Illusion vs Reality: Do You Believe What You Think?

I was inspired to write this article by fellow Steemer David Kadavy (see @kadavy and http://kadavy.net/steemit). Well, not exactly. Rather, Kadavy’s inspiration was just one last serendipitous straw that broke the camel’s back and pushed me to action.

As you read my article, you’ll see what I mean, as I refer to others that have made me think this week (what if we could actually make people think – not make them think what we want them to think, but just make them freely think?).

So what did Kadavy say that pushed me over the edge? It was three bullet points from his Steemit blog “37 lessons from 37 years” that did it. He said:

1. You can only know so much.
2. And, your brain is ruled by biases.
3. Thus, you can hardly trust what you think you know.

Thanks, Mr Kadavy, for sharing these tidbits of wisdom. Apparently, you have saved each of us three years (not to mention the prior 16 which probably could be considered pre-requisites).

Mr Kadavy’s observations reminded me of the first time I heard these concepts expressed in a memorable way. Andy Andrews got my attention with the following statement:

“You can’t always believe what you think.”

This quote from his book Return of the Noticer was attributed to his mystical mentor character, “Jones.”

You may want to watch the following video to see what Andy Andrews said about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=q0JYcmA2jCk

Another fellow Steemer, @artguru, got me thinking with her article “See how Illusion verses Reality!”. She is an artist ( check our her website ), and her article was directed at illusion versus reality specifically as it applies to art. Nevertheless, she inspired some thought among several commentators who read her article. I recommend that you read the whole thing including the comments.

Here are a few of those thoughts:

Appreciation of art in most any medium requires “poetic faith,” a “willful suspension of disbelief” (give me a break – I have no idea who originally said that phrase). If you go to a Star Wars movie thinking that it is a documentary, you are going to be disappointed at best. You must be willing to be taken for a ride by the story.

Someone said (I doubt that it was the same person who said that “willful suspension” thing) that a good painting doesn’t usually look like the original scene, but rather is merely a representation thereof.

One commentator on @artguru ‘s article, @shawon123 , said: “Reality can be verified by the application of objective tests and will be substantially the same for all sane observers. Illusion will always exist solely in the perception of its direct observer(s), and will not survive objective examination.”

To which I responded: “But it's really hard for emotional and spiritual creatures to be fully objective with the tests. ‘Science’ has changed its mind over and over again about many things. So a certain amount of illusion still exists in the perception of those who think they are being objective. Your ‘all sane observers’ statement seems to assume that all observers are either completely sane or totally psychotic. I'm afraid it's more of a continuum from Spock-like objectivity to emotion to illusion to delusion to psychosis. In art, maybe the real art includes finding just the right sweet spot along that continuum.”

To which @artguru responded: “Who is really sane? We have to be somewhat mad to achieve the things we do!”

Now, I don’t mean to pick on @shawon123. In fact, if we could all be as sane and objective as @shawon123 wants us to be, I think (hmm…) that the world would be a much better place!

In her article, @artguru makes the following points:

• Illusion is a right brain function and it’s based on feelings and emotions.
• Reality is a left brain function and it’s based on logical thought.

To which I joked: “I see what you mean about illusion! See, all along I thought those delusional liberals were on the left and I was in the right, but it turns out they are in the right, and I am on the left!”

So, am I saying that I was wrong all along, and the liberals were right? Absolutely not! But I am saying that we must all keep open minds. When we stop thinking, we are dead – or we might as well be.

As a wise man commented about @artguru ‘s article (OK, it was me): “Many a hypothesis has been raised from a subjective birth through objective examination and into accepted truth. We just need to let our thoughts mature.”

And if you think there is no such thing as truth, my heart goes out to you. May God bless you.

But I’m afraid many in this world believe what they “think” is the truth without really thinking about it! Many of them have adopted what someone else told them. And those someones don’t always have good intentions.

If you are just following the crowd, then you are in danger of never making it to 37 in terms of emotional, spiritual, or intellectual maturity.

Which finally brings me to the real point of all this:

We all need to keep open minds and never give up on the search for truth. We need to keep thinking until we can mature into just the right “sweet spot” that will allow us to be good people practicing the art of living in a real world.

Please remember to follow, upvote, reply, resteem, share, and promote. Thanks!

Photo Credits:
The flower pictures are all by Archie Steele, Copyright 2016 by Archie Steele, used by permission.
The headshot of the author is by Maria Steele, Copyright 2016 by Maria Steele, used by permission.