Perception vs Reality

TL;DR

Perception is not a transparent window into the world but rather an encoded representation of it, just like a dashboard in an airplane.

Transcript

foreign to think and that's very natural for everyone that the world we see around us the world of buildings trees streets the moon in the night sky we think that the world as it is in itself is the world as we see it in other words we think that perception is a transparent window into the world that allows us to see the world up there as it actual... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌍 Perception is an encoded representation of the world, conveying accurate and important information but not mirroring the world itself.
• 💠 Evolution has shaped our perception to prioritize survival and reproduction, not truth.
• 🥺 Perceiving the world as it actually is would lead to overwhelming information and jeopardize our ability to react timely to environmental challenges.
• 🛟 The analogy of an airplane dashboard helps to understand how perception serves as a navigational tool for us.
• 🌍 The computer desktop metaphor further emphasizes that perception shows us representations of the world rather than the world itself.
• 🌍 Our perception of the world is not physical or material, but rather what is displayed on our internal dashboard of dials.
• 🌍 The complexity and variety of the world cannot be mirrored perfectly in our internal cognitive states without jeopardizing our integrity.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why do we perceive the world as it is when it is actually just an encoded representation?

Our perception is shaped by evolution to prioritize survival and reproduction. It provides accurate and important information, but it is not a direct mirror of the world.

Q: How is the analogy of an airplane dashboard relevant to understanding perception?

Similar to how a pilot relies on the dashboard to navigate the airplane safely, we rely on perception to navigate the world. The dashboard in the airplane is an encoded representation of relevant information, just like our perception.

Q: Why would perceiving the world as it actually is lead to our extinction?

Mathematically, it has been shown that if perception mirrored the world as it is, our internal cognitive states would need to mirror the vast complexity and variety of the world, leading to unsustainable internal entropy and the loss of structural and dynamical integrity.

Q: What is the significance of the computer desktop metaphor in understanding perception?

The computer desktop metaphor helps to illustrate that our perception shows us an encoded representation of the world, just like how a computer operating system shows us representations of files rather than the actual electronic switches.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Perception is not a mirror of the world, but rather an encoded representation that conveys accurate and important information.

• Evolution has shaped our perception to prioritize survival and reproduction, not truth.

• Just as a pilot relies on the dashboard to fly safely, we rely on perception to navigate the world, even though it is not the world itself.