is reality real??? can it be confirmed that things can and do actually materially exist, and that everything isn't just like a giant video game like 'The Sims'? how could we ever tell if something was ever telling us to do something, like in a game??? building on that, could there also be no 'free will' if so?
Objective reality may or may not exist, however until we can find some way to remove our understanding from subjective interpretations such information cannot ever be known. Perhaps one day science will make this possible, but until that time we must accept that we cannot say anything definitively, but only that each thing that we know is only correct insomuch as our individual subjective understandings are all close enough to make such a thing true enough to be applicable.
I heard a story on NPR about a guy who underwent eye surgery (for some reason, I can't remember - he may have been blind) and when he recovered he was able to see certain frequencies of infrared and UV light. One example he gave was when he walked to the cashier at a supermarket, the scanner they have was glowing painfully bright.
And of course we all know that objects don't really have a color in the way we think about it. Even still, that doesn't change the fact that light is reflecting off these objects at certain wavelengths. And our vision is simply one way of receiving and processing that information. So is what we're talking about here something less subjective and more scientific? Instead of saying "That cube is green" should we say "That object is refracting light at such and such wavelength"? Perhaps this question is only interesting in the first place because of the severe limitations of our language, which has evolved to coincide with and explain our interaction with the world.
The more I think about, the more I think this is a nonsense question. Not a bad question, or a stupid one. But one that we simply can't process given our language restrictions. It would be like me asking "Can September hurdle jungles?" It just doesn't make sense given our developed syntax and semantics. It sounds like a real question because it's formed like a real question. But that's as far as it goes.
but until that time we must accept that we cannot say anything definitively, but only that each thing that we know is only correct insomuch as our individual subjective understandings are all close enough to make such a thing true enough to be applicable.
I pretty much agree with this. The way I think of it is I am happy with the world being solid and real and bar any matric conspiracy, I will have to accept it as I have absolutely no way of showing otherwise.
but until that time we must accept that we cannot say anything definitively, but only that each thing that we know is only correct insomuch as our individual subjective understandings are all close enough to make such a thing true enough to be applicable.
Its this exact kind of info that makes me think "could we see/travel thru other dimensions"
The more I think about, the more I think this is a nonsense question.
I guess people would think of nonsense as silly but I agree, this is a nonsensical question with no answer (as of yet).
I've always kinda hoped when we die all we would see is "Level 2" and then we'd end up on like a bigger version of earth with better knowledge and technology.
That is quite true. We only see a very small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ⦠ectrum.png
Nice link... makes you think... poet, know it.
isn't most of the philosophy just thinking about things that we can't answer?
I wouldnt say most but I agree there is a massive part dedicated to the unknown. I usually use philosophy to ponder the things that we already know, think we know or think we will never know.
When you look at mage's link you see a vast amount of the spectrum that we dont see. There are animals that do see in parts we dont, so already there is a massive part of the physical world we cannot view naturally. What about the many other ways of perceiving e.g. sonar, smell, sensitivity to vibrations (theres prolly a word for that)
Also, for anyone who has ever been tripping, this shows just how your brain can mis-interpret the world around you. These chemicals are already present, the drugs just activate them. Anytime you dream you use a DMT like substance which your brain shuts off in the waking hours so you dont see scary spiders whenever you think of em etc...
When you look at mage's link you see a vast amount of the spectrum that we dont see. There are animals that do see in parts we dont, so already there is a massive part of the physical world we cannot view naturally. What about the many other ways of perceiving e.g. sonar, smell, sensitivity to vibrations (theres prolly a word for that)
Interesting isn't it? I think it can basically be said that we don't see the world as it really is. The world around us exists, but we can't see it as it really is. Our senses interpret a small amount of informations and build a vision of the world that we can use to live in it (the world, not the vision) and survive. We don't see more because we don't need to see more. And in a way everybody has an own individual reality, be it a regular person, a colour-blind, or totally blind, or deaf person, they all live in a reality that is real for them and that differs from other realities.
Has anyone here read Flatland? It's a book that talks about a 2d world and beings from our world could look them without being seen. We haven't found any 2d world yet, but maybe there is a 4d world and people from there look us as poor underdeveloped creatures.
This is a very strangely worded question, but I'll attempt to make a comment on it anyhow since I'm just that kind of person. I think that in order to answer your question we must first define what "real" means. Many people have spent their life's work trying to define "real" and unfortunately none of them are the infallible truth. I guess it all comes down to what reality means for you. I think your question may be asking(and stop me if I'm wrong) if the world is how we perceive it to be. The answer is no, our minds block out much of what they determine to be unnecessary and so we do not see the world as it truly is. If this "reality" is an illusion, I guess that all my words are moot anyway.
Has anyone here read Flatland?
I've read it, I also have Carl Sagan's series "Cosmos" on dvd where he attempts to illustrate Abbott's point. I think that it is both fascinating and frightening that our brains cannot comprehend so much about our universe. I am in awe of the fact that we will likely never be able to understand it fully.
Has anyone here read Flatland? It's a book that talks about a 2d world and beings from our world could look them without being seen. We haven't found any 2d world yet, but maybe there is a 4d world and people from there look us as poor underdeveloped creatures.
