Zero to 1: How Limited is our Perception?, Swimming in a Sea of Possibility & How we use Attention

Perception vs Reality

3 INSIGHTS

I.

Our senses are limited, but just how limited? We see about 0.0035% of the Light Spectrum and can only hear 0.1% of sound. We are swimming in a sea of information and don’t perceive 99.9% of it.

II.

And still, there is way too much information. Your brain is processing ~11 million bits of information, and you are only consciously aware of about 40 of them.

III.

At any given moment, we are presented with a world of possibility, but we can’t see everything at once. We pay attention to what is important and meaningful to us and ignore the rest.

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2 QUOTES

I.

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein.

Knowing how little of reality our senses can perceive really puts this quote in perspective.

II.

"Perception is not something that happens to us or in us. It is something we do." - Alva Noë

We see and experience the world according to our values via attention and action.

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1 QUESTION FOR YOU

In what ways might our sensory limitations affect our understanding of reality?