The fragility of our personal reality
Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 7:28 pm
Edit* sorry the topic should be the fragility of our personal reality not or our. I don't know how to change it...my apologies
So if we ask 2 people to point up and they both point to the sky this seems normal. If each of them is on an opposite sides of the earth however they would each be pointing in opposite directions so which is right?
This could easily be solved by a simple agreement on something like cenrer of gravity, but suppose that they disagree further and begin to argue which hemisphere is the top of the earth. Each person grew up in an environment where it is believed they are the top of the earth. They have maps drawn by their own explorers that show that, lets just say, the north pole is the top and of course the other that the south pole is the top. Because of semantics of the idea that being on top is the superior position, each one finds it hurtful to be told they are on the bottom of the earth and they just wont let that stand. War ensues over the right to call themselves on top of the world. Sides become entrenched and divisions are drawn deeply in the sand and 2 extremes form in order to separate themselves from the other. The north eats spaghetti so no self respecting southerner would eat spaghetti cause that's a dirty northern thing and vice versa for the north, in regards to those pizza loving klimklats of the south.
Then a moon man shows up one day in his spaceship and wonders whats up with these earthlings what are they fighting about. When each side gives their argument about why they are on the top of the world and the other side on the bottom with all their rhetoric and historical and written proof the moon man tilts his head in confusion and offers to take them to space to show them they are both on top and on the bottom and o the side. Lets just say randomly the leader of the north isn't having this kind of heresy and refutes the moon man saying "your technology is the root of all evil, begone fowl beast" and walks away to prepare litanies to proclaim the evils of the moon. The southern leader is curious and takes a ride and from space can easily see what the moon man was saying, since top and bottom are only a matter of perspective and orientation and all the silliness was made clear to the southern leader in that moment.
The southerner resolved to spread this message to everyone when he returned. He was astonished that no one believed him and the moon man had to return home or he would miss dinner which on the moon lasted 1000 years, at which point he might return. Well only a few people were willing to wait that long to find out if his experience was true, but most everyone else was content to kill the leader for such strange and wild ideas since they couldn't imagine what he was talking about and had no experience of spaceships and outer space. So they just found it impossible to believe, no matter how much they wanted to, but as it kind of hurt their heads to think about it they did their best to remove all signs of such thinking so that their heads wouldn't hurt.
Please pardon the ramblings of a lunatic [grin]
So if we ask 2 people to point up and they both point to the sky this seems normal. If each of them is on an opposite sides of the earth however they would each be pointing in opposite directions so which is right?
This could easily be solved by a simple agreement on something like cenrer of gravity, but suppose that they disagree further and begin to argue which hemisphere is the top of the earth. Each person grew up in an environment where it is believed they are the top of the earth. They have maps drawn by their own explorers that show that, lets just say, the north pole is the top and of course the other that the south pole is the top. Because of semantics of the idea that being on top is the superior position, each one finds it hurtful to be told they are on the bottom of the earth and they just wont let that stand. War ensues over the right to call themselves on top of the world. Sides become entrenched and divisions are drawn deeply in the sand and 2 extremes form in order to separate themselves from the other. The north eats spaghetti so no self respecting southerner would eat spaghetti cause that's a dirty northern thing and vice versa for the north, in regards to those pizza loving klimklats of the south.
Then a moon man shows up one day in his spaceship and wonders whats up with these earthlings what are they fighting about. When each side gives their argument about why they are on the top of the world and the other side on the bottom with all their rhetoric and historical and written proof the moon man tilts his head in confusion and offers to take them to space to show them they are both on top and on the bottom and o the side. Lets just say randomly the leader of the north isn't having this kind of heresy and refutes the moon man saying "your technology is the root of all evil, begone fowl beast" and walks away to prepare litanies to proclaim the evils of the moon. The southern leader is curious and takes a ride and from space can easily see what the moon man was saying, since top and bottom are only a matter of perspective and orientation and all the silliness was made clear to the southern leader in that moment.
The southerner resolved to spread this message to everyone when he returned. He was astonished that no one believed him and the moon man had to return home or he would miss dinner which on the moon lasted 1000 years, at which point he might return. Well only a few people were willing to wait that long to find out if his experience was true, but most everyone else was content to kill the leader for such strange and wild ideas since they couldn't imagine what he was talking about and had no experience of spaceships and outer space. So they just found it impossible to believe, no matter how much they wanted to, but as it kind of hurt their heads to think about it they did their best to remove all signs of such thinking so that their heads wouldn't hurt.
Please pardon the ramblings of a lunatic [grin]