Reality or Imaginary

[jchman2004]

When you look at a computer and see an icon that says "My Documents" Can you determine if that is real or imaginary? Then what is the difference between imaginary and real things? I hope I get a lot of responses.
Thanx for your time,
Jchman2004

[deltro300111]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

Are you the matrix?

[senate7377]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

skeptical thinkning eh?

Rather than get into a huge philosophical explanation, get all wordy , and bore half the target audience...

The manner is which you pose the question, is not very...clear. What does the My Documents have to do with reality or imaginary since at root compiled binary bit datum, rerouted, interpreted and shifted to be displayed in both HEX RGB colors and a Windows API. The way you've asked this, means that no matter where we trace the MY DOCUMENTS, we'd question if it were real. EXAMPLE:

Is the hand that moves the mouse, that controls the curson ont he monitor, that opens that folder, that displays the images, that provide information, thats stored on the media, that is containted in the computer, that sitting on the desk, that sits on the carpet, that lines the floor in a room, thats a part of the house, that was built on a plot of land, from the trees in a forest, that is close to a street, that is in a town, in the state, of the country, on the planet - real? In that context - yes, if you want it to be. All else = no. Thats if you look at it as an "if then" question.

The monitor which displays the my documents. Real or not? Yes, I can touch it.
The mouse I use to move the cursor to double-click the MY DOC icon, real? Yes, I can touch it.
the icon expands to reveal files contaied within. Is that real? physically No, as I can not touch it, but th edata physically exists on the HDD or the folder would not open.

I dunno, you'd need to consider alternative relatives. Is the My Documents Icon "real" compared to what? Me? no. Real compared to... the Network Settings Icon - Yes. They are both effectively comprised of the same elements - there fore if you consider one of the two real, you'd logically assume the other was real by the same standards.. You've got to have something relative to the subject in question.

[nforcer06164]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

What do you mean by that? Like, is it there or is it really not? You need to clarify your statement.

The difference between reality and imaginary is, is it something that can only be accessed by you (via your own mind), or can anybody in the same position see it as well? Think about it. In the "My Documents" case, anyone with eyes can walk up to the computer and see the folder. The information contained can be accessed by anyone, and it will always be the same. Therefore, it is reality because it doesn't change for the different people that look at it. Now, if you showed someone the "My Documents" folder and asked them to guess what was inside it, well, their responses would be their individual and "imaginary" ideas. The reality may very well be different.

Does that answer your question, or did you mean something else?

[jchman2004]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

Well in this case I'm referring to the "My Documents" as if you can touch it to being real. yes i do understand what all of you guys are saying. But if you can touch something does it mean its real? As to the "My Documents" Can you physically hold it as opposed to a toy or sumthing.

[nforcer06164]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

Well, if by "real" you mean as opposed to "fake" or "imaginary", then I'd say it is.

I think that you're defining "real" as "able to be touched". "Real" is really defined as "in existence". Look at the "My Documents" folder. Can you see it? Can everyone else see it? Then it exists. It is real. Suppose you wanted it as something tangible; that is, able to be touched. Well, all you have to do is print it out on paper, stick it in a paper folder, label that folder My Documents, and you have the same "real" folder. The only difference is a change in format; paper instead of digital display.

I would say all "touchable" things are real. I'm not thinking too hard about it, but I'd say if you can actually feel it, it exists. Someone please correct me if I'm missing something.

[senate7377]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

no, but it would leave question to "Is love real, as you can feel that"...so it would be more defined by physical touch and not emotionally touchable. However, I'm more towards to the reality is perception based upon experience and experiment - kind of person... nforcer, you do have a good explanation of it....better than mine, but I wasnt trying to get all testicle about it either. Its my opinion that hte question was being asked prior to any sort of critical thought with self angled response (or debate within your own mind). In a round about way I think the question is a watered down domestic draft version of "how do we know if we exist?". If thats it, honestly we don't. To say that we do and honeslty be able to prove it would need (to me) a omni-present theory backing.

[Austaph]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

The material world (all we sense, and interact with) is not reality. If your reality is determined by what is tangible or not, then you're missing out on a lot. You might find the answer to your question surprisingly easy if you'd get away from the computer, and then ask yourself. But, no - nothing you see on your computer screen is real.

[Austaph]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

Personally, I prefer the "How can I know if I'm dreaming or if I'm awake?" approach.

[nforcer06164]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

Austaph, I think you're looking at reality as a whole, instead of individual realities. The material world itself is not reality all by itself, if you mean reality as a whole, but it is its own reality, or it is real, because it exists. Now, if you'll look at things individually, think about what you're saying when talking about your computer screen. As opposed to imaginary, is what you see on your computer screen real? Yes, it is. Anybody else can see it. You're not imagining it. It's actually there. If you have something deeper connected to your statement, then please say so.

As for what's real outside the tangible, material world... feelings are arguable. I'm not really sure, because people may say, "I have the feeling it's going to rain," or, "I have the feeling something bad is going to happen." If it doesn't happen, what was that feeling? It was imaginary. If you love someone in a mutual relationship, and you "feel" it, so to speak, and the relationship falls apart, was that feeling of love real, or did you imagine it? The abstract portion of reality is indeed harder to grasp.

What senate said is probably the big picture here in retrospect to all of these possibilities. I'd like to expand it just a bit, though. "How can we judge the reality of anything if we don't know if we ourselves exist?" We just can't. And still, even if we could prove our own existence, you'd still be able to debate that what before us may be real or not.

[Ultimablah]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

If it's contactable/changable, it's real.

[Austaph]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

To think that a concept which has evaded human understanding for centuries has finally been solved on a FFR forum -- I predict a Nobel prize in physics for this one. Do any of you even know what reality is? Do you know what it really is?

[omgwtfToph]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

it's roughly 259 bpm

that's pretty fast X(

[Freed]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

whether or not anything exists is irrelevant. the only thing that matters is whether you percieve its existance or not.

you ask how do i know if i am dreaming or am i awake? i have dreamt before, i know how it feels to be in a dream. that is not how it feels right now. you say, well how do you know you aren't dreaming right now and those other times where when you were awake? it's because i choose to consider this state as awake. i know i am awake because i choose to be awake, nothing else matters.

feelings and emotions are just interpretations of existance by our brains.

i think, therefore i am. haven't any of you heard that before?

[silivrenion]

RE: Reality or Imaginary

You can slice out the sectors of your harddisk that contain the My Documents binary information, and physically hold it, throw it at your cat... anything you want... The concept of My Documents is nothing but part of a complex system of 1's and 0's... but these 1's and 0's are captured onto real-life mediums of storage.... If you think about it.. to create such 1's and 0's you had to have created an electron pulse inside a circuit board, so really My Documents is nothing but the trace of a path of electrons that have passed through a system onto your hard drive for you, paving the way for a feature we use so often and argue over weither it exists or not. The electrons that created My Documents were certainly real before they were dissapated into heat after their use, and the place in which the image of those electrons was is still evident on your harddrive, so yes, my documents is real, and can be held, weither you refer to the image of my documents in the past, or the buildup of the electrons in a certain pattern that codes for my documents to exist