Constructing Reality

Memories

Memories are reconstructive, not reproductive. Each time a memory is recalled, it is reshaped by our current mental state, biases, and environment. Unlike a video recording, memory is influenced by personal bias, suggestions by others, and emotional states. Psychological studies such as Elizabeth Loftus' murder scene experiment have demonstrated that people can recall completely false details with high confidence when guided by leading questions. This has profound implications for areas such as the justice system, where memory is immensely important for witness testimonials.


    Gaslighting

    Gaslighting is a psychological manipulation technique where repeated misinformation leads individuals to question their own memory and perception, often leading to loss of confidence or emotional dependence.

    The Mandela Effect

    The Mandela Effect refers to the phenomenon where large groups of people recall an event or detail incorrectly. Named after widespread false memories of Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, the effect highlights the collective distortion of memory. It is not always due to social reinforcement, as people from different backgrounds can recall identical false memories.


    The Mandela effect can take place due to several reasons:

    • Confabulation: Filling in memory gaps with plausible but inaccurate details. This is also known as interpolation
    • Pattern Recognition: The brain prefers familiar patterns and symbols, which can lead to distortions. Hence, if you see a monkey, you will automatically assume it has a tail (as seen with the famous Curious George Mandela Effect)
    • Misinformation Effect: Repeated exposure to incorrect information after an event alters the original memory.

    Constructive vs. Destructive Power of Memory

    The ability to change and edit memories can both help and harm us. On the positive side, therapeutic memory alteration, such as in cognitive behavioral therapy, can help individuals reframe traumatic experiences, reducing symptoms of PTSD and anxiety. On the negative side, memory decay and distortion can result in wrongful convictions when courts rely heavily on eyewitness testimony. As memories degrade, people can move from "I think this happened" to "this did happen," reinforcing false beliefs.

Perceptual Limitation

    Our senses only perceive a narrow slice of reality. For example, humans see a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear within a limited frequency range. The brain, unable to process all incoming data, uses heuristics (mental shortcuts) to simplify information. These shortcuts can introduce errors, as shown in visual illusions and perceptual biases. As a result, we don't perceive the world directly; we perceive a brain-constructed model based on filtered sensory input. Thus, reality is shaped by the neurological boundaries of perception.

Donald Hoffman's Interface Theory

Hoffman argues that perception is like a computer interface. The icons on a screen are not accurate representations of the computer's internal mechanisms but are simplified tools for interaction. Likewise, what we perceive (colors, sounds, objects) is a simplified version of reality, designed by evolution not to reflect the truth but to enhance survival. This theory suggests that ontological reality (the reality of things as they are) may be permanently inaccessible to us. What we "know" may only ever be metaphorical representations useful for our species' survival.


Reluctance to Accept Ideas

Humans are very resistant to new ideas, especially when they are emotionally and socially involved in an idea. As a result, we are often not open to new ideas and perspectives, hindering us from reaching a more objective reality. This reluctance can occur from many factors:


  • Confirmation Bias: Humans often seek information that supports their pre-existing views and disregard information that challenges these views.
  • Pride: Humans are very arrogant creatures, and hence they are often too prideful to admit that conflicting information may be more accurate than their beliefs.
  • Comfort: Humans feel a lot of discomfort if they do not have knowledge of something. Hence, in topics like afterlife, certain ideas like heaven/hell provide humans with a sense of comfort instead of facing the frightening possibility of an absolute end.
  • Echo Chambers: certain social environments, including social media, can also reinforce one's worldview by echoing it back, rather than promoting new ideas.
  • Mental laziness: Humans often resort to intuitive judgments instead of thinking critically.

To be open-minded knowers, it is important to practice epistemic humility (acknowledging the possibility of error) and actively seeking information that contradicts our perspectives.