Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with reality

The phenomenology of text

0bvious — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:21:33 -0800

The phenomenology / ontology of text: has anyone examined this issue directly in philosophical, literary and/or critical terms? I am interested in the experience and perception of text, both within readership and on an abstract (more holistic level perhaps) as the archetypical mediator and virtual-archive of human culture. I wish to explore it via its mediums (e.g. book, computer screen), its modes (e.g. semiotics, translation) and its means (e.g. poetry, fiction, encryption).

I came at this problem through Heidegger (most specifically in his re-appropriation of the term 'techné'), looking at text as a technology.

I have since come upon the writings of D.C. Greetham and a couple of other bits and pieces.

I feel that this is an area not much covered by the critical fields, especially in these times of ever encompassing digital/web-based mediums. I'm interested in following through some of this to a PhD proposal.

What paths should I be taking?

Your help, as always, is much appreciated.

Turn your key, sir.

Happy Dave — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:20:38 -0800

Are there any documented instances of disaster/apocalypse training exercises where the participants could not be sure if it was real or not? I was watching this episode of Spooks (MI5 in the US), which follows the team through a simulated nerve gas attack on ten British cities. As the episode progresses, the increasingly agitated group begins to suspect that the incident may be real, their fears fuelled by news broadcasts, crackly video linkups with other control centres and so on.

Another good example of this is the "Turn Your Key Sir!" scene from Wargames.

I find the whole idea of these kinds of exercises, the pressure they place on civil and military forces and the post-event effects of believing something truly terrible has happened absolutely fascinating.

Are there any books, documentaries, articles or websites which discuss this kind of immersive simulation, and its effects on preparedness and the people involved?

projectmyworld!?

femmme — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:01:47 -0800

HOw did the projectmyworld-girls do it? projectmyworld is a reality show where 3 girls meetup on myspace and travel and meet other myspace "friends" and it is on tv/. I am curious how this came about and who funded this?? I am struggling finding any more info...
thanks HM

What is this game?

mcarthey — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:39:27 -0800

Help me remember this game and find something similar. This was an internet baesd game that existed over 5 years ago (or more). I'm sorry I don't remember the developer, but it was pre-MMO games, but was a multiplayer game itself. It was a game that utilized various sites to convey information, instant messenging from people who acted as operatives, all with the intent to move forward a story. The line between reality and game were blurred as the information they provided was factual, but the story was made up... ala Rollins or Brown.
I remember really enjoying the sense of tension in the game and the clever storylines. I'm sorry I don't remember more, but I will try to add details if I think of it.
Thanks!

How Things 'Become': The Infinity of Definition

0bvious — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:18:41 -0800

I am looking for writings on the infinity of definition. I am interested in the exponentially divergent curve that is definition.

We create writings and art to better define the world, yet true definition is infinite.

We mediate the universe by erecting borders of definition, i.e. all striped, four-legged, hooved mammals are probably zebras. We categorise the universe into hierarchies, but the more we examine the more pronounced and expansive these hierarchies become.

Language is our greatest defining tool. Yet, the metaphors we evolve to expand the potential of language can themselves only be made to refer back to the language which created them. An infinite loop emerges in most definition.

As new technology emerges we use it to 'add' meaning to artifacts which are already partly defined. By looking at the world with ever more refined microscopes we bring reality into greater clarity. This metaphor can be expanded to refer to texts, art, archaeology, culture etc.

Who has written on the problem of definition? What critical theory has been written on the emergence of infinity?

This question adds on to past questions I have asked at MeFi including (in reverse order):

- Art and artifacts experienced through technology
- The mimetic and narrative capacities of artefacts
- Examples of 'The Infinite' in Myth and Their Effect on Conditions of Truth

Here's hoping you have some ideas...

pop-up in my periphery...

Joe Rocket — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:07:00 -0800

Aumented Realityfilter- Please, Me-Fites give me your examples of films/video clips of humans with built-in H.U.D.s...? I've been wracking my brain to find a particular futuristic film i've seen in the last 5 years where the lead character (?) is walking down a street, and experiences a sort of pop-up advert and communication through their in-built heads up display. Any films/clips in this vein would be appreciated.

