Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with reality

Help me articulate the concept of how unfamiliarity and familiarity alter perception.

DeltaForce — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:11:02 -0800

Help me articulate the concept of how unfamiliarity and familiarity alter perception. I remember when I was about six years old, sitting in a coffee shop in the town where I grew up, and thinking that it looked different from the way it looked the first time I went there. The thing is, at that moment I was able to alter my perception and look at it through new eyes; see it as if I had never seen it before. I remember my surroundings almost physically changing, spatially and conceptually.

I try to do that now, and it's much more difficult. This is something I've always thought about, and had trouble articulating, and I wonder if there is some kind of theory or philosophy of one's visual and conceptual perception of people, places, things, and even ideas being altered by one's level of familiarity, and more so, of the fact that one can't (or maybe one can, sometimes, or some people can) change one's perception from the familiar to unfamiliar.

I would appreciate any links, or books, or ideas, or people that might have anything to do with this.

Thanks!

Who will send me TV listings like the ones in TV Guide?

reenum — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:42:50 -0800

I want an e-mail or RSS update that tells me all the shows I want to watch that day and give me a brief synopsis of said episode. Is there anything like this out there? Back in the late 1990's, I had an Excite account. At the time, I could select my favorite shows, and on the My Excite page, I could see a short synopsis for that night's episode. They had this for reruns too, so I could figure which reruns I wanted to watch. Ditto for talk shows.

I have this feature on DISH Network, but I want it in my inbox for easier processing.

I'm currently subscribed to crapimissedit, which e-mails my inbox whenever a new show is on for one of my favorites. It does half, but not the whole job. I like that the site notifies me when a new show is on, but I'm not happy that I can't get a synopsis or info on repeats.

I also have an account with Zap2it.com, but find it too unwieldy, plus no e-mail or RSS updates.

Are there any websites where I can have an RSS update or e-mail sent to me that lists my favorite shows that day and gives a brief synopsis of them?

How to write a compelling pitch for a reality show?

Elle Vator — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:38:37 -0800

Dear Hivemind: Where can I find examples of treatments for Reality TV shows? I have experience writing treatments for film, so I'm already on the right track in terms of describing character or writing synopses... but I'm a bit at a loss as to what points must be hit, in what proportion and in what sequence in a Reality TV Treatment. I've worked in reality before and I'm fascinated by the genre, so I know what goes into a show similar to this. That said, I also know that I've never written a treatment for this format and I could really use some guidance.

Here's how I'm picturing it:
-logline
-expansion on logline (short paragraph)
-nuts and bolts stuff (length of season, length of episode, basic production premise, audience/market brief... too much? not enough?)
-background of the concept (establishing main characters and reasons why the show is being made and will be awesome)
-more detailed breakdown (consisting of...?)
-> season synopsis
-> episode breakdown
-> overall result of the first season and possibilities for subsequent seasons
-team bios
...all about ten pages of well-spaced text (with the first page created as a stand-alone one-sheet) before we add pictures.

I know I'm on the right track, kinda/sorta... but my uncertainty is having a negative effect on my creative process. Me? I'm a writer who's been given a great opportunity and a fascinating concept which I've been consulting on for a while. I'd rather not go boldly in the wrong direction on this, if you know what I mean! I think what I need is to see is some sample documents and/or get pointed to a book or article that breaks it down how the document is formatted in a general way.

Tips? Answers? Illumination of any sort? I'd really appreciate it. :)

I'm real.

acidic — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:55:52 -0800

What is the best way to confirm your own reality, as much as logically possible? This is not so much a psychological/emotional question as a practical/mechanical one. Let's say you're in a normal house with items such as computer, camera, kitchen, whatever. One condition: You cannot communicate instantaneously with any other people. This condition is mostly directed toward friends and acquaintances, rather than random people on the street.

For example, one thing I thought of was videotaping yourself walking around and speaking. Can this be improved, or what are some other ways?

What's the name of this early reality show about stranded people trying to get back to the US?

Wild_Eep — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:31:55 -0800

Help me recall this proto-Amazing Race game show... I'm looking for the name of an early reality-type team-based show. I think was on American network television possibly in the 1999 through 2002 time-frame.

I specifically remember that people were blindfolded and dropped off by a helicopter in the middle of nowhere in Asia, possibly in Mongolia.

Teams were trying to make it back to the US, possibly having to find clues on the way.

Before the series named "Lost" with Jack, Sawyer, and Hurley, I thought this game show was also called 'Lost'.

Peter Block books and more?

zeek321 — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:20:07 -0800

First world problems, analysis paralysis, and personal actualization: Book's similar to Peter Block's The Answer to How Is Yes? I haven't even read this book, actually. But, I probably will. Clarification inside. This is really a two part question. The first question is, do any of Block's more recent books articulate the ideas presented in Answer with more maturity and clarity? (I know all of his books revolve around similar themes.) Second, are there books by other authors that touch on these themes in similar ways?

Here's what led me to this book in the first place: On a personal level, I focus way too much on "how" for the things that matter most to me.

Generally speaking, for most areas of my life, I am neither a procrastinator nor a perfectionist. Most things in life are pass-fail, and I generally "pass" and don't look back. I think I use GTD pretty effectively--it stays in the background, and I spend very little time on it each week.

But when it comes to those most stirring visions, values, and dreams, I'll read twenty books on a subject, learn all sorts of things, but still feel like I'm spinning my wheels. It seems like I need a big, grandiose plan to motivate myself into some semblance of action, but then I waste all my energy by reading twenty books because I'm thinking, I don't know how to make this a reality. Or, If I start moving on this, I'll lose my vision and it'll all slip away. Or, I can't fully articulate this yet. I need to learn more. Rather than enjoying the experience of drawing, for example, I have to pick out and read the best book on learning to draw that there is. So maybe I didn't really want to learn how to draw in the first place? And yet, clearly I feel like something's missing. (Drawing is just an example, even though I did go through that phase. If someone put a gun to my head, I'd go with writing, speaking, and teaching.)

I act intuitively on all sorts of things, but I still succumb to analysis paralysis, over analyzing, and over researching on wants and desires that I can't articulate or won't allow myself to articulate.

Is another book the answer? I would vote, no... :) But clearly, "just do it," isn't going to work, because it would have already. I've skimmed through a bunch of creativity books like Twyla Tharp's, Steven Pressfield's, and several more.

Part of the problem, I think, is a tension between personal actualization and service, and an unflinching awareness of a finite lifespan. I realize these are good problems to have. Anyway, help?

Name that bizarre late 80s medical reality show.

iamisaid — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:14:21 -0800

ObscureTVFilter: Help me remember the name of this strange medical reality TV show from my childhood. It aired on American television either in the late 1980s or early 90s, and followed clinic patients into an exam room to record their interactions with the doctor and his ultimate diagnosis. As I recall, the doctor exams were long individual segments, in which the doctor would go over the patient's history, give them an examination, and then make a diagnosis and prescribe a treatment before the commercial. After the commercial, there was a new patient, and possibly a different doctor.

The whole thing was rather low-budget and had a kind of an over-dramatic tone. I recall thinking the entire concept was a huge violation of doctor-patient confidentiality, and then thinking it rather strange that someone would allow themselves to be filmed speaking with their doctor about their medical conditions.

Just to be clear, these were real patients and real doctors. Also, I can't be certain but I believe the show came on one of the UHF channels, possibly late at night. I'm guessing it was syndicated. In some ways it was a little bit like The People's Court, but for medicine.

Any idea what this was? If you don't know the name, do you recall having seen something like this so I know I didn't dream it up?

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?