Belief vs. Fact

Benj96 April 25, 2021 at 12:40 2550 views 7 comments

We live in a world where facts maintain the consistency of our reality. Tomorrow the sun will rise and set like any other day. Ten months from now will be the same duration of time as since ten months ago. Memories will be forgotten. Everyone will die some day. If I eat too much I will get fat.

But let’s take a hypothetical universe where the only governing facet of reality is “the power of belief”.
Let’s suppose that reality (physics, chemistry, biology etc) in this universe shifts to align with the most dominant beliefs in descending order. Each person is initially an equal unit of belief and has the freedom to choose to believe in something someone else believes in or to deny/ignore it in favour of other beliefs. And so this universe is governed by the collective - the “popular vote” - the most commonly held set of beliefs.

What do you think this universe would look like? What do you think would happen to people? How do you think they would change and shape reality according to their beliefs? Would it be a utopia?
Would it be a dictatorship? Would it find a balance between beliefs that are permanent and unchanging and ones that change regularly?

Comments (7)

180 Proof April 25, 2021 at 13:42 #527031 0 likes

Reply to Benj96 A 'consensus reality' would never evolve or emerge from pre-consensus so ... such a "universe" would have to be a simulation (perhaps within a higher simulation) programmed for its agents to collaboratively rewrite the program within which their executable files runs. The hard-coded constraints on rewriting the program would determine what the agents' consensus can come up with and how perdurable and complex their reality would be or even if it would ever reach a kind of final-state equilibrium. I suppose the process would include the agents changing also themselves by consensus / dissensus. Something like the "Titanomachy" in Hesiod's Theogony ... or Tolkien's Quenta Silmarillion ... or a very very glitchy Matrix populated only by "Agents" & programs like the "Merovingian", the "Oracle", the "Key-maker", etc. :yikes: :smirk:

Deleted User April 25, 2021 at 14:04 #527040 0 likes

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T Clark April 25, 2021 at 16:56 #527133 0 likes

Quoting 180 Proof

I suppose the process would include the agents changing also themselves by consensus / dissensus. Something like the "Titanomachy" in Hesiod's Theogony ... or Tolkien's Quenta Silmarillion ... or a very very glitchy Matrix populated only by "Agents" & programs like the "Merovingian", the "Oracle", the "Key-maker", etc.

Maybe a bit off-subject, but this brought to mind "The Lathe of Heaven" by LeGuin. In that book, one person has the power to change past and present reality for everyone. Good book. Ok movie.

180 Proof April 25, 2021 at 17:11 #527149 0 likes

Reply to T Clark :up:

baker April 25, 2021 at 17:21 #527154 0 likes

Quoting Benj96

What do you think this universe would look like? What do you think would happen to people?

I suspect they'd all go crazy from having to operate with too many variables.

Their universe would look like one of those circular, self-referential M.C. Escher pictures.

180 Proof April 25, 2021 at 17:32 #527162 0 likes

Reply to baker :up:

synthesis April 25, 2021 at 17:36 #527166 0 likes

Quoting Benj96

But let’s take a hypothetical universe where the only governing facet of reality is “the power of belief”. Let’s suppose that reality (physics, chemistry, biology etc) in this universe shifts to align with the most dominant beliefs in descending order. Each person is initially an equal unit of belief and has the freedom to choose to believe in something someone else believes in or to deny/ignore it in favour of other beliefs. And so this universe is governed by the collective - the “popular vote” - the most commonly held set of beliefs.

Look out any window.