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Probably Robert Anton Wilson’s Cosmic Trigger or Prometheus Rising back in 2010. The “reality tunnel” concept has defined much of my personal and intellectual e

Probably Robert Anton Wilson’s Cosmic Trigger or Prometheus Rising back in 2010. The “reality tunnel” concept has defined much of my personal and intellectual exploration of the past 10 years. “ When we meet somebody whose separate tunnel-reality is obviously far different from ours, we are a bit frightened and always disoriented. We tend to think they are mad, or that they are crooks trying to con us in some way, or that they are hoaxers playing a joke. Yet it is neurologically obvious that no two brains have the same genetically-programmed hard wiring, the same imprints, the same conditioning, the same learning experiences. We are all living in separate realities. That is why communication fails so often, and misunderstandings and resentments are so common. I say "meow" and you say "Bow-wow," and each of us is convinced the other is a bit dumb.”

yesenadam 7y ago
That sounds exactly what this Lippmann quote from Public Opinion is talking about! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21897532 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21897532
c54 7y ago
+1 for this, I read Prometheus Rising in 2011 and it has heavily influenced my mental model for different drugs. It's not particularly scientific but still a fun read.
pmoriarty 7y ago
Cosmic Trigger was great, but I must say it's hard to speak of Robert Anton Wilson without mentioning his magnum opus, The Illuminatus Trilogy.
- teh_klev 7y ago
  Hail Eris!
- alasdair_ 7y ago
  The Illuminatus Trilogy is my favorite book of all time. A lot of people have a hard time with it, considering it nonsense and giving up a fifth of the way through. I'd strongly suggest sticking with it. There is a reason is seems like nonsense and the reason is given at the end of the book - the whole purpose of all of it is to reprogram your brain. It's a journey worth taking.
crimsonalucard 7y ago
I truly believe there is a shared reality separate from our experiences. The further you are from that reality the more "stupider" you actually are. It's not all apples and oranges. Some people are right some people are wrong and some things are better than other things.
- lstodd 7y ago
  Haha, no. You don't get a free pass of some single shared reality. There is an infinite bunch of realities, and the one you see is defined by your own experience only. In other words, what you perceive is what that you are. Or that you can't perceive that what you can't accept. Hat tip to Douglas Adams who described this idea that obvious.
  - crimsonalucard 7y ago
    Haha, no to you. Except that the majority of people perceive realities that are highly, highly similar indicating that they are all perceiving a singular thing outside of their own experience. There's a reason why people who deviate too far from the norm get locked up. There's also a reason why you understand the reality that I am describing to you right now. Likely because we are both perceiving the same thing. In order for us to perceive the same thing it likely must exist as a single shared reality separate from our own internal minds.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - shortandsweet 7y ago
      You have heard of witnesses supposedly seeing the same event but having profoundly different interpretations haven't you? They believe them fully but what they see changes based on genetics, culture, history of the person. There are as many realities as there are people.
      - crimsonalucard 7y ago

yesenadam 7y ago

That sounds exactly what this Lippmann quote from Public Opinion is talking about! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21897532 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21897532

c54 7y ago

+1 for this, I read Prometheus Rising in 2011 and it has heavily influenced my mental model for different drugs. It's not particularly scientific but still a fun read.

pmoriarty 7y ago

Cosmic Trigger was great, but I must say it's hard to speak of Robert Anton Wilson without mentioning his magnum opus, The Illuminatus Trilogy.

teh_klev 7y ago
Hail Eris!
alasdair_ 7y ago
The Illuminatus Trilogy is my favorite book of all time. A lot of people have a hard time with it, considering it nonsense and giving up a fifth of the way through. I'd strongly suggest sticking with it. There is a reason is seems like nonsense and the reason is given at the end of the book - the whole purpose of all of it is to reprogram your brain. It's a journey worth taking.

crimsonalucard 7y ago

I truly believe there is a shared reality separate from our experiences. The further you are from that reality the more "stupider" you actually are. It's not all apples and oranges. Some people are right some people are wrong and some things are better than other things.

lstodd 7y ago
Haha, no. You don't get a free pass of some single shared reality. There is an infinite bunch of realities, and the one you see is defined by your own experience only. In other words, what you perceive is what that you are. Or that you can't perceive that what you can't accept. Hat tip to Douglas Adams who described this idea that obvious.
- crimsonalucard 7y ago
  Haha, no to you. Except that the majority of people perceive realities that are highly, highly similar indicating that they are all perceiving a singular thing outside of their own experience. There's a reason why people who deviate too far from the norm get locked up. There's also a reason why you understand the reality that I am describing to you right now. Likely because we are both perceiving the same thing. In order for us to perceive the same thing it likely must exist as a single shared reality separate from our own internal minds.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - shortandsweet 7y ago
    You have heard of witnesses supposedly seeing the same event but having profoundly different interpretations haven't you? They believe them fully but what they see changes based on genetics, culture, history of the person. There are as many realities as there are people.
    - crimsonalucard 7y ago