3 ms·

Why would you say the brain simulates reality rather than interprets it? A sundial doesn't need to simulate the sun's nuclear, gravitational and magnetic proces

• type0 10y ago
  The brain doesn't work like sun dial. Because it doesn't strictly interprets, even when we only try to observe the reality we unconsciously fill in the gaps. Ever wondered why humans are so susceptible to false memories? We create our own reality in our brain thus it's simulated. Of course we take in stimuli but the brain doesn't just interpret them. When we see, we already simulate the projection in our retina, there is a lot of processing that happens before impulses get send to the hemispheres by the optic nerve (eyes are part of the brain anatomically speaking). That processing in the retina isn't just interpretation, nerve cells actively suppress or amplify the signals depending on what is happening to the surrounding ones, as well as what happened shortly before that. I would argue that even on this basic level it's already a simulation of the reality. Interpretation is the higher order reasoning that your frontal lobe and lymbic system might do to decide what and how to act when you see a lion jumping at you.