I have no idea why people have such a hard time dealing with reality, but apparently, a lot of people do. Me, I just look at it and say “okay… that’s real” and move on. How could I do any different?

But lots of people have problems just dealing with the world that they live in and I find that incredibly sad. So here’s why it’s such a problem and why it really shouldn’t be.

I was having this discussion with someone a couple of days ago and although we both agree on the subject, it still gave me ammunition to write this post. Reality is what it is. It doesn’t matter what you want it to  be, it’s not open to your wishes and dreams.

Here’s an example. For a very long time now, we’ve thought that the Earth had 4 layers. We understood that by measuring how earthquakes move through the core of the planet and observing how the different components reacted. Most people have never lived not thinking there were anything but 4 layers.

Until now. Researchers, in a paper published in Nature Communications on  February 21, 2023, say they’ve found a fifth layer at the very center of the molten core of the planet. They admit that the evidence is limited and more research needs to be done, but that’s how it looks.

Assuming it turns out to be true, what will I do with that piece of information? In my brain, I will erase “4” and scribble in “5” under “how many layers are there to the Earth”. Problem solved. Reality is what it is. That’s it.

The same is true of the number of planets. No, I’m not talking about Pluto, but you notice how many people freaked the hell out when Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet, right? Their view of reality was destroyed and they couldn’t take it. There’s also another dwarf planet out there past Pluto called Eris. Me? I just erased “9” and wrote in “8” and went on with my day. Except now, it might be that there are 9 again.

Caltech found evidence that there might be a 9th planet out there in a vast eliptical orbit. They were doing studies on objects in the Oort cloud and found that, of the most distant objects in the solar system, they had a very distinct bulge outward. The only explanation they could find was that there was a body out there pulling on them and that may very well be an additional planet. Based on the amount of pull it’s exerting, experts suggest it must be several times the size of the Earth.

Again, we don’t know for sure, but I have no problem erasing “8” and making it “9” again if the need arises. It doesn’t change how the world is because the world is how it is, not how I look at it. I just want to know how it is, as much as that is possible with the information I have available to me at the time. If it turns out that what I thought was wrong, I just make corrections and keep going.

I really don’t understand people who can’t do that. They have a picture of how things are in their heads and that becomes reality to them. That’s not how it actually works. Reality exists no matter how you think about it. You just need to make sure your thoughts are accurate to the reality that’s actually there. I can do that. Why can’t everyone else?

I just don’t understand the stupidity of most humans. If anyone thinks they do, please explain down in the comments.