Really clear article that makes the point …
“That’s Reality, and it’s the one and only.
Non-freakin’-replicable.”
I could argue as a neurocognitive scientist that at some level our brains can’t tell the difference (and, while that’s true at one level, I’d be lying in the ultimate sense of things).
There’s a very cool distinction about the sequencing of syntax of AR (actual reality) versus VR (virtual reality). There’s in AR there’s a bottom up sequencing from the somatic sensory systems to the neocortical process when we’re engaged in wholeform experience. In VR the system must generate somatic sensation from a top down sequence that begins with the processing of non-somatic sensation (and even when you’re strapped into a full body gyroscope, the sensations of the pull of gravity and things like the sensation of wind rushing past you, or waves splashing you, is missing … instead we’re just creating vestibular and proprioceptive illusions that are no more “real” than the hallucinatory images projected on our retinas).
This distinction from bottom up to top down, is a critical one considering your comments here … e.g.:
- Google “nice person image” and pick a face of your liking. Hug the screen and see how it feels. You may do this with a VR headset if you like.
- Go out and hug someone whom you find nice.
- Observe the difference, if there is any.
Thanks!