representations of cognitive interaction 2 of 7

| Emergent Cognition Project

PERCEPTION: THE (VIRTUAL) WORLD WITHIN
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Perceptions are the icons of cognitive representation. While iconic reference involves substituting and/or confusing the physical presence of Eduardo with something physically similar to him, perception involves substituting the physical world with the iconic representation of our experience of the physical world. The result is a kind of virtual reality that is literally all in your head. See that sunset? Well, you’re not actually seeing the sunset. You’re seeing the perception created by your brain processing sensory interactions between your eyes and the light coming from the sunset. It’s worth repeating: Everything you’re consciously aware of experiencing in the physical world is really just in your head. Sure, the real world exists (probably), but perception isn’t a direct interface with the real world, it is only a replication of it.