Wikipedia 3D

badstone — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:59:13 -0800

I am looking for examples of 3D virtual environments created in a Wikipedia-like manner. I am investigating the use of VR for collaborative, scholarly work. Some projects on my radar include Discover Babylon (FAS), Rome Reborn (Univ. of Virginia), Amazonian Carnival (Michigan State), and River City (Harvard). Likewise, there are a variety of Second Life environments in this vein.

What are other good examples of this sort of work? Specifically, I'm most interested in environments with a sort of Wikipedia model for authoring content - where models and simulations are developed and modified continuously by a community, not just one group and not in one go.

Is the economy fake?

Effigy2000 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:41:05 -0800

Bill Hicks said, in one of his acts, and I quote "It's gonna fuck up the economy... the economy thats fake anyway!" Is the economy fake? While acknowledging that Bill was talking about drugs and how great they were for altering your perception of reality in this very same act in which he says the economy does not exist, I have started to consider what he meant by that, exactly. He never really went into any further detail on the topic as far as I'm aware.

I have always taken this observation of his to mean that the economy is not real because there is no tangible thing one can touch or see that is called 'The Economy'. To extrapolate, while there is money that one can touch and use to pay for goods and services, money and its value to the economy is only a human construct that does not necessarily need to exist to allow people access to goods and services or for people to live life harmoniously.

Mind you, I'm no economist, so what would I know?

Is this likely what Bill meant? Or is there a different (or deeper) meaning than the one I have construed? And how would an economist refute (or even relate to) Bill's argument?

I ask this question because of a book which I'm writing. As I said, I'm no economist and while I plan to research economics and maybe even interview a few economists to further my work, I'd be interested in hearing the hive minds views (especially from those well versed in economics) to help me find the direction my research should take.

Where can I find Virtual Reality hardware?

Savvas — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:05:19 -0800

Where can I find Virtual Reality goggles or something similar? When I was little, I got to play on a Virtual Reality machine. It was basically a round platform with a headset and glove, and it projected you into a very basic, blockish world with a pterodactyl flying around that you had to shoot with your little gun. It was great fun, and I'd like to recreate that in the comfort of my own home.

What I'm trying to find is some sort of approximation of a similar thing, some kind of hardware I can plug into my PC and play very simple or complex or whatever games on, with proper 3D simulation instead of just playing a video on two screens next to your eyes.

If it helps, I live in Australia, and money is no object.

Examples of 'The Infinite' in Myth and Their Effect on Conditions of Truth

0bvious — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:32:00 -0800

I am searching for examples of The Infinite, or the immeasurably large, in our mythologies and archetypes. I am also interested in the categories of Truth which came out of the emergence of Western, ontological thought. Does the trust in a rationally conceivable reality deny us the infinity of the mythological realm? By rooting ourselves in the present, and denying atemporal mythologies, do we also deny the infinite origins from where we came? Mythologically rooted cultures do not usually posit a beginning of time. Humans exist as part of a holistic cycle which spans back and forward into the infinite realm of mythology. There can really be no 'truth' in this perennial world of myth, where the spiritual and 'unseen' realm is just as 'real' as our present state of being.

Western 'truth' (ontologically defined rationality) denies the holism of all things (as do the Monotheistic religions), actively attributing identity to patterns perceived in the world we can see (or to God). This taxonomy or identification of patterns creates a false belief in a fully formed reality - a 'truth'. This taxonomic understanding is to simulacrum what philosophical enquiry was to Plato's shadows in the cave. In consequence, our distinction from The Infinite, from the realm of myth, qualifies us as distinct from reality - we live the simulation, not the absolute.

----------

I am just going off on one here, to outline vaguely what the forms of infinity, myth and ontology have had on our development (/evolution?).

Please feel free to agree, disagree or add to my examples.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your responses.

Need Resources on Mind Energy Changing DNA

watercarrier — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:16:07 -0800

I need solid scientific evidence that thought can change matter - how consciousness effects DNA structure, patterns and ultimately reality. Charts, studies, videos, all is welcome as a way of viewing and understanding how the mind's energy works in relation to physical matter. Thank you so much.

