On the Basis of Reality

[BehindTheMask]

In order to fully understand reality, there is a method upon examining reality in which I want to discuss. This method is the "bottom up" method. In which I mean to say that the method in which we "build" reality starts from the most basic parts and each step builds up from the next.

The "bottom up" method is to start at the very basic parts of matter, namely quarks and then up to protons and electrons. These "lego pieces of reality" are responsible for all matter in the universe. While this is a bit of a generalization, it is still on point in which I want to say. So, we take these basic blocks and attach them to each other, and so we increase the "parts" of reality and so on. So now, as we start to increase our scope of reality, that is to say, how close we are from ourselves we are looking into reality, we now get to atoms. We have around 100 unique atoms on earth, and these atoms are basically the rulers of our existence. How they do this is an explanation that requires physics, and although it is complicated, I will discuss the basics.

IF you were to take any introductory physics class, you will be introduced to the three Newtonian Laws. These laws are

1) An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

2) Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).

3) For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action.

Now that we have discussed the simple physics, we now have another crucial puzzle piece to jigsaw of reality.

As you can see, we now have the basic building blocks of reality, and we can now put matter into motion. Thus, it should be more obvious how reality is what it is. So we can see that matter moves and given the right conditions collides with other matter. This is, in a GROSS simplification, how the universe was made. Hydrogen Particles, in extraordinary conditions, collided into one another, and created different types of matter.

"What does this have to do with anything?" you might ask. Well, if its not obvious, you should at least be able to see the basic outline. Our bodies are made up of these atoms and molecules. While they are complex sequences of organic molecules, amino acids, lipids, and so on and so forth, we are just that. We are just the chemicals in our bodies...well, what we consider our bodies. This will be clearer in my next few notes. Even though we are just these molecules, there is still something miraculous about our existence...which is our consciousness.

This idea...that we have a point of reference...its something magical. This is curious, because it answers a few questions, but it also raises even more questions. It is a valuable tool, as it gives us a vantage point on which we call reality. Our "body" is just a representation of what reality truly is. We "see" reality from our eyes, we "hear" reality from our ears, and so on and so forth. Our mind processes our sensory information and it gets decoded from what is sensed into something that we can understand. Therefore, we are our own interpreters of reality. So, reality is our perception...but even this is not fully correct.

Part of human experience is to make relationships. IN one sense, Aristotle was right. Humans, in a limited way, are social creatures. We do have friendship, familial ties, and comradeship...so lets take a look at a group of people. Person A is friends with person B, is a lover to C, a brother to D and a comrade to E. However, A only sees that B,C, D, and E, are "his" friend/brother/lover/comrade. He doesn't necessarily understand that each person has their own connections to other people. Now, more than ever, we live in a hyper-inflated, self-centered world.

[img]http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/196598_1939867214167_1167021111_32289570_3089014_n.jpg[/img]

As we can see, from the crudely drawn MS Paint drawing that the white bubble is oneself. The green bubble is Comradory and Love, while the blue is for friends, the yellow for family and the gray for the rest of "reality." Most people are only aware or considerate of the first bubble, themselves. They take other people to be the tools to make the ego happy. To increase the size of the white bubble, and make it bigger, to consume more. This is a mistake to think, because by only considering one part of the bubble, we are excluding so much more. We should see that the life is not something to be taken lightly. There is only a limited amount of time to live in your current body. We are so pre-occupied by the consumer society that we are not getting what they are forcing down our throats.

We are told to buy our way into happiness, that the more we have, the happier we are. This idea is not only incredibly stupid, but also completely foolish. While a commodious life is pleasant, it is very basic. While the pleasant life is distracting and can give us some happiness, it is not a fulfilling as having relationships with people. In fact, we are so distracted by these ideas that we cannot see through the emptiness that permeates life. We willingly give ourselves to chains and shackles of corporate slavery.

Spending time with comrades is infinitely more rewarding then getting laid, driving an expensive sports care, getting wasted and/or high, or making obscene amounts of money. A tactic of society is that we are told to collect friends and acquaintances so that we can use them as a means to an end(what I've laid out earlier in the paragraph). While there is an enjoyment to be had from friendship and work friends, it is not true as the same as true comradeship. Comradory, and metaphysical love are very similar, the main thing that separating the two is an indescribable connection. Therefore, these two connections should be pursued, as they are more rewarding, and non-fraudulent compared to friendship. Now we must discuss the idea of Emptiness.

Seeing through to the emptiness of things is as a worthwhile activity as spending time with comrades. To see the interconnectedness of people is euphoric. It really can displace you into the higher plane of existence. Seeing that nothing truly matters in the grand scheme of things is very spiritually uplifting to me. Who cares if you are single? If you are truly happy, you can see through these fleeting feelings and past the emptiness of them. You shouldn't care for the little, insignificant things, as tomorrow is another day. You can spend your time worrying, being depressed, expressing anger towards people, or you can utilize your time in a way that truly makes you happy.

