Where Is Reality?

There is a huge fight going on about where reality is, and no one realizes it. Except me. And tons of other people.

Option 1: Reality is at the bottom

Many people think only the smallest things are really real. If they’re physicists, they’re particle physicists. If they’re biologists, they’re molecular biologists. They think everything else — human actions, human bodies, entire planets — is just a manifestation of how very, very small things behave and interact. The lower you go, the realer you get.

Theme Song

Option 2: Reality is at the top

Many people think only very large things are really real. If they’re physicists, they’re astrophysicists. If they’re biologists, they sociobiologists. They think everything else is just a part (or manifestation) of a how much larger wholes behave and develop. The higher you go, the realer you get.

Theme Song

Option 3: Reality is in the middle

A brave few, like yours truly, think reality is in the middle. Things roughly our size — the things that look real to us — generally are real. Both “higher” and “lower” things are just manifestations of how things roughly our size behave, interact, and develop. The more true to everyday life you stay, the realer you are.

Theme Song

But who’s right? We’ll have to talk about that as this series of posts continues.