"Reality" is constructed by your brain

"Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we think. What we think depends on what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality."

David Bohm (1917-1992), theoretical physicist who contributed to the discourse of quantum theory, neuropsychology and the philosophy of mind

Our perceptions of reality are not direct representations of the external world. Our brains interpret sensory signals - vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell - and make best guesses about reality. We are not a camera. We are not a video recorder. Our realities are brain-based and truth is not nearly as clear-cut as we assume. Most of the time we are pretty good at constructing a story of reality, but sometimes our perceptions are distorted by our expectations and sometimes our brains fill in the gaps by using past experiences.

Visual illusions are fractures in reality. They are the result of differences between what we perceive or expect to see and the actual image seen by the eye. They are endlessly interesting studies into how our brains work and how we construct our reality.

Take a tour through a fascinating story of visual illusions and learn why understanding how they work also gives us clues into who we are.

“Reality is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters.

by Brain Resnick, June 22, 2020