The Case Against Reality

Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes

De: Donald Hoffman

Narrado por: Timothy Andrés Pabon

Can we trust our senses to tell us the truth?

Challenging leading scientific theories that claim that our senses report back objective reality, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman argues that while we should take our perceptions seriously, we should not take them literally. How can it be possible that the world we see is not objective reality? And how can our senses be useful if they are not communicating the truth? Hoffman grapples with these questions and more over the course of this eye-opening work.

Ever since Homo sapiens has walked the earth, natural selection has favored perception that hides the truth and guides us toward useful action, shaping our senses to keep us alive and reproducing. We observe a speeding car and do not walk in front of it; we see mold growing on bread and do not eat it. These impressions, though, are not objective reality. Just like a file icon on a desktop screen is a useful symbol rather than a genuine representation of what a computer file looks like, the objects we see every day are merely icons, allowing us to navigate the world safely and with ease.

The real-world implications for this discovery are huge. From examining why fashion designers create clothes that give the illusion of a more “attractive” body shape to studying how companies use color to elicit specific emotions in consumers, and even dismantling the very notion that spacetime is objective reality, The Case Against Reality dares us to question everything we thought we knew about the world we see.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 by Donald Hoffman. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Accompanying PDF Is now Available!

I reported this issue to Audible and it was FIXED expeditiously and professionally. Listeners who totally missed the author's point because of the missing PDF can now go back and listen again to the referring sections. This author makes some very good points. It's well worth the listen!

“The accompanying pdf”

I like this book but the author has many references that would probably make this book a good bit easier to understand, but I listen to E-books while running or driving so this is not preferable to me. I really like the concept of this book, and books in this category. The beginning was a bit slow and somewhat redundant but it laid the foundations for understanding of the rest of the book pretty well so it’s all good. The middle/end of the book was great though and made it all worth the read!

Objective Reality May Be a Myth

So simple yet so profound. The author makes the case that what we call objective observation is in actual fact subjective. Each instance of measurement or observation creates it own subjective reality.

The theory goes like this. Imagine five people are looking at an apple. The apple can be said to exist objectively because it exists outside our personal experience. What the author explores is the possibility that each observation can be considered a separate personal experience and therefore subjective.

The premise is there is no such thing as an objective experience because each instance is processed subjectively, and collectively evolution has provided a distortion of reality that increases health and fitness at the cost of seeing a true representation of reality.

At first glance this may seem absurd. The book however, provides a convincing case, and we may need to accept that our senses may be catered to survivability and not to accuracy of what is real.

Recommended as an outside the box way of thinking.

Amazing Book

Donald Hoffman highlights details about human nature, evolution, and physics, to relay an absolutely stellar philosophy. This book changed my perception of reality.

A bold attempt towards a grander unification

Built a case against “reality” perceived through senses based on pure scientific evidences both old and hot off the press

Built a foundation for consciousness as the more fundamental reality then what is perceived by limited senses.

Resonated very well with the scientific 10th century texts on consciousness in Kashmir Shaivism. These texts could show a way forward for building the grand unification models

Paradox in everyday perception revealed.

Reality reconsidered: the interface theory of perception. No, Hoffman isn't fixated on the thing-in-itself, he's just using it to explain the cosmic giggle.

Consciousness is fundamental

The idea is that time space and everything in it is a projection of consciousness is inspiring. Enjoyed this!

Simple idea - overly (but entertainingly) explained

The idea is simple. You are not equipped to and therefore to unable to see reality. You see what is most functional for your survival.

I felt that the explanations were far to many for someone who has read much of the same before. However it was very well performed and I think that if you are just digging in this is highly recommended.

Fascinating hyptothesis, filled with fluff

I heard about this book on Sam Harris's podcast.

This "feels" like a first book. The author posits an incredible hypothesis but the book is laid out somewhat haphazardly and meanders to topics away from the main point. For example, why create a whole chapter on optical illusions when we can all admit our eyes can deceive us?

Here's a brief summary of the book:
"We have a startling hypothesis that was confirmed by an evolutionary simulation, let's repeat that fact for 5 chapters. Also, remember that weird box thing you drew in 3rd grade... that actually proves nothing exists. Congrats for finishing! Your prize is a tomato... one meter away from your face. Can't find it? - look to the accompanying PDF*"

So... yeah, having just finished the book, I admit my annoyance BUT this isn't to say the book is unscientific or without merit.

Are you interested in the subject but don't want to waste time? Listen to chapters 1, 2, 6, and 10. Chapter 6 was my favorite because it directly addresses physics.

If you're scientifically minded and are intrigued by the idea, it's worth your time. If you're on the fence, maybe not.

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* Spoiler alert: Audible does not provide the accompanying PDF

Surely we're on the smooth cusp of something

We seem to be passing through a period of existential crisis in physics and neuroscience in particular, at the moment. Possibly it is the modern paradigm to be in crisis, but it seems particularly poignant right now. In any case, this is one of a small bookshelf of must-reads for comprehending this 'moment'.