Dissecting Reality through Philosophy

Warning: Reconsider reading if you are going through an existential crisis.

Have you ever wondered about the limitations of human perception? The human eye, though small, is a marvel of complexity. Scientifically, it's known that the human eye can perceive only about 0.0035% of the electromagnetic spectrum—the visible spectrum, which encompasses the colors of the rainbow, but beyond this range lies a multitude of wavelengths, such as infrared, x-rays, and ultraviolet, which the human eye is incapable of detecting. Though, advancements in technology enable us to explore and detect these invisible spectra.

This raises an intriguing question: What else lies beyond the scope of human vision? Better yet, how can we confidently claim to know reality when science demonstrates the existence of matter and energy that sidestep the human eye? Contemplating these limitations in our evolutionary development really makes one question our existential position in the universe. Somebody said 'Most are unaware that seeing is largely a creative act, a process that presents us with a version of reality rather than an accurate reproduction.' Show me a greater truth. (But then again 'truth' is subjective)

Let's momentarily set aside the inquiry into visual limitations and turn our attention to the broader spectrum of sensory limitations. We are aware that certain sound frequencies, whether exceptionally high or low, escape the detection range of the human ear. Consider the classic example of a dog whistle. Fascinating tidbit: when trees are cut down, they emit a 'scream' that escapes our auditory perception(or so I hear. Actually this might not be true but it's quite an interesting notion that deserves recognition so I'll just leave it here).

This prompts us to revisit the ever-persistent question: What else is transpiring in our immediate surroundings right at this moment that we are not aware of simply due to the limitations in our evolutionary capabilities? I find this both scary and intriguing to contemplate. So maybe the world isn't just made up of blues and greens and browns. Maybe the trees aren't merely green, maybe the sky isn't just blue, or maybe even a car painted red isn't solely red. Consider the extraordinary abilities of certain birds with tetrachromacy. They can perceive a broader spectrum of colors compared to humans, showcasing hues that are invisible to our eyes. So, what else is genuinely real, but we dismiss it simply because we are unequipped to perceive it? Seeing is believing, right? Perhaps not anymore.

This leads me to a profound realization – what we perceive or comprehend does not warrant to be labelled 'reality'. Our sensory limitations act as a veil, concealing aspects of existence that exist beyond our grasp, urging us to reconsider the grand nature of reality itself.

Returning to the intricacies of the eye, ever wondered about the time it takes for your brain to interpret something that your eye has seen? This is a recurring thought of mine that centers around the duration it takes for the eye to detect an image, transmit signals to the brain for interpretation, and the subsequent processing time within the brain. Let's simplify this with an everyday scenario: imagine watching a live baseball game. When a batter hits a fast pitch, there is a slight delay between the visual perception of the hit and the brain's complete processing of that information. The time taken by your brain to process and interpret whatever visual stimuli is sent to it by the eye is a critical factor that suggests the presence of some kind of delay, a perceptible lag.

So consider this: by the time my brain completes the interpretation and registers the hit, in reality, the ball might have already traveled a short distance from the bat. The milliseconds incurred during the neural processing form a fascinating temporal gap, subtly emphasizing the intricate connection between our perception, time, and cognition. This captures the concept of neural processing delay in human perception by describing the delay between seeing something and your brain understanding it.

To dumb it down (mostly for my own sake just in case I read this later with no idea of what I was talking about), picture watching a live baseball game. The time your brain takes to grasp the hit implies that, in reality, the ball has already moved a bit(in that time your brain hasn't yet fully interpreted what your eyes have seen). There's a short delay between seeing and understanding—our perception of events isn't instant; there's a small time gap, a temporal delay!

In my opinion, reality is that nobody really knows what reality is. But hey, what do I know, I'm just a Software developer.

These are some of the thoughts that run through my mind more often than not. So the next time you ask me 'What are you thinking about?' and I reply with a casual 'Oh, nothing', these are the 'nothings' I'm thinking about.

I think I might call this series 'Late Night thoughts on Metaphysics'.