What is the difference between experiential reality and agreement reality, and how does the media co
Our ability to define reality by experiment is very limited. It is limited by our time, energy, knowledge of means of testing, and our ability to determine the meaning of what we learn by direct experience. However, experimental reality seeking is our means for correcting the error introduced by others manipulating agreement (Consensus) reality.
We utilize consensus reality in most of our interactions with the world of the 21st Century. In centuries past, this was so much less so, because the world of most people was defined by a small community and its environment and knowledge passed down through the generations. Consensus reality was heavily influenced by the religious world view of the community, and the pronouncements and laws of the local and higher levels of Government.
And that seems like a very complete set of tapestries creating a "set" that may or may not be near to what might be considered objective reality.
But, in todays world, almost every object you touch, each device, can, bottle, and box of cereal is largely an unknown to you that you just accept as reasonable and useful and without need of further investigation. We get in a car, turn the key and it goes, we learn how to drive and add fuel and most of us just take it to get it serviced as we don't have a clue what goes on under the skin of the machine. And so to with your cell phone, which would be considered magic at any other time, and was the stuff of Science Fiction in 1963 when we were watching Star Trek on the TV.
However, this is how our willingness to just accept is used against us, by organizations such as the media.
This one is very interesting and you can try with your friends/family.
There is a theory called Spiral of silence which observes the fact that " one opinion becomes dominant as those who perceive their opinion to be in the minority do not speak up because society threatens individuals with fear of isolation."
When someone perceives his/her opinion as in the minority, he/she tends to omit or even change it. Humans fear social isolation and want to be part of strong groups, those which will win, the majority (even so, in researches there is always 5% of individuals who do not omit or change opinions: they tend to be the opinion leaders).
In a macro level, it can influence voting results, laws to be adopted or who's the next president.
You can feel the micro level of it by trying this:
01. Invite to go to the movies that friend who is really optimistic about some movie (he/she read good reviews, loved the trailler, liked the director/actors, etc.)
02. Invite other two or three friends and tell them to show disappointment about the movie after the exhibition (regardless of their true opinion about it).
03. After the exhibition, ask your optimistic friend about his/her opinion. He/she will probably say nice things
04. (You and your other friends) Say things like "I was expecting more", "I don't think it was that great", "It could be better", "The negative reviews were right"
05. Watch your friend's reaction
06. If he/she doesn't change his/her opinion right away, ask again for it the day after.
He/she will probably start to feel uncomfortable with his/her own opinion and constrained. Maybe he/she will try to convince you (then keep strong, no need to argue back and try not to offend him/her), maybe he/she will just start to agree with you all.
But it's very likely that your friend changes his/her opinion by the day after...
...especially if he/she doesn't read/talk about it with anyone else. This is important because the Spiral of Silence is all about perceptions, and not true reality. Your friend must think that the majority didn't like the movie. If he/she finds out you and your tricky friends are minority, he/she can go back to his/her original opinion.
And that's the other interesting thing about this theory: sometimes what is perceived as majority is, actually, just a loud minority. Think about it.
