Post by @KatyElphinstone@mas.to

2026-09-25 06:57 UTC

~False binaries series~ 8. Real / not real 🧵 And this one is the biggie! We tend to think things are either real or not real. Although put a group of people together and ask them what belongs under “real” and “not real” and they will disagree very quickly. While nearly all remaining absolutely convinced that the distinction itself is binary. ⬇️

Replies (2)

@stevebrady@mastodon.social 2026-09-26 01:23

@KatyElphinstone@mas.to What's odd about this thought in the context of previous conversations with you (about autism, etc.) is I think of allistics as tending to lack a consistent model of reality. What they say is true varies depending on emotional and social context. We're considered silly and naive when we maintain the same worldview hour to hour.

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@KatyElphinstone@mas.to 2026-09-25 07:01

If instead you think in terms of degree (and, in quantum terms, probability) reality starts looking very different. It seems instead to be contextual and by degree. In fact, "things", as we usually imagine them, do not seem to exist as independent entities at all. The relational model of quantum physics (Rovelli) looks at reality as fundamentally relational. ⬇️

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