Illusions

About the blog

   It would be great to say we live in a world with no illusions.  If it was then everything would exist exactly as it first appeared.    We would always have some comfort in knowing our perceptions were an exact match to what's around us.

   Our minds just don't work that way.

   Each of our senses (the usual 5) are based on something being perceived relative to itself.

   That probably sounds backwards.

    Let me phrase that another way:

• We perceive sound as closer or farther, as louder or softer.
• We perceive sight as closer or farther, as clearer or blurrier, as one color to another.
• We perceive smell as stronger or fainter, as odorous or perfume like.
• We perceive taste as more or less salty, flavorful, or similar to other flavors.
• We perceive touch as being warmer or colder, as smoother or rougher.

   They're all relative perceptions.

   We can easily look at 2 items and say one is closer to us than the other.  But try being accurate about the distance to either in millimeters.

   Because of that our senses never need to be calibrated.

   That features is continuous and built in.

   The drawback is individual perception determines how we understand and interpret everything we experience.  And perception is always open to illusion.

   That doesn't mean illusions are helpful or necessary though.  That couldn't be more backwards.

   Dealing with illusions means putting in effort to identify and correct them before they have a chance to become part of who we are.

   It doesn't matter whether they exist at home, work, or something completely recreational.

   Like gambling and Slots.