# What reality is

Reality is the part of existence that, with the exception of delusion or deception, we are all in complete [agreement](conflicts-inner.md) exists.

Most of what we [will](purpose.md) ourselves to do is a response to reality (or at least what we *[understand](understanding.md)* as reality).

Compared to what we [imagine](imagination.md), we can't easily change reality. We can [change some things within reality](results.md), but they operate on immutable, universal rules. For example, we can remove the color black from a surface, but can't remove the essence of blackness as a color from existence.

Finding precise facts within reality is difficult. This is because the [purpose](purpose.md) we use to perceive and do something within reality will *profoundly* [define how we understand and perceive reality itself](image.md).

APPLICATION: We shouldn't be hasty in judging something as reality, since we could be wrong. We also *should* be quick to downplay our opinions of what we perceive.

The mechanism of cause-and-effect exists in various forms beyond human perception (though [even *that* is hotly debated](glossary-philosophy.md)):

1. Physical cause and effect (e.g., a ball rolling across the ground).
2. An abstraction of the event (e.g., whatever is the same with all balls rolling across the ground).
3. Contact of the thing with other things (e.g., a ball's relationship with the ground).
4. [Imagination](imagination.md) of that thing (e.g., the mental activity when an individual perceives a ball rolling across the ground, along with any related thoughts linked to it).

[Knowing the nature of reality has very limited practical use](philosophy.md) because it doesn't remove the practical components of [cause-and-effect](results.md). Even if we were in a simulation or dream of some sort, pain is still pain.

## Uncertain

The trouble with reality is that it's *never* 100% certain. Instead, most things in reality are [likelihoods](math.md), which we then [trust](trust.md) are high enough that the gaps aren't worth focusing on.

Some intelligent, thoughtful people will fall into an existential froth over how we can't 100% [prove anything](understanding-certainty.md).

In light of that uncertainty, there are [deductively](logic.md) only a few possibilities for ghow to act:

1. Reality does exist irrespective of our beliefs, so existential uncertainty about it is silly.
2. Everything doesn't exist and is some sort of illusion or fabrication. But, it's reliable enough to [predict](imagination.md) things somewhat accurately, so it's not worth worrying about.
3. Everything is unknowable, but we can't really know, so it's probably one of the two above and should be treated as silly or not worth worrying about.

But, like knowing reality itself, it doesn't really matter because it doesn't remove the practical components for the sake of [making decisions](people-decisions.md). It does, however, make it difficult for living above a day-to-day perspective.

Since reality itself is filtered through our perception, we have trouble [imagining](imagination.md) reality without our thoughts tangled in it.

One of the benefits of [religon](religion.md) is that it gives us a perceiver beyond ourselves. If God sees reality and maintains it, we don't have to perceive something to [prove to others](power-influence.md) that it's true.

One thing we can't attribute to our minds is legitimate [pain](mind-feelings-fear.md), since *something* must cause that, and it's not reasonable to assume we fabricated it for our [purposes](purpose.md).

Since we don't like pain, and it's so [certain](understanding-certainty.md) within reality, we're forced to believe one of a few possible [value structures](values.md):

1. From our [perspective](image.md), reality is nothing but pain. This is the most accurate if we don't believe anything beyond it, but it's absolutely [useless](purpose.md) because it strips any [meaning](meaning.md) or capacity for [living well](goodlife.md).
2. There are presently unknown good things. This requires [belief](understanding-certainty.md) in the [unknown](unknown.md), but it allows us to [accomplish](purpose.md) and [inspire](power-influence.md) others toward [meaningful](meaning.md) actions.

## Experience

We have sensations and experiences, but those aren't technically what we call "reality". Instead, we form small [values](values.md) out of reality and call *that* reality:

- Light waves are a frequency of light that hits our eyeballs, but the color "blue" is a mental label that uses [language](language.md) to make sense of the optic nerve's interpretation of those frequencies.
- Scent is a cluster of molecules picked up by the nose, but we interpret the scent itself using [feelings](mind-feelings.md) and language.
- Our nerve endings detect things we touch, but then we assign groupings to them, like "flat" or "sticky".

[Time](datetime.md) is particularly difficult to [understand](understanding.md). The past only exists in our [memories](mind-memory.md), and the future only exists in our [imagination](imagination.md), so the only thing we actually experience is a consecutive string of "now" instances that we treat as a passage of time. We believe it to be constant because we're [relatively accurate](mind-bias.md) at tracking it, but those instances of "now" transition more quickly to our perception when we're not paying attention (such as being engaged in [habitual](habits.md) work or [daydreaming](imagination.md)).

Even without outward [evidence](science.md), some things exist because of the pure principle that our minds create them. A relationship between two people, for example, is simply a person's collection of memories, beliefs, and ideas about another person, with the other person having something resembling the same. If there were no minds, there'd be no relationships.

## Facts

Facts are aspects of [understanding](understanding.md) that *do* exist, to the best we can define them. They are [values](values.md) based on what is true. [We often believe incorrect things](image-distortion.md), but share a remarkable number of conclusions about reality with most other people.

