What is reality? The philosophical question. What can be considered reality and what is fiction? An even more philosophical question. As far as I know, no one has definitely answered these questions. However, with regard to man, it is important for me and my profession to understand how a person perceives reality and how it determines his behavior and life.
Lenin defined matter as an objective reality given to us in sensations. Of course, one can argue with him from the point of view of the modern understanding of science. But, nevertheless, he was right. Sensations determine for us objective reality and affect its perception. Those. what we feel is objective for us, but what we don’t feel is not.
In those days when the representations of the sensitivity of body parts in the brain were first determined, it was noticed that the tongue and hands cover the largest areas of that region. Why? There, in these areas of the body, are the most sensitive endings. It is the subtlety of sensitivity of these areas of the body that is important. In contrast, for example, from the surface of the back. Here nature admits rather strong generalizations. Sensitive endings here are located at a much greater distance from each other. And the touch feels the nearest receptor. Those. the actual size of the body part does not matter here.
This, as far as touch is concerned. But to determine reality for a person, vision is extremely important. Now I’ll say an obvious, but for many unexpected thing. Our eyes do not see objects. They perceive only waves of different lengths. The brain “sees” objects, which classifies the information received and determines what the combination of waves means.
In addition to laying out on the shelves, the brain pretty much filters the data. Much has to be ignored to highlight the most important thing. But what is the main thing that needs to be highlighted?
Several experiments were performed using functional MRI. Unlike conventional MRI, this determines not only the structure, but also the activity of individual parts of the brain. As a result, it was found that when determining a real object or not, part of the frontal cortex and the cortex of the posterior part of the cingulate gyrus are activated. These parts are connected with autobiographical memory and thinking directed at oneself. Those. what I remember for myself, and what I think of myself. It is not difficult to assume that reality consists of this very memory and subjective feelings about oneself.
This system works by default in the background. We do not think about the reality of our own experience and about ourselves in the vast majority of cases. Just the information is refracted through an already familiar angle and passes the usual filters. We know within ourselves about what is important, what is not important. This "machine" was assembled within us by our parents. The first designers of our reality. They selected the important for us, created the first templates for collecting information.
But another interesting detail. Perception of reality does not stand still. Those. we not only see the apple as an object. The brain, in the process of working on a definition of reality, tucks back and forth along an imaginary time line. He constantly looks into the past and future, then comes back. Of great importance is the construction of forecasts for the future. Those. not just, here it is an apple, but also what will happen to the apple afterwards (I will eat it or throw it away). And then, according to the prediction of the future, the brain returns to the present again and determines it (eat, I don’t throw it away). Well, and do not forget to run into the past. What happened to apples in our lives? And let's go back, adjusting reality.
A bit confusing, but now I’ll tell you why I'm telling you all this. Take a person with "baggage from childhood." In the depths of his brain he lives a "pattern" by which he cuts his reality. With this pattern, he runs into the future, predicts it, returns with information that exactly matches his vision of himself. With a pattern, he rushes into the future, and also comes running from there with corroborating information.
And one more important thing. With the future, everything is clear: it is not there, we come up with it based on the available initial ones. But with the past, how? Here is the most interesting.
The brain does not store verbatim information about what happened. He “archives” it, “dries” the stock, leaves only the meaning needed. Everything else just ruthlessly throws out. And when we need something in our memory, the brain dilutes the information with "reality." Those. what we now think or imagine about how this could be in the past. Those. most of our memories are just “think-tanks” and fantasies. They can be very well guessed by us due to information from other memories, but still. In our thoughts about the past there is a lot of “gag” and we drag it into the present.
Naturally, not only we ourselves are so skilled in the “gag” from the past. The pattern of reality does not remain at the level of childhood memories. We are still developing, gaining new experience. Outsiders, in terms of expanding experience, can throw us facts from the present, real and made-up, and ask us to look for something similar in the past. And we can find what we are asked, even if it is not there. The main thing is to take a new fact into your internal assortment of patterns. And there, "the current will rush through the wires." You may have tons of new biographical data that will influence behavior. This is a new implanted memory, and let alone that some events from the past can be brought into line with the current agenda with the phrase “think like an adult” or “if you have a brain, take advantage of what I said.” (there are a huge number of methods that allow you to change the understanding of what is happening)
And now, the main hygiene promise. It is currently very tense with real facts. Those. those who, on a sensory (sensory) level, happened to someone. Too many events and phenomena in the environment are either one hundred percent false pieces of information, or a “twist” of real events and awkward interpretations. The subjective of outsiders flows into our perception, and this subjectivity is not always spontaneous. Very often she is deliberately presented as the truth. Each time taking a new piece for reality, you change the perception of your future and past. It will seem completely real, because our brain has recognized the present. And with each test, the "past-future" will seem even more and more real. Your life will change, and it is likely that not for the better.
What to do? Focus on your sensual experience and read less “analytics”. Those. the analytics that everyone pours into the media space, and who considers himself an expert for no reason at all.