Do we really see the real world? A story of the brain's magical craftsmanship

I often look up at the night sky and wonder, is what I am seeing actually real? That distant star, whose light traveled for thousands of years to reach my eyes, is it merely some laws of physics? Or is some artist within me rearranging that light in its own way with new colors? While reading Richard Dawkins' Unweaving the Rainbow, I discovered a world that taught me that none of us actually sees the 'real' world. Each of us walks around with an incredible 'virtual reality' or imaginary reality inside our heads. Today, I will take you deep into that story.

We have heard since childhood that we have five senses through which we experience the world. But Dawkins says these senses do not actually present us with a complete picture of the world. What our eyes or ears receive are merely some chaotic signals. Our brain is that magical factory where these isolated signals are pieced together to create a seamless and meaningful world. This is what he calls 'reweaving the world'.

Think about a red rose. On the outside, there is actually no 'red'. There is only the reflection of light of a specific wavelength. When that light falls on the retina of my eye, my brain attaches a label or tag called 'red' to it. That is to say, beauty or color is not on the outside; it is a beautiful weave created inside our brains. Dawkins said a wonderful thing here: we sit in the dark chambers of our skulls, and our brain runs a three-dimensional movie for us there.

This has made me think about our power of imagination. Dawkins says that when we dream, this 'reality simulation' software of our brain actually runs offline. That is, without any external signals, it creates a world of its own. It is this ability that has separated humans from all other animals. We do not just see the present; we can analyze the past and mentally sketch out thousands of possibilities for the future. This capacity for 'model making' or designing is the foundation of our modern civilization. When science unravels the mystery of the rainbow (that is, 'unweaves' it), it actually unfolds the true complexity of the universe before us more perfectly. This does not diminish the wonder, but rather makes our inner world even richer.

The next part of the story is even more thrilling. Dawkins raises a question here: why did the human brain become so large? Why did it suddenly swell up like a balloon? Such rapid change is rarely seen in the history of evolution. In just a few hundred thousand years, the size of our brain has tripled. But what is the reason behind this?

This is where Dawkins talks about a fascinating theory called the 'software-hardware spiral'. Suppose you bought a computer. In the beginning, its functions were very basic. But then someone created an extraordinary piece of 'software' for that computer. To run that software, you needed more powerful 'hardware' or equipment. When the hardware improved, even more complex software was created. In the case of humans, this software is language and culture.

When our ancestors learned to speak, when they learned to communicate their thoughts to others through gestures or words, a strange cycle began. Increased brain capacity was needed to utilize language. Those who had larger brains could use language better and stayed ahead in the race for survival within society. Through this process, our brain gradually began to expand like a balloon. It no longer remained just a biological organ; it became a vast sky of thought and imagination.

Dawkins reminds us here of the 'meme', or cultural unit. Like genes, memes also spread from one brain to another. A melody, a new recipe, a scientific theory—these are all memes. We are no longer merely slaves to our genes. We now also live in the world of memes or ideas. This 'balloon-like' mind of ours can now think beyond the earth about the constellations, and research time itself. This is the ultimate triumph of science.

Finally, many people think that if science explains everything, the mystery and beauty of the world are lost. But when I read these chapters by Dawkins, it felt as if science had placed a new pair of glasses over my eyes. I now know that the world before my eyes is an artistic creation of my own brain. I now understand why this mind of mine is so desperately eager to know the unknown.

  

Reference: Dawkins, R. (1998). Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.