I was watching a science documentary on the brain, one which attempted to explain what reality actually is, and I began to quickly realise the implications of the information being conveyed. The series was "The Brain with David Eagleman" on BBC4, and this post focuses solely on the insights from the first episode, which delves into the nature of reality. I would link a video to it, but unfortunately due to copyright protections this is proving difficult. So, I decided to also provide a synopsis of the insights I gleaned from this particular episode, and to do so in as layman a fashion as possible so it is easier for anyone to digest.

Reposted from G+ & Reworked for Steemit, with meme from MemeGen.

The Mind - A Pattern Recognition Machine

Our brains are incredible. They are able to take insane volumes of data in, interpret it, and return resultsets to the rest of our body to act on. Brains are so good at recognising patterns in everything, they are able to ignore 100% valid input data altogether from the eyes if they conflict with a recognised pattern. Eagleman then demonstrated this using an optical illusion involving a checker-board & shadows, highlighting how our brains make a black coloured square become a white one.

These patterns build up over time, both for our sensory and recognition (what is that shape/what am I sensing) and for our understanding of how other individuals work, and by extension society as a whole. This is described by Eagleman as an internal model, aka "mental model" (according to Wikipedia), and it is an amazing piece of autonomous data science that our brain performs. I will be using this component of our minds extensively in this series of essays, as it has a persistent impact from what I have observed.

The Internal Model and how it Defines a Stable Subjective Reality

The internal model is a generalised view of our environment, which is constantly updated as we receive information from the outside world. Such info is varied, derived from all our senses. By utilising this internal model, we are all able to comprehend what is real and what isn't, according to the patterns we know and recognise. However, no person has the same input data as everyone else, and as such, the reality which with we perceive the world, and the internal models that drive it, is not objective at all. It is wholly and intrinsically subjective, something I have touched on in other posts from my G+ content.

Synaesthesia & Schizophrenia and Why They Prove No Two Realities are Alike

Occasionally, sensory inputs blur within the brain. This is because in the end, all data entering the brain is converted into an electrical exchange between neurons, and occasionally sometimes the connections are wired in such a way that senses become mixed. This is known as synaesthesia, and those with it have a unique perception of reality as a result (one I actually envy to a serious degree). I mean, imagine being able to see sounds, hear colours, or feel the texture of words every day, instead of just experiencing them as most people do. Schizophrenia, on the other hand, is where your brain is imbalanced chemically in such a way that false data is constantly being added to the individual's reality. It's still not a fully understood disease, but their reality is vastly different from most individuals. These two different conditions prove beyond doubt reality is purely subjective to us all.

Is There Really an Objective Reality?

This is where things get tricky. Each of us have a subjective reality model we are using to define that "this is real". Unfortunately, no two models will be in exact alignment. As such, we cannot as individuals cannot apply our own model to another individual and expect it to fit their needs. We cannot fully experience the world as they do, because we were not exposed to the same precise data as anyone else on earth, nor can we presume that anyone else on earth interprets the data identically.

However, there is a form of work around. By testing actions, by experiencing what those actions lead to, we are able to develop a societal interaction component to our internal model. This component can be objectively tested and refined when it fails, or retried when it succeeds in other use cases. By trial and error, we are able to say "this is correct ergo it is true" until it fails to work, and then we have the limits and exceptions to our society.

How This Applies to Governmental Systems

An interesting inference of the fact that no two realities will align is that politics & centralised government is, in the end, a effort in futility. By failing to recognise all reality for humanity is subjective to each and every individual, we are intrinsically allowing a select few to force their interpretation of reality upon the rest within a region. More often than not, this view of reality is at best only partially aligned with those who must follow it. As such, there will never be a single set of laws that work best for everyone, universally. There will never be a single solution that works to provide everyone's needs and wants. The sooner we accept these facts, the sooner we can move to a system that works.

Alternatives to Government Enforced Realities

You probably already guessed given my prior content/the tags that this is a part of, but for those who haven't, the solution is Voluntaryism, which is a form of anarchy. Anarchy allows all our subjective realities to exist simultaneously, without being overruled by another directly. The voluntaryism version of this adds one limiting aspect to this - do not act without the consent of those you are directly acting upon.

The benefits of such a rule can be empirically seen in all nations which have embraced the "classically liberal" / individualist societal structures, while the negative effects of the inverse of that rule is equally plain because of how devastating they are to those suffering under them. As such, through empiricism, this rule can be stated as a subjective truth within reality for the vast majority, especially when judged over time. Because of the plethora of data on the successes of voluntary interactions, we should work to make society as voluntarily driven as it can be, and avoid forcing an objective reality onto all and sundry.

To be continued...

Normally I would now write a conclusion summarising the importance of this work, but this series of essays is extensive and still in progress. In fact, in the original G+ post I highlighted that this would be an ongoing body of work. The mind is an incredible piece of kit, but it has flaws and many of them are endemic to patterns and the internal model we build from them. The more we all understand how these patterns work within our mind, the better we can become at adapting to incorrectly defined patterns and solutions to problems.