One of the fascinating parts of my journey into technology is the questions that arise as to what is reality.
For those who do a bit of research, it is common knowledge that we are at the edge of a technological explosion that is unmatched in mankind's history. What was science fiction just a few decades ago is now an everyday "reality". Concepts that were considered pseudo-science or mythology not long ago is accepted as truthful. Our embracing of the "unseen" is now more than ever (or is it?).
Quantum was called "spooky science" by Einstein. Newtonian physicists have denounced it as pseudo for 100 years. Yet, with the advancement of technology, experiments are proving a great many of the theories to be accurate. It literally is merging spiritual concepts with science.
We are all one.
Many spiritual traditions mention this. For most of history, this was accepted as a spiritual concept yet was denied in the "real" world. Anyone can see we are all separate. I am here, you are over there. There is nothing between us.
Today, entanglement is proving that things which appear separated are really connected. As spooky as this sounds, it has been replicated in a number of experiments.
Thoughts are things.
Ideas are invisible constructs. They are not part of the "real" world since we cannot see them. Again, if it is unseen, it does not exist. As many of you can guess, we now know this is not true. With devices that can measure activity of this nature, we know ideas have energetic properties. We know this is true for the heart also. Is this purely physical? We are starting to see research that says it is not.
Quantum tells us that there is an infinite field of possibilities all existing at the same time. Absence of observation, particles operate in an unlimited state. It is only after the observer is added to the equation does "reality" set in. Does our attention create our own reality? It certainly seems like this is the case.
I would say the chances are a billion to one we are not in a computer simulation.
This is the essence of a idea put out there by Elon Musk. Now, I think we all can agree Ole Elon is a fairly smart guy. Yet his belief is that our entire existence is nothing more than a computer simulation. Somewhere, according to this idea, is a central entity that is controlling everything (any different from the God idea espoused for centuries?). At the core of all of this is code. Hence, life is nothing more than an adherence to the coding.
Is this idea so far fetched? Not when you consider the recent advancements in coding of DNA. We now understand that biology is nothing more than understanding the coding that is present. Learn the code and one can rewrite it. This is what is behind projects such as CRISPR. It truly is the merging of computer science and biology.
To further reference this point, Microsoft, at great cost, was able to store data in organic material. In other words, instead of storing data (code) on a non-organic drive, they were able to do it on genetic material. Is this any different then something stored in your brain?
If everything around us is code, including us, is the idea of this entire mechanism we live in being a "computer simulation" so crazy? Ten years ago, most all of us would have said it is nuts. Today, not as many. Ten years from now, I hypothesize, very few of us will make that claim.
Of course, those who object believe themselves to be realists. What is ironic is they do not understand how they buy into stuff that is not real. Everyday we construct things in a manner which makes them appear real although they are not.
Here is an example: where is the company you work for? I want to see the "company".
If you think about it, it is impossible to show me the company. You can point to a building, people in it, or even a listing on an exchange. These all representations of the idea yet are no more a company than the logo is. If you really consider this long enough, you will realize how accurate this is.
Nevertheless, even though this is not real, people defend, support, and embrace the company. You hear people saying they "love this company" like it is real.
This all leads me to STEEM. We know STEEM is not real. It exists on the Internet. It is nothing more than "virtual". There is no reason to regard it as anything as such since we all can agree that this is just words on a screen; something we create in our minds.
Do you mean like a corporation exists on a piece of paper in some governmental office somewhere?
If the gap between the biological and the IT (Informational Technology) worlds are closing, how can we decipher what is "reality"? Said another way, are the virtual constructs that we give great power to in our daily "offline" lives any different than those we create online? My answer is they are the same.
Each day we interact with others. This happens in a variety of different forums. Our behavior is modeled and honed over the years based upon experience to attain the results we desire. We all are schooled in the art of conformity. It is easy to comprehend there are consequences for our actions.
In the "real" world, we model our behavior to get what we want (and to avoid what we dont want). We tolerate the abusive boss at work because we need the job. Speaking our mind will not serve us well. Making fun of the wife does not work since she would leave us. Of course, we do not openly make fun of the neighbor's wife because he might bash our heads in.
We get angry and we do our best to control it. Physically lashing out ends up with negative consequences. If we hit our spouse, we can go to jail. Hit someone else, and we either get the potential of jail or an ass kicking (or both). Many of us will scream and get verbally abusive, until we find out we are ostracized and alone.
In this realm, most of our actions have consequences.
Do you know one area that does not?
When we get online. This is a medium where there are few consequences. People suddenly behave in ways they would never dare to in the "real" world. The anonymity of this arena enables one to act out all those feelings that are within yet must be suppressed in our daily interaction. Naturally, running around calling people "trolls" in your office would get you a trip to HR at a minimum. Yet, when logging on, we can do it without any ill effects.
There is a saying just because you can does not mean you should.
This is a lesson we need to be mindful when operating in this realm. Over time we are going to see more of our online and offline worlds collide. More of the world around us is being digitized. Things that we held and used years ago are now in digital form.
The Internet seems to be a place where people want to act out. They get really tough online and make fun of others. Trolling is commonplace especially sites like Facebook. Anonymity is a wonderful thing, until it is broken. Then, we see the articles about how someone showed up at one's house and put a bullet in the person simply over trolling. Of course, the shooter is not stable but should the first person be absolved? I do not support the use of violence so I cannot defend this action. That said, I cannot support the trolling either and could make the caseyou reap what you sow.
If STEEM evolves in the manner I think it will, we are going to see this blockchain as a primary part of our lives. Many of us will work, play, shop, and communicate on here. Our companies will operate on here, the nation-state that we geographically live under will take on less importance, and more of our day to day life will rest upon this blockchain.
Many say this is unrealistic and it is not "real". I wonder if they are the same people who are saying that the company they work for is real. Look at the Fortune 1000 companies and tell me how many of them are real. To believe STEEM is any less real is not acknowledging how much we buy into social constructs we created.
At least with STEEM, it is something we choose unlike those things that are presented to us as real and we were conditioned to believe in.
And we have the nerve to laugh at this who believe in the Easter Bunny.
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