Are my memories real? Does it matter if they aren't?

Avenger — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:59:03 -0800

How can I be sure that my childhood actually happened? Before I begin, let me say:

1) No, this is not a joke

and

2) No, despite my wishes to the contrary, I'm not stoned out of my mind.

Basically, I have a number of memories from my childhood that are completely surreal and more or less physically impossible -- which would rationally suggest that I'm remembering dreams -- yet these "memories" are just as real and perfectly vivid as any other memory of my childhood. I'm disturbed by the implications of this.

Example 1: I have a vivid, utterly real "memory", from when I was 6 or 7 I guess, of my dad and I standing together, naked, in a toilet bowl. We weren't shrunk or anything, just sort of standing there, full sized. I know, it's classic Freudian dream material. Yet, it's just as "real" to me as one of my birthday parties from those years.

Example 2: I remember, very distinctly and strongly, of visiting my grandmother's house for a family reunion when I was about 9 or 10. Part of the "ritual" of the family reunion involved everyone (except myself, because I chickened out) walking over a bed of hot, smoldering coals.

Yes, I know it's all completely insane. I asked my grandma about it last year and she agreed that it's insane as well, yet I remember it as well as I remember Christmas from around that time. Perfect clarity.

Example 3: Some kids have "imaginary friends". I had an "imaginary enemy". It was the telephone pole who lived out back. The nodes on top were his eyes, the "V" shape crossbars was his perpetually grinning mouth. The strange part is that I remember him speaking. Like, really remember him speaking. He spoke a terrible monster-language (sounded like "Gonk-gonk-gonk") but I could understand what he was saying. He always wanted to eat me and my family. I remember him threatening my family, as much as I remember my dad talking to me as a child. Its that real to me.

The rational part of my mind (which I like to think is very strong) realizes that these and other "memories" are obviously products of my own mind -- yet I'm unable to distinguish them in any way from "reality", except, perhaps, by their seemingly ludicrous nature.

So, some questions:

Is this normal? Does anyone else have these experiences? Or am I completely insane?

Is there any truth to the idea of "false memories" that could have been implanted by someone else? Or even by myself, unknowingly?

And finally, (on a more philosophical note) If I can't reliably tell the difference between dreams and reality from such a young age, how can I be sure that anything from back then is real? Obviously I can ask others who were supposedly there (like grandma) but if they don't remember, what does it say about my personal integrity that many of my earliest, most formative memories could be fake? Or even mostly fake? Obviously I've given some extreme and very surreal examples, but what can I trust if I can't trust my own memory?

Narrative/fiction movies with unexpected moments of "reality" or fourth wall-breaking or other interesting metaness?

lorimer — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:08:01 -0800

Narrative/fiction movies with unexpected elements of "reality" or fourth wall breaking or other interesting metaness? Illustrative examples inside (without spoilers): Sling Blade, Bamboozled, Shortbus, Timecode, South Park, etc. I'm less interested here in pervasively-meta movies (like Adaptation or Being John Malkovich) and more interested in traditional narrative movies that have unexpected real/meta moments or elements. Some examples, of various kinds:

A) UNUSUALLY EXPLICIT INVOLVEMENT OF THE VIEWER
• in Sling Blade: Billy Bob Thornton's long look into the camera during his walk around town (which he's called a purposeful fourth wall break, meant to remind the viewer he's spinning a tale).
• in Bamboozled: the real reactions of shock and confusion we see from the studio audience during the filming of the TV pilot (apparently the extras playing the audience were told they'd be filmed as a studio audience, but were not told what they'd see onstage), which adds an interesting element to the end viewer's own reactions/shock.

B) REAL ACTS WHERE SUCH ACTS ARE USUALLY SIMULATED
• in Shortbus, Bound, Brown Bunny, Baise Moi and others: unsimulated sex, either obvious onscreen or reported by the actors involved.
[• all the movies in my actors who play their own instruments thread.]
[• all movies in which actors do either stunts or other acts you'd expect to see done by doubles (this is less interesting to me unless something about the situation overlaps other categories like A or C).]

