The Grand Illusion

This is an Opinion Piece

The Grand Illusion

Do we live in a grand illusion?
This is a question I have thought about a lot during my life. Are we really here inhabiting these bodies, going about our daily lives or is it just an illusion? If this is all just an illusion what is the purpose for it?

Source

There have been a lot of theories put forth about this subject.
Are we living in a computer simulation as Elon Musk believes?
Is there actually a physical me that lives in a pysical world?

As you can see, I have so many questions....more than I have answers.

Well, let's have a closer look at some of the possibilities.

The Computer Simulation

In this theory, everything in the universe is nothing more than a huge simulation running on some great super computer. In many ways this theory has some merit.
Let's consider our bodies. We have a body and it is pretty much controlled by our brain.
Our brain takes "external stimuli" from all our senses and creates a picture of the world for us. We really don't have a way of measuring how accurate this picture is, we just accept it as true.

In the world of quantum mechanics we already have proof that a particle only exists when we are looking at it. When we are not looking at it, it is just a wave. This is called the Observer Effect. The question then becomes, does this effect carry over to macro systems like us and our universe? It seems logical to think so. If these quantum particles have this proven behaviour why would it not be carried forward to macro systems like our world or universe?
Imagine being in a mine, a thousand feet underground, where there is a total absense of light and sound. Nothing exists except for your thoughts. You think you exist, but cannot be sure, as nothing else exists until you turn on a light. This is like a sensory deprivation tank where you just float suspended in a liquid. Given long enough in this state you will begin to hallucinate and may even go insane.

As René Descartes proposed "Cogito ergo sum" which, translated into english is, "I think, therefore I am." Perhaps this may be true, but do we have proof of this? Do we really think or is this also just an illusion.

What is Reality?

Each human being alive today has their own reality. Yes, it is true that we do have a shared reality. If I say that an object is green you know what I am talking about. However, what I see as green may not be what you see as green or the same shade of green as I am percieving. You and I have no way of knowing if it is the same. It is just a word we use to describe a color. At best, it can be thought of as the idea of green. So, it seems to me, that reality must be subjective and not necessarily objective.

In Conclusion

We go about our daily lives as before. We eat, we drink, we sleep, we think, we make love, and we share ideas.
Whether we are living in a real physical world or whether we are all in a computer simulation makes no difference to you or me. If this is a simulation it is a very persistent one and seems to be very accurate. I have not noticed any glitches in it so far. However, not noticing the glitches may just be part of the program and would we really know what a glitch would look like. Seeing ghosts, ufo's, angels, or objects that disappear in front of us....are these glitches? Perhaps, but we don't know for sure.
No matter whether our lives are "real" or part of a simulation, all I can say is....I don't really care.
This is the hand I have been dealt and I have to play it to the best of my abilities as you have to also.
It is only the probabilities that make this question interesting to me. Perhaps we can influence this program and in a way we can. It is what we do now that changes our future. We are only victims and slaves of the program if we so choose.
So choose wisely, my friends, and always make your choices with love and compassion for ourselves and each other.