A World

How can you know that others experience reality in the same way that you do? We usually assume that there is an objective reality that everyone lives in, but is this actually the case? Perhaps my understanding of reality differs wildly from yours. This could range from nonessential differences such as the color of the sky (and the meaning of the word "blue") to more important ones, such as the existence of the state of Israel. Of course, as I noted about the color "blue", any difference would entail numerous subsidiary changes as well, especially to the meaning of language, but also to the meaning of sights, sounds and other sensory input which would by necessity mean one thing to me, and another to you. Taken to extremes, this could in theory mean that you are in fact locked up in a nuthouse while "experiencing" the world in the solitude of your own mind. However, we will make the assumption that this is not the case.

In fact, reality, i.e. the world we live in, is malleable, in specific ways. While there are certain objective facts such as "2+2=4", and "Barack Obama flubbed the presidential oath," there are numerous little details that shape the flavor of experiential reality which are open to interpretation. This includes statements like "the world is bright and sunny today" as opposed to "the glaring sun is beating down upon the earth." These two statements describe an identical reality, but the experience of the people who make these statements (which are framed as objective facts) is strikingly different.

A given situation can be framed in different ways because of a technicality in the way we receive input about the world - the brain filters out "irrelevant" stimuli. In a given situation, we do not perceive all that is available to our senses. For instance, what is the brand of your computer monitor? You definitely have seen it - it is only a few inches from your point of focus - but it just didn't register in your mind. In a similar way, everyone experiences different aspects of a given situation. For example, in a social situation some people might tend to focus more on people's facial expressions, while others might pay more attention to body language or perhaps the arrangement of people's positions in a room. There is a whole spectrum of perception, though, because we perceive details at varying levels of consciousness. This ranges from what we are actively thinking about at a given moment to those things that affect us in minute ways without our knowledge. Each of these various dimensions of perception makes a given person's experience of the world unique.

According to the Talmud, each person represents an entire world. Given the above, we can see how true this is. Each person defines a world through their own perception and individuality. The miracle of our mutual existence in the same world means that we can be influenced by others' worldviews and that we can influence others. The worlds in which each of us live can, and do, change day by day. Make your world a good one.