C) INTERESTING SELF-REFERENCE
• in Timecode: film director character proposes shooting a movie using the multiscreen technique used to shoot Timecode, and other characters think this idea is pretentious.
• in South Park: four-letter words discovered to have direct, life-saving utility (movie is based on a show often criticized for "gratuitous"/useless explicit language).
• in Full Frontal: a few meta-twists for the standard "movie in a movie" idea (such as the scene from The Limey that fits into one of Full Frontal's existing scenes without any change of nesting level).
• in Dancer in the Dark, Lost in Translation and others: especially self-referential casting (famously childlike-whimsical-fanciful musician as character with same qualities; iconic aging actor as iconic aging actor; etc.).

... So which other examples should I check out? Please let me know why if possible, BUT PLEASE NO SPOILERS (no revealing plot developments/surprises). Thanks for your help!

A Problem of Scale: Halfway in size between an atom and the universe

0bvious — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:10:04 -0800

"A human is halfway in size between an atom and the known universe"... This is a paraphrased quote I have come across several times. I like it. Who said it first? How true is it in the most literal sense? And, finally, what errors arrive in postulating a universe, or an atom, which can be measured AT ALL from our singular, relativistic, perspective? I found this quote from Cosmic Evolution which further complicates the whole relative size issue:

"Roughly halfway in size between an atom and a human, the amoeba has poor awareness and coordination. It generally responds only at the point stimulated, communicating the information sluggishly through the rest of its body. Although amoebas have developed a crude nervous system, living things that aspire to be more agile—and smarter—surely need quicker internal reactions." - link

Kind of sets another stage from which to view this question.

I also found this quote from Holmes Rolston which further complicates things:

"The human world stands about midway between the infinitesimal and the immense. The size of our planet is near the geometric mean of the size of the known universe and the size of the atom. The mass of a human being is the geometric mean of the mass of the earth and the mass of a proton. A person contains about 10²⁸ atoms, more atoms than there are stars in the universe. Such considerations yield perhaps only a relative location. Still, questions of place and proportion arise." - link

Who first made this often used statement? My earlier questions still stand :-)

Thanks...

Did Clement Cadou exist?

vacapinta — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:33:13 -0800

In Enrique Vila-Matas novel Bartleby & co. everyone seems to be real. He talks about Duchamp, for example, and about B. Traven, the mysterious author of Treasure of the Sierra Madre. But he also talks about Clément Cadou, a supposed painter who only painted furniture and dubbed them "self-portraits" and whose epitaph was about himself, as a piece of furniture. Is Cadou real? If I try to Google Cadou or look for him in Google Book search, all i get is references to Vila-Matas.

Cadou was supposedly a would-be writer who, after meeting the writer Witold Gombrowicz, decided that he (Cadou) was no more than a piece of furniture and thereafter painted only furniture and referred to himself as furniture in his epitaph. Is Cadou real? Or, is he an invention of Vila-Matas?

Thanks.

Update on my Borat-ed friend.

kidsleepy — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 10:51:50 -0800

Remember this guy? He was one of the drunken frat guys in the Borat movie. He's the only one of the three who decided not to sue. He got an offer to do a tell-all interview with Rolling Stone, and he's considering it. The two guys suing want him not to talk to the media, and he doesn't want to piss them off. However, he does want his side of the story to be told. He wants to find some way of tactfully not commenting on the lawsuit, aside from saying "I didn't see any benefit in participating in it, so I'm not." He wants to come off as humble and somewhat remorseful, but also letting people know that editing is everything. Any tips on how he should handle the interview? Should he do it at all?

Do I choose belief or does belief choose me?

crewshell — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 03:09:51 -0800

Is belief a voluntary action, an involuntary action or some mix of the two? Is belief a voluntary action, an involuntary action or some mix of the two?

After reading this Free Will question I remembered a similar thought that came up a few years back that I never explored.

Can I simply choose to believe something or do I not have any control over this part of my mental psyche?

More specifically: Does one choose to believe in an idea, a statement, an occurrence or is this something that happens without our conscience control?

When someone sees something so astonishing and they utter “I couldn’t believe it, even with my own eyes” could they indeed not believe it, even after experiencing it?

