Real You

Recently I have been reading books on our quest for reality.  The first book is “Our Mathematical Universe: My quest for the ultimate nature of reality,” by Max Tegmark, which I had introduced in a previous post. The second is “Quantum Reality,” by Nick Herbert.

As I had mentioned in my previous post, an important point Max makes is that reality is not just some illusion created by our senses, but it exists independently of us. He calls that “External Reality” while what we perceive is “Internal Reality.”

External Reality is where the mystery lies and the best we can do is to create mathematical structures to describe what it could be. An important tool for probing into External Reality is quantum mechanics. This is where careful and extreme experimentation is required to tease out some indicators of what lies underneath.

There is a level in-between External and Internal Realities. Max calls it “Consensus Reality.”  This is the shared description of the physical world that observers agree on. These descriptions are free from illusions our senses create. So the cover of a book can be described as red, even though a colorblind person will not see the color red. This is because there is a consensus on its color being red.

I believe the same three level structure can be use to describe you, or me.

There is a mid-level description of what you are:  “You a medical doctor, who is affluent and is interested in playing golf. You are even tempered and donate to charitable causes.” Like Consensus Reality, this is the description most will agree on (and you will carefully cultivate).

However, some others may not see you that way. They may have their own interpretation of what you are, based on their biases and perceptions, much like the Internal Reality described above. They may think, “Here is a pompous ass who thinks no end of himself.”

Then there is the “Real You.” The “Real You,” like External Reality, is mysterious and visible only under extreme circumstances. The “Real You” is what makes you exhibit different behavior patterns when you are not being observed than when you are. This is so much like what quantum mechanics says.  As discussed in the second book I am reading, an object, such as an electron, behaves like a particle when observed, and like a wave when not observed. Almost like a human!

Clearly, the “Real You” is different from the version you exhibit and one that is perceived. However, that may not be all. In fact, there may be attributes of “Real You” that even you are not aware of.