Reality

We are bombarded with it in today’s media, the reality show, video games and the medium of which we call the internet is considered by many to be a reality of its own. Daily, we live our life traveling through the medium of time and space, most of which is complicated to describe, but we accept it as the “Real World” of which we exist physically. When we watch reality shows on TV we are suppose to be watching a show that is more “real” then what TV usually gives us, how can I know for sure? I can’t. What I do know about my existence is the fact that I can feel, see, smell, taste, and listen to the things around me. My senses work in unison to paint a picture of the world that I live in and I use my senses to tell the difference between what is “real “ of not. However, I predict that the word “reality” is shifting meaning as technology progresses. Soon, maybe a few generations after my generation, will probably have a totally different sense of the word.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word reality as: “The quality of being real or having an actual existence.” Breaking down the word, we come to the word “real” and by definition according to the OED, it means: “Having an objective existence; actually existing as a thing.” The word reality spawned from the Latin word “realitas” which from my understanding means…reality. This shows that people have always been thinking about what categorize something to be real.

Philosopher of the past often wonders about what is real and how can we prove it, for instance Descartes’, “I think, therefore I am” proof states that because he is conscience about being conscience then he exists. But Descartes did not have the Internet or stimulus technology around him that can mimic the reality for that he debates and ponder about. Maybe it is proof that I exist because I am thinking and questioning my existence, but then again sometime I dream that I am at an all you can eat buffet eating everything in sight and I can feel, smell, see the food, so is that real? It is like the matrix when Neo is asked by Morpheus if he wants to take the red pill or the blue pill, one pill will leave him in the matrix and other supposedly will take him to the real world. If there is a machine that can stimulate all of your senses then that can be considered as a reality machine. I can argue that I am real; therefore I exist in this reality, but what makes up reality is the question that I wonder sometimes.

In earlier history, the term reality is debated for the existence of mankind, which is why there was philosopher. Because the technological medium such as the Internet or television did not exist at the time the word was used more in the question of one’s existence to this 3d world we live in. Today, we are dominated by science that plays a huge role in what we think of as reality.

For instance: How to turn a sphere inside out.

Initially all of my logical senses tell me it’s impossible, but not according to science apparently. Analyzing this theory begins to question my beliefs on reality. People used to think that the earth was flat not very long ago, so what makes my beliefs on how things really are true? The connections between “real” and “reality” can be argued as nothing more than is but a mind sate. I am real; therefore I can understand this reality and have accepted it as being true. In my reality, I cannot turn a sphere inside out but someone has come up with an explanation so that I can understand how it would be possible according to my reality. I feel like I am going crazy thinking about this which technically means the lost of reality, but there is a very thin line between crazy and genius, maybe I see something people don’t see, a different reality! This brings the idea of Second Life into debate. To me and my entire group, we concluded that Second Life is nothing more than just a game. However, to a small population, one that is growing, it is not a game. Not a game? What is it then? To have a “life” on a virtual reality world, is that possible? According to some it is and they sometimes spend more time in that reality then they do in their own real life. This is where I think the term “reality” is shifting meaning from something we mostly associate with the actual real world, to now relating it with the internet medium.

One can argue very strongly that the internet is another “real world”, one that does not follow the same physical rules as the one we were born into, but is defiantly an active stimulus reality. Just like how I cannot imagine life without the internet now, maybe one day my kids will not imagine life without Second Life because it is the reality that they know, “The quality of being real or having an actual existence.”

I choose this keyword because it has been on my mind throughout the course. With the discussion we had in class with identity and medium, I thought that reality encompasses both of the terms. Also, I notice a trend of connecting the real with the virtual to create a whole different realm. From the days of philosophers pondering about the existence of man to the present day where science explains how to turn a sphere inside out, reality changes with time. I feel that we are slowly thinking away from our mind, by that I mean that we not long just sit and think deeply, but rather spill our thoughts like I am doing right now, onto this.