Another angle, if someone told you something was true, but to your standards there is no real proof or disproof of what he tells you, could you still simply choose to believe? And if you did, would you actually, truly, be in belief or would you only be fooling yourself?

Going even deeper & conversely, if you did currently have a belief and someone presents something that conflicts with your belief, would that render it no longer true or could you tell yourself to overlook such obstacle, and again still not just be fooling yourself?

Would the answers to these question apply equally to the belief of things we can see and touch (ie. the ice is cold, the car won’t start) and to things that are only thoughts and ideas? (ie. the belief or disbelief of god, that it will or will not rain, that someone does or does not hate you, etc…)

Lastly, does the idea of subjectivity change the premise of this question as well? That being, if someone believes in something that is subjective, ie. beauty, character; how does this affect everything?

I guess overall this question has to do with reality and our perception of it, but I am trying (in the essence of actually coming to some sort of conclusion and to not wind up in an endless circular argument) to give a few concessions and assume that we all are really here, that I really am typing this and that you really will try to answer ;)

Theater of Dreams

hermitosis — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 12:55:47 -0800

Is there a term for this particular philosophical phenomenon? Virtually every single time I watch a movie or a play, something strange happens about halfway through after I've becomed fully absorbed in the plot. Suddenly my mind pulls free from what I am watching and I become hyperaware that what I've been watching and "experiencing" is just a story, as opposed to my life which is very real. And then I am immediately stricken with a reminder that my life is finite, and that the seconds that pass even as I think this are being subtracted from the total sum of my life's moments. I usually sit there for five minutes or so, totally overcome by this awareness, shocked at the reality of life and of my own story, of world history and the lives of my loved ones. Often this is followed by a meditative state filled with uncomfortable existential concerns, or feelings of closeness to whomever I am watching the movie with. And then ultimately it passes as I am drawn back into the world and story of the movie or play that I've been watching. When it's over I usually have forgotten that it happened at all.

This happens no matter where I am, whether I love the movie or hate it, whether I'm alone or with a whole group of friends. And it happens every time. It isn't bad, but it is intense and haunting, and it's gotten to the point that I have started limiting the amount of movies I watch, in favor of more interactive pasttimes. However, this never seems to happen to me when I am reading books, for some reason.

I rarely drink or ingest anything that is usually associated with these philosophical revelations. I first noticed this happening about five years ago. Does anyone else experience this, and is there a name for it?

Life after unwanted celebrity status?

kidsleepy — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:35:04 -0800

A friend of mine unknowingly agreed to be in the Borat movie. Of course, Borat made him look like a complete ass. How can I help convince him it's not the end of the world? Last year, a guy came to my town claiming to be filming a documentary for Kazakhstan. He recruited my friend John to be in it. John signed the papers and everything- that's not the issue. However, the producers got John really drunk and he said some things he really regrets that made it to the final cut. John's terrified that everyone's going to see the movie and think he's an awful human being (which he's not). He's very distraught. He feels like he's disgraced his family, he wants to drop out of school, and feels like his life is ruined. How can I help him?

Final scene of

tabulem — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 17:51:27 -0800

In the final scene of the novel "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick.... is the fictional writer Abendsen actually living in OUR world?

Just finished this great book, and was wondering if others puzzled over the final scene as I did...

My reading is that Hawthorne Abendsen (author of "The Grasshopper lies heavy") and his wife Caroline are actually living in OUR world. Juliana Frink slips into their world (i.e. our world) from the fantasy world of the novel, in the same way that Mr. Tagomi slips into the real world and sees the Embarcadero Freeway earlier in the novel. In the real world, "The Grasshopper lies heavy" would be a novel about Germany and Japan winning the war, not losing it.

Evidence for this...

(1) [Juliana said:] "The Gestapo file said you're attracted to women like me."
Abendsen, with only the slightest change of expression, said, "There hasn't been a Gestapo since 1947."
"The SD, then, or whatever it is."
"Would you explain?" Caroline said in a brisk voice.

I take this passage to reflect the Abendsen's worldview in which the Gestapo ceased to exist during the Nuremberg trials, in approximately that year. If he was in the world of the novel, he would probably accept Gestapo as an alternative term for SD.

