Reality can be disappointing. Self-help books and motivational speakers tell us the answer is to set ambitious goals and reach for the stars. When the results don’t meet our expectations, disappointment soon follows. There are many ways of dealing with this.
In the 60’s, one answer was to give up on reality completely and settle instead for a good fantasy. For some, pharmaceuticals were involved. Others sought to question the very nature of reality, suggesting that even time itself is not what we think. One neuroscientist proposed that our brains are merely receivers, and the consciousness we believe originates within is transmitted from somewhere else. Perhaps The Matrix was more science than fiction, and the true nature of our reality is under external control. Of late, there is a burgeoning movement to augment reality, making it digitally better than it really is.
We have consumed a lot of energy throughout history trying to understand and improve on reality, mostly to no avail. Perhaps we have been wasting our time. What if all those efforts failed because there is no reality after all? There are some smart people who believe this may be true.
