Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

https://youtu.be/xdGgVYIqvrQ

INTRO (Lisa Feldman Barrett): Our perception of reality is not an exact representation of the objective truth but rather a combination of sensory inputs and the brain’s interpretation of these signals. This interpretation is influenced by past experiences and is often predictive, with the brain creating categories of similar instances to anticipate future events.

The brain’s categorization process extends beyond physical characteristics to include abstract, functional features. This ability allows humans to create “social reality,” where we collectively assign functions or meanings to objects or concepts that don’t inherently possess them, such as the value of money or the concept of borders and citizenship.

The brain’s capacity for imagination, drawing from past experiences to create something entirely new, is a double-edged sword. While it allows for creativity and innovation, it can also lead to difficulties in staying present...

How your brain creates reality

It’s all well and good until "social reality" starts going to hell in a handbasket.

My brain never completely bought into the social reality of little green pieces of paper, 2 cars in a garage and 2.5 kids living in the suburbs, and working till you are 70 with nothing to show for. It had it's own rebel streak which largely derived from an anomalous sexuality that didn't fit the narrative it was told to conform to. It took longer to find its own narrative of how to be gay in a hetero world, but with the help of friends and movies and Nieztsche and stories about being different I finally found my place in my own world. The brain sometimes has to creatively output its own world when it finds itself a misfit in the one it was born into.