(2) "You could at least carry a weapon," his wife said. "I know someday someone you invite in and converse with will shoot you down, some Nazi expert paying you back;" ...

For her to be expecting a Nazi expert implies he has written a book where the Germans win and are shown to be barbarians (like "The Man in the High Castle"). If he had written a book where the Germans lose, they would be fearing assassination by the Reich, not by some "Nazi expert".

(3) Juliana said, "I wonder why the oracle would write a novel. Did you ever think of asking it that? And why one about the Germans and the Japanese losing the war? Why that particular story and no other one? What is there it can't tell us directly, like it always has before? This must be different, don't you think?"
Neither Hawthorne nor Caroline said anything.

My interpretation is that they don't say anything because they are shocked that she thinks the book has the Axis losing. In his world, his book has the Axis winning.

(4) Raising his head, Hawthorne scrutinized her. He had now an almost savage expression. "It means, does it, that my book is true?"
"Yes," she said.
With anger he said, "Germany and Japan lost the war?"
"Yes."

I read it that he's angry because he realizes that she has slipped in from the "alternate reality" (which is "true") where the Axis wins. ("This girl is a daemon" he says a few paragraphs down...) So he has just found out that his alternative reality novel where the Axis wins is the real reality. That's why he's angry.

Did anyone else read it like this?

super bowl!!!

fumbducker — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:11:39 -0800

big brother is frickin weird. my wife just started watching it. all the dramedy is just corny, but i am mystified about a few things: why does that corny blond guy call himself chilltown; and why did that guy that got evicted yell "super bowl" when he left, and then the corny blond guy also yelled it when he won the physical challenge or whatever they call it? yes i am wasting your time and my time with this..

How do you get a show on TV?

ozomatli — Tue, 23 May 2006 07:20:30 -0800

Help me figure out the best way to get my "can't-miss" realty show off the ground. A freind and I have come up with what we believe to be a sure fire media hit. I won't go into the specifics for obvious reasons, but our show is a sort of a sports reality thing. How should we first go about protecting our idea before presenting it and more importantly how does one approach the needed powers-that-be? I can offer more specifics of the show if asked, but up to a point. (It's not that I don't trust you....)

Factoring 'Time' into Astronomic Observations

0bvious — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 23:17:01 -0800

AskMeFi Physics folk: How do astronomers account for the temporal distinctiveness of their galactic subjects in their calculations? I understand that observations of the red shift of quasars delinates a speed increase in the expansion of the universe - yet my brain explodes when I try to understand how the enormous expanse of time is factored into these models. The hardest concepts for me to conceive are ones that factor the enormous AGE of the universe into their workings. I understand that by observing quasar red shift and comparing it to the shift of 'nearby' galaxies astronomers have determined that universe expansion is actually increasing. Surely though the fact that these quasar entities exist 'back in time' alters the nature of the data streaming from them? The photons of light astronomers gather in their observations have not just travelled great distances of space, but also great expanses of time, yet when the light was first emitted from these 'distant' objects their distinction in space was not as great as it is now (i.e. when the universe was smaller) a weird conflict indeed... This is where I reach the event horizon of my understanding.

Why doesn't the time aspect completely alter the nature of evidence gathered? Working with data that comes from billions of years hence must make calculations incredibly obscure.

In what ways is this temporality a help and a hinderance? How are the factors of time, space and motion / change plotted to form the model?

Why consciousness??

0bvious — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 07:43:06 -0800

Why did consciousness evolve? I was inspired by this quote of Kurt Vonnegut's:

"I was taught that the human brain was the crowning glory of evolution so far, but I think it’s a very poor scheme for survival."

I think Vonnegut's comment extends to the realm of consciousness in general. Why did evolution happen to move in the direction of conscious reflexion when there are surely simpler, more efficicent ways to aid an organism's survival?

Expansive answers more than welcome...

2nd person perspective narratives

0bvious — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 21:10:39 -0800

Fiction usually comes in two flavours: 1st person narrative or 3rd person description. What short stories or novels have been written in 2nd person perspective (i.e. from the reader's viewpoint)? Also, are there any movies shot entirely from this angle?