[Fis] What is "Reality"

[Jason Hu]

Dear Krassimir,

Since it is Monday now, I can say something in response to you.
Heinz von Foerster's followers claim that a reality is just a dream, thus
everyone is a "constructivist" "constructing a reality."  But HVF himself
acknowledged that reality is "the 18th camel" - something not needed but
helpful.  After ASC's 2018 conference, I raised the "anchor problem"
("reality is something our "ship of cognitive system" anchored to at the
bottom of the sea of possibilities.") I can forward that long discussion
email thread if anyone here is interested.
But today, since you mentioned memory, I would like to make links of
reality with consciousness and with dream, perhaps a trinity of cognition:

The space is you sleeping in your bed. The time is early morning when
you're about to wake up. Your consciousness is running in "under the water
mode or subconscious mode."
The story starts when your bladder sending out a cry "I'm full, I'm
full..." non-stop.
Thus in your dream, one of your P-individuals, "the current you," go search
around to find a toilet in your dream scene, after some drama you invent,
you eventually find a toilet and you start to pee.
Another of your P-individual kicks in, saying, hey, don't do that, you are
still sleeping! you're wetting your bed!
Here, you in your dream may continue to search for another toilet, or your
consciousness may switch mode from "sleep" to "awake." Now, your eyes not
opened yet, but you "realize" that you're actually in bed receiving the
call from your bladder.
Then there will be a process of debate between two of your P-individuals:
Should I sleep a bit more and ignore the bladder call, or should I wake
further, get up to go the toilet?
Finally, your self-debate is over, and your bladder is won; you sit up,
find your slipper, and walk to the toilet, and you actually pee.

Here, you see, it is not just temporary memory. It is your motor neurons
that actually fire and mobilize your muscles. You actually accomplished
some action, "in reality".
After that whole real "action" (in the reality of your house), your bladder
is satisfied and stops screaming. Only then you know your "mission
accomplished."

So, my answer to Lou's question: "Reality" is what your motor neurons
actually satisfy the demands from your sensory neurons receiving from.
There are two pieces of the "hard reality" in this story: Your bladder
making the call to you and your bladder telling you, "It's okay now" after
you acted.

In other words, "Reality" is like a baby being produced by the action of
your wife with the action of your help in this metaphor. In most cases,
"reality" is the conclusion you receive from your actions.

That is why I have been advocating to colleagues that we need to replace
"system thinking" with "system OTAing", OTA stands for Observe-Think-Act.
Your motor neurons need to get involved, better not just voicing but
hands-on, to get real knowledge.
It is not just temporary memory, although it is involved.

Best regards - Jason

On Mon, Jan 27, 2025 at 8:08 AM Krassimir Markov <itheaiss at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
> Lou asked a question "What is reality".
> Since I already had two posts on the FIS list, I answered offline.
> As far as I think this answer would be interesting for other colleagues, I
> am posting it here as well.
> Here is the answer:
>
> "Reality" is what's in the temporary memory.
> As many brains as there are "realities"!
>
> As it is well known - "Shadows on the wall ..."
>
> With respect,
> Krassimir
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