But for many other topics, determinations of what is “real,” “true,” or “accurate” come about by way of social consensus. People come together in groups to evaluate rumors, stories, experiences, and information and decide the truth of a matter, so perception shapes reality.

In short, the way in which we read the world turns on our particular location—moral, social, political, and economic—within the world. And the world, of course, is what humankind makes of it.

As a specific species of consciousness, Homo sapiens constructed its version of reality from everyday experiences and built everything up from there. We humanized virtual reality according to our experiences.