Multiple facts can't contradict each other, though different [points of view](image.md) can imply that two true statements are contradictions. We tend to grab more facts that prioritize and confirm our preconceived [bias](mind-bias.md) unless we've disciplined ourselves otherwise. It takes tremendous patience to look beyond [initial impressions](image.md).

We can't precisely grasp facts as they are in nature, but we can assemble them into [stories](stories.md) we *do* understand. Other people tend to interpret [the same stories](humanity-universals.md), and we will then "agree" on seeing the same stuff if we [communicate](language.md) back-and-forth. For the [sake](purpose.md) of [conforming to](people-culture.md) or [repelling](people-5_conflicts.md) others' beliefs, we tend to rewire many parts of our understanding, and that feedback is necessary to [validate](understanding-certainty.md) what we see.

Good facts are often difficult to find. Usually, we must [purpose](purpose.md) ourselves to seek diligently for them, and they're typically not that useful by themselves.

To find good facts, we require hefty amounts of [analysis](logic.md) to process our [understanding](understanding.md), as well as [reaffirming truths we already know](understanding-certainty.md). Facts are easier to internalize if we use [education](education.md) and proper use of [technology](technology.md) to increase our [understanding](understanding.md), but who we listen to will *profoundly* [influence](power-influence.md) us.

APPLICATION: No amount of [education](education.md) or [technology](technology.md) can offset the destruction of [understanding](understanding.md) from learning from the wrong sources.

Our [story](stories.md)-based method of [understanding](understanding.md) interferes with finding immaculate truth. As we gain [awareness](awareness.md), we can prevent our [feelings](mind-feelings.md) and [beliefs](understanding-certainty.md) from interfering, but it's never perfect, even with training. Beyond any practical point, removing bias isn't [useful](purpose.md), and all that [logical analysis](logic.md) can actually be devastating through the removal of the wealth of holistic information that comes through our [intuitions](mind-feelings.md).

APPLICATION: Believing things are [changing](trends.md) is usually more [useful](purpose.md) and [safe](safety.md) than believing in things staying the same.

While [post-modern philosophy](philosophy.md) denies it, there *are* [universal qualities within humanity](humanity-universals.md). The thing that's constantly changing is our perceptions, but by comparison, reality itself is quite unmoving. Even aspects of [aesthetic](values-quality.md), which are relative in their finer points, have absolutes in the general case according to how humans view things.

APPLICATION: Test what you know against what you're told, and don't presume one thing is more correct until you've thoroughly examined it and can [trust](trust.md) the source.

## Details

When we [analyze](logic.md) reality closely, every single thing can be divided indefinitely. Taken far enough, we have many tiny components, but we can never find an end to the smallest possible things we can divide (e.g., a human body has many parts, one of its parts is a heart, one of its heart valves is a muscle, etc.). Also, each of these divisions effectively creates its own [network](https://gainedin.site/networks/).

The small components form parts of a whole. The entire collection, whatever it is, is (typically) of dramatically more value to us than the individual parts. We tend to find value in the collective more than the components, either for our [purposes](purpose.md) or what we [love](people-love.md). That added value usually includes something that makes us [feel](mind-feelings.md) like the thing is somehow more complete.

Barring mental disorders like [autism](mind-neurodivergence.md), we typically see the entire thing first, then must observe closely to find the parts. We will then discover [patterns](symbols.md) within the parts that permeate the collective thing. When *that* collective becomes a part of a larger collective, the larger collective will either reflect the pattern as well or appear to be disordered.

[Wisdom and understanding](understanding.md) come through seeing the parts that fit into most things, with one exception: [cultural sensibilities](people-culture.md) will define some patterns across seemingly unrelated domains as [taboo](morality-taboo.md) to address.

APPLICATION: Each of us must find our journey to truth in our own way, and there's no clear answer or [pattern](symbols.md) that applies to everyone.

## Denial

Accepting reality at its most raw can force overwhelming [internal and external changes](people-changes.md). Because of this, most people deny or adapt elements of reality to cope with those changes (especially if it'll affect their [social standing](groups-member.md)), and the easiest ways to deny/adapt reality is through altering [language](language.md) to shift the portrayed [implications](mind-feelings.md) of the [story](stories.md) provided by reality.

Also, since most people are [terrified](mind-feelings-fear.md) of the [consequences](results.md) of reality in its rawest form, so their [habitual mode of thinking](habits.md) will subconsciously [alter their views](image-distortion.md) to fit more easily with what they knew *before* the new discovery. In this case, they find more [usefulness](purpose.md) in their past perception of reality than in the updated information they're witnessing.

The only cure for a defective understanding is [love](people-love.md), both from the conveyor (to expedite the change through gentleness) and by the receiver (to [forgive and release](mind-feelings-happiness-stress.md)).

APPLICATION: Whether we can or can't know reality doesn't really matter. It's very consistent either way. Even if we're really in some *dream*, we can find [meaning](meaning.md) through doing the best with that dream's rules, and living [the good life](goodlife.md) requires more [performance](purpose.md) than concerning ourselves with what may or may not exist.