Software has a way of turning abstruse metaphysical questions into practical ones. One such metaphysical question is that of consensual reality. The phenomenon that is Pokemon Go has suddenly turned this question into a very practical one. The game represents the beginning of a rapid ramp-up of our ability to create and inhabit our own realities -- global, not inside-of-my-head sized or village-sized -- in the company of those we opt to share them with. Capitalists and communists disagreeing about the nature of the world in the twentieth century was a global collision of just two consensus realities. Back then, consensus realities were a read-only game for most people. It was expensive to create one. You had to build impressive buildings, give speeches about values, own newspapers, hire goons to beat up opponents, declare manifestos, and so forth. We are now entering a read/write era of consensus realities. Our ability to disagree about the nature of our world, at an extremely fine-grained and visceral level, is about to explode. Fortunately, the cost of disagreement is also crashing, making it overall a very good thing.
In contrast to consensual realities, it is better to start thinking of dominating and subordinated realities, or cultures of imperialism (sociopathic) vs localism (loser thinking). When realities that are supposed to conflict, change forms instead, the only interaction would be either generalization (remix) or domination (stratification).
In contrast to consensual realities, it is better to start thinking of dominating and subordinated realities, or cultures of imperialism (sociopathic) vs localism (loser thinking). When realities that are supposed to conflict, change forms instead, the only interaction would be either generalization (remix) or domination (stratification).