Neuroscience

“There is a difference between what you actually see and what you think you see,” he told her.  He went on saying, “We create a false separation between our perception of how the world actually is and the way that we think it is, and since these two things occur at the same time, in the same place, as a result, they interfere with each other.  This is a big dilemma as what you’re holding in mind changes what you see, and what you see changes what you’re holding in mind, so perception and thought are fundamentally linked.  Our previous experiences and knowledge of the world shape how we perceive our environment.  Perception lies at the root of all our empirical knowledge, which we acquire by learning from others, and also by using our five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.”

She seemed bewildered, so he said, “Maybe I could clear this up by telling you about The Greek philosopher Plato who wrote in his allegory of the cave about these people that were chained up facing a wall all of their lives.  All they could do was watch these shadows that were projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them.  They name the shadows and that became their reality, as they believed in what they saw.  We do not experience the external world exactly how we perceive it consciously.  Everything that we see has been processed by our brain, thus we wonder if there was a sound when a tree fell down in the forest if there is nobody there to hear it.  Our reality is constructed by our brain and most of the time, what our brains generate will match the real, physical world but not always.  Our brains also unconsciously bend our perception of reality to meet our desires or expectations.  And they will fill in gaps using our past experiences.  There will always be the possibility that what you’re thinking is wrong.  You can take some pressure and stress off of yourself by accepting that most of your thoughts will be true, but it’s a part of life that not all of them will be.  Tell yourself that no one knows everything.”

Written for Fandango’s Story Starter #108.