific American, the odds are astoundingly high at 50–50! Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the simulation hypothesis!
The simulation hypothesis is elaborate, presuming realities nested upon realities, as well as simulated entities that can never tell that they are inside a simulation.
In essence, we can make decisions within the simulation without realizing that we are simply a character in a game.
Meanwhile, the advanced humans running the simulation game set parameters, such as restricting us from traveling at the speed of light. If we could do that, perhaps we might discover the edges of the simulation and realize we are a part of it.
In 2013, due to the speed of technological advances, Nick Bostrom suggested that one of the following three options must be true:
- We will become extinct before we advance enough to recreate reality in a simulation.
- We will reach a posthuman stage but won’t be interested in recreating reality in a simulation.
- We are living in a simulated reality.
Using Bayesian reasoning, astronomer David Kipping calculated the odds of us living in a simulated reality to be about 50–50.
How’s that for living in an episode of Black Mirror?
Reality #2: There Is No Such Thing as Free Will
Ok, let me clarify. You wake up in the morning and go to brew a cup of black coffee. You are doing it freely. Or are you?
American physiologist Benjamin Libet demonstrated that electrical activity in the brain builds before the physical motion being made. The brain inherently has already decided for your body to move, so moving is no longer a conscious choice.
Essentially, as I’m sitting here typing up my article, subconsciously my brain knows what I am about to type at least a fraction of a second before I actually type it. In that respect, do I actually have any freedom over what I am typing if my subconscious is registering it first? Cool or creepy? You take your pick!
Your mind only consciously registers a mere fraction of the external information you observe. According to Brittanica, our conscious mind can only process 50 bits of information per second whereas our five senses send about 11 million bits of information for processing.
So it is not surprising that some of that information influences your subconscious, which, in turn, influences your conscious mind to act. The subconscious mind is evolutionarily older and more primal whereas the conscious mind developed later and, by comparison, learns faster but is slower to respond.
As Sam Harris writes in Free Will:
You are not in control of your mind — because you, as a conscious agent, are only part of your mind, living at the mercy of other parts.
Neuroscience suggests an even more radical version: the brain is an organ like any other and makes its own choices, similar to our heart beating without us telling it to. In that respect, if we trace back the neurons firing in our brains to the very beginning, we will be able to fully predict where we end up at each point in the future.
So the next time you are doing anything, and I mean, anything, consider whether you are telling your brain what to do OR the other way around!
Reality #3: We Each Create Our Own Reality
Quantum physics tells us that nothing that is observed is unaffected by the observer. That statement, from science holds an enormous and powerful insight. It means that everyone sees a different truth, because everyone is creating what they see.
So in my version of reality, I am typing up this article for the readers of Medium. You are part of my reality. However, am I a part of your reality? Is Medium even real? Have I created the publication and the readers in my mind as part of my reality, but am not a part of yours?
Another way to look at it is if your spouse is part of your reality. But are they really there? Who can say that they are real? Your parents, their parents? But they are also part of your subjective reality. So the question begs to be asked: are you part of your spouse's reality? Does he/she even exist?
So next time you think “This is all in my head,” well, maybe it is!
Conclusion
Perhaps I’ve thoroughly unsettled you, perhaps you think everything I wrote is pure poppycock. If not, take your pick of reality:
- You are in a computer simulation controlled by humans far more advanced than us
- You have no control over your brain. It makes your decisions for you. And the outcome is either completely random or predictable
- The reality you are living in is created by your own mind
Well, if you are real, I do hope you enjoyed this article. I, on the other hand, need to get back to entertaining posthumans with my shenanigans.