Corporate slavery is evil, ans it takes away the idea of being happy with what you have and replaces it with these stupid and useless products that are like smoke and mirrors, disguising the lack of true happiness. We are filled up with false happiness by being the envy of others. But should we be envied by others? What makes us better than others? Having money isn't everything. Its a sign that you spent your time doing work so that you can distracted from lack of happiness. Finally, to show how stupid the consumer mentality is, let's continue our scaling up our reality.

Past the "I" and the relationships we create, are the communities of people. Communities are just large of groups of people. As we encompass more people in our scale, we see that our impact is greatly diminished. On a country-level, we can see how truly small we are. We only make up a small percentage of the GDP and everything else in the country. Now, take that small percentage and apply it to the Global Scale...do you think you matter at all? Even the President of the United States doesn't matter that much. He has certainly have an effect on the world but it doesn't matter on the global scale...On the planetary scale, even the POTUS is microscopic. Compared to the rest of the planets, Obama is microscopic...now keep scaling up reality. On a universal scale, we are truly nothing. We are about as significant as 1 is to 1x 10^999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999.

So then, why do care what we have and what we do? Don't be concerned with what other people tell you. Take into consideration what they say, but you are the ultimate authority. Personally, I used to be a corporate drone, a beast of envy and jealousy. I had a lot of things, and yet I still wanted more. I was a "cancerous" human. I was taking in everything, I was consuming everything I could. I was emptily happy, and yet, it was for nothing. I had met Comrade Static and I slowly began to realize all of this. I started writing my own life. I am the author of my own destiny now...you can be one too. Just start experience life rather than lusting for things. Don't let others convince you to what is important, because only you can decide for yourself.

[i]We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all.[/i]

[CrabHelmet]

TL;DR: I took half a high school physics class and maybe half a high school philosophy class, also the universe is big. Pay attention to me!

[Tourmaline]

[quote name='Crab Helmet' timestamp='1304392901' post='5185294']
TL;DR: I took half a high school physics class and maybe half a high school philosophy class, also the universe is big. Pay attention to me!
[/quote]

Satirical humor may also not be funny, at times.

[.Starrk]

[quote name='Crab Helmet' timestamp='1304392901' post='5185294']
TL;DR: I took half a high school physics class and maybe half a high school philosophy class, also the universe is big. Pay attention to me!
[/quote]

I sense a bit of trollin'. Good work.

[Sorrow.]

Cool explanation bro, can you tell it again?

But seriously, I don't see the point of creating a thread that explains reality [s] by simply copy and pasting all of this from Wiki and switching up a couple of words[/s].

[Darth Revan of the Sith]

Cool now my apparant "Cancerous" behaviour is explained by science...

[Ярополк Пономарёв]

[acronym=Adam Savage said this.']I reject your reality and substitute my own.[/acronym]

[Darth Revan of the Sith]

[quote name='Anger Level' timestamp='1304458904' post='5186461']
[acronym=Adam Savage said this.']I reject your reality and substitute my own.[/acronym]
[/quote]
I agree with the above statement...

[Infinitus]

[quote name='Crab Helmet' timestamp='1304392901' post='5185294']
TL;DR: I took half a high school physics class and maybe half a high school philosophy class, also the universe is big. Pay attention to me!
[/quote]

Your post is needlessly negative and satirical.

Moreover, everyone wants attention. You do, I do, everyone in the entirety of existence wants attention constantly. When we try to tell someone something, when we do something, anything involving any sort of interaction with other people directly or indirectly results in getting attention.

I'm assuming you mean that the entire post was completely thrown together out of nothing at all, took no effort to make, and was a sloppy attempt to stroke the OP's ego. Are you right? Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. However, you have no solid evidence that the OP's intentions are to do nothing but stroke his/her ego. People want to share things. People naturally want to share and distribute information. We all want to share our everything from our favorite hobbies to our idealogies and philosophies. Humans are meant to work as a unit to distribute any and all information and communicate. That being said, you are clearly basing the intentions of the OP on the quality of the post in relation to its presentation, claiming that it is low quality yet dressed up in fancy language. None of these are relevant to one's intentions whatsoever.

Will this post win any amazing awards? No, considering what forum the OP decided to post this on. However, it is not an excuse to make assumptions based on nothing at all, claiming that someone is simply an egotistical twat.

[AsianGuy1137]

Interesting, but maybe a bit too much considering that this is a forum dedicated purely to aesthetic creations for a children's card game. I'm studying Physics right now and might actually major in it depending on how things go, and I was hoping of divulging into a semi-serious discussion over the discourses in the four fundamental theories. Then this thread turned out to be more of a self-actualization/reflective philosophical discussion and my hopes were crushed. However, that doesn't mean we can't start mixing things together. Science, in all its glorious and pretentious self-righteousness has proclaimed that the grand unifying theory can be derived from the explicit defining of any physical phenomenon because they ultimately represent the seemingly random interaction between particles. In other words, I'm going to approach this from a more scientific standpoint.

