Do we see reality as it is? | Donald Hoffman | TED

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is ... or as we need it to be? In this ever so slightly mind-blowing talk, he ponders how our minds construct reality for us.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

[vanhouten]

I used to wonder if the objects in my house existed when I was away; now I'm wondering if they exist when I'm at home.

[iamthewlf]

I love that science is trying to tackle consciousness and reality now.

[ambrishjaiswal]

"enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretence. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true." - Adyashanti.

[jeffsanders]

If my perception is real, this was a fascinating TED talk. Loved it!

[sopbi]

He was my first year and favorite professor at UCI in 2008. :)

[Sargaxon]

This is probably the best TED talk I watched in my life.

[ivyverdant]

So intriguing and thought provoking. So glad there are intelligent people out there that can go through that thought process and science without freaking out. A lot of people just simply won't go there because it crushes our perception of reality and that can be very damaging to some people, a lot of people.

[michaelt]

The more I listen to hoffman the more sense he makes. This subject is insane and fascinating and also a accurate description. This makes total sense when you think about it and look at physics

[arcadan]

The reality we see is not matter, it is “what matters”

[erikhm_]

The fact that we have no real clue what reality really is amazes me. So much could be out there that we just can’t perceive

[mickblock]

I'm about a minute in and can already tell I'm gonna have to watch this more than once.

[grebulon]

The Universe is a vast consciousness, and we are all connected individual parts of this consciousness. We cannot see this while we are going through the human experience, but when we 'move-on' (die), that's when our perceptions expand and the blinkers come off, so we experience reality as it is.

That's my take.
Keeps me sane while going through this insane human experience 😃

[platypusssss]

I spend a really long time watching and rewatching different parts of this video. I got a lot of new, unexpected input. I read/know  many different journals/articles about human perception and construction of reality, but I still get this feeling of helplessness when being faced with the possibility of spending my life as a "human beetle", totally unaware of my blindspots in my everyday life,
Thank you Donald Hoffman for this talk!

[amnar]

Hands down. This is the best ted talk I've watched so far.

[Ral]

_"Reality, a user friendly interface."_ Intriguing thinking.

[jefferylarkin]

We only see a very small amount in the visual spectrum, there are frequencies in the audio spectrum we can't hear as well, there you go.They have proved that photons, which is light, behaves differently when observerd with the human eye, that is mind blowing.

[vjntstar]

13:40 "Evolution has shaped us with perception symbols", "We should take them seriously but not literally"
Nicely put

[ArtVandelay]

What a fantastically modest man Don is, for all his brilliance. Also, Chris really deserves all his success I think: unlike many other conference chairs who just show up for questions afterwards as a token but then wait for the speaker to finish so they can move in in their list, he actually takes part in the conversation and *is interested*! Two brilliant men, great video

[TheGilmourJones]

Each and every person that ever existed has had a unique perspective of every moment of their existence. Even two people in the back of the crowd in this video sitting side by side, their view is almost identical just the smallest degree of difference but the difference does exist. Now if my first sentence is true then as our reality is based on our perspective we have to see that each and every person has had their own absolutely unique reality. So now we arrive at the thought that when we look at a society we are seeing a galaxy of realities all of them separate and unique. So when we say that someone is mentally ill because they have suffered a break from reality, then the question must be whose reality?

[debielesko]

I will be watching this again. One of the best TED Talks I have watched to date!