First of all, the most important consideration in the discussion is the subject of the discussion which I presume to be about how relationships should take precedence to self-centered materialism and base pleasures. If you're going to justify your example by combining philosophy and science, then the final rationale should take into account arguments from both elements. Particles themselves have no detectable consciousness, so to speak, so we must ask ourselves, how exactly does the interaction between particles create this self-indulging sentience that we seem to possess? Complex emotions seem to be the governing principle of our humanity, as you put it, and they lead to both

A ) Intrapersonal Gratification - the seeking of self-centered stimulation

B ) Interpersonal Gratification - the seeking of nonself-centered stimulation

I propose that the two are in fact, one and the same. Both can be considered as different manifestations of a phenomenon that underlies the reason they both exist in the first place - to achieve some state of pleasure. Your argument relies on the fact that one seeks pleasure for the sake of more material and tangible stimuli while the other derives pleasure from the emotion of bonding and a sense of community or belonging. Although they both achieve so through a different context, they both ultimately seek to achieve the aforementioned goal.

You might argue that the latter is based on a more meaningful experience, but then I would respond by asking you to qualify what constitutes meaningful experiences at all. Biology's first principle is that all life exists to prolong itself in some way, but why is that? The ultimate underlying force behind all actions constitutes the meaning of life; yet the reason for why the meaning of life is so intrinsicly precious is a disparity with no scientific or philosophical explanation that I find valid as of yet. After all, as life itself exists because of the random interaction of particles, we should attribute its causes and reasons for existence based on the phenomenon.

This is where the physics comes in. Aside from classic Newtonian physics, there are the much more fundamental laws of thermodynamics which is used as a measure of the interaction between particles which constitutes all existence as you have stated in your thesis. The second law of thermodynamics states that the equilibrium of universal entropy is the most favored state upon which all possible interactions and therefore any deterministic system ultimately leads to. In the context of the discussion, this means that every single action we make must ultimately contribute to a higher state of disorder in the universe. That would make this the ultimate governing force behind all our actions which are derived from the interactions of particles as you've asserted.

In relation to my original assertion, the two forms of gratification are therefore not distinctive entities for which one state is more favored; they exist as different manifestations of the same principle. The need for belonging, for interconnectedness, that we possess is therefore a reflection of a higher state of universal entropy and one is not inherently more valuable than the other. Hope you don't take this the wrong way, I just wanted to incite some discussion.

[Super Half Vamp Riku]

Do we really have to go this indepth with these kinds of threads -___-

I mean the median age of ycm goers is probably at or arounds 13-15.COMON!

[AsianGuy1137]

[quote]Do we really have to go this indepth with these kinds of threads -___-

I mean the median age of ycm goers is probably at or arounds 13-15.COMON! [/quote]

Eh, I'm interested in these kind of threads and last time I checked, so long as someone is interested and no one gets flammed, no harm's done.

[DARKPLANT RISING]

Hey everyone, actually everything in the universe is made from the yellow blobs floating around Worm King's vagina.

[Grunt Issun]

[quote name='Anger Level' timestamp='1304458904' post='5186461']
[acronym=Adam Savage said this.']I reject your reality and substitute my own.[/acronym]
[/quote]
I reject your rejection and substitute reality!

[AsianGuy1137]

Well seeing as no one's really taking this thread seriously, maybe the author should request moving it into the debates subforum?

Also Wang Fire, CXX means 120, LXX means 70.

[Mehmani]

tl;dr Long-winded yet reasonably well-written critique of Capitalism and it's long term social effect on society.

[~/Coolio Prime\~]

[quote name='Infinitus' timestamp='1304640173' post='5190395']
Moreover, everyone wants attention. You do, I do, everyone in the entirety of existence wants attention constantly. When we try to tell someone something, when we do something, anything involving any sort of interaction with other people directly or indirectly results in getting attention.
[/quote]
Falsus. Many people like to avoid attention.

[AsianGuy1137]

Attention in this case might better be interpreted as wanting a sense of belonging, of community. Many people avoid attention for the sake of not being looked down upon or ignored/hurt in some way, but we're not inherently prone to avoid everything. Curiosity is an innate human characteristic we all share, and exploring the world as well as trying to get a sense of how you fit into it is something everyone has strived for.

[Infinitus]

[quote name='Lance Corporal Atlas' timestamp='1304824624' post='5195049']
Falsus. Many people like to avoid attention.
[/quote]

My fault. Should've said majority, since the majority of people like/want to communicate with others. Which requires someone else's attention. Sometimes even socially shy people would love to have attention. I would fall under that category.

@AsianGuy:

Very true. Though in some form, a large majority of people(so I've found) want someone who is like them to communicate and interact with. I am normally a very shy person, partiallly because I cannot relate to hardly any of my peers. I constantly wish I had someone who is similar to me to interact with, and I have all my life. Of course, this is only me, and I may not be an accurate representation.

[~/Coolio Prime\~]

[quote name='Infinitus' timestamp='1304890152' post='5197017']
My fault. Should've said majority, since the majority of people like/want to communicate with others. Which requires someone else's attention. Sometimes even socially shy people would love to have attention. I would fall under that category.
[/quote]
The amount of people that want more attention to those that want less is about 50/50. You can't live entirely alone or entirely with others, but we have pre-set conditions on how much we can take. Introverts prefer the internal whereas extroverts prefer the external, though both of the preferences also want the other depending circumstance. You'd be an introverted extrovert probably.