# reality of the real **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 5, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445 "2011-01-05T02:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gl1520](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@gl1520](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gl1520)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/1 "2011-01-05T02:56:04Z")
It does not matter weather Carlos was fact or fiction, but that he gets people to think.If you are brave enough to study different beliefs, you will find the same teachings wrote a different way. Study the Native Americans and see how much their belief is similar to the Bible. Only when you can give up self importance can you truly learn and be open enough to understand without question!! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/2 "2011-01-05T03:04:11Z")
Is this the column in question? [Did Carlos Castaneda hallucinate that stuff in the Don Juan books or make it up?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2398/did-carlos-castaneda-hallucinate-that-stuff-in-the-don-juan-books-or-make-it-up) Shoot, didn’t even stick around. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/3 "2011-01-05T23:03:09Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Is this the column in question? > > [Did Carlos Castaneda hallucinate that stuff in the Don Juan books or make it up?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2398/did-carlos-castaneda-hallucinate-that-stuff-in-the-don-juan-books-or-make-it-up) > > Shoot, didn’t even stick around. Oh, she’s probably watching from the “astral plane” or somesuch.:rolleyes::dubious::smack: ---
**Author:** ![gl1520](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@gl1520](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gl1520)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/4 "2011-01-06T02:06:50Z")
There is no question if you have no limits! Any question of possibility is what keeps so many grounded and blocked. This is what has happened through out history. Just like in the time of Merlin, people started to doubt the possibilities, resulting in the closing of so many protals that were once easy to achieve. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/5 "2011-01-06T02:12:03Z")
> [@gl1520](#): > > There is no question if you have no limits! Any question of possibility is what keeps so many grounded and blocked. This is what has happened through out history. Just like in the time of Merlin, people started to doubt the possibilities, resulting in the closing of so many protals that were once easy to achieve. I’m not sure if this is a Mad Libs game or a random sampling of refrigerator magnet words-in either case, would you like this moved to The Game Room? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/6 "2011-01-06T02:16:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m not sure if this is a Mad Libs game or a random sampling of refrigerator magnet words-in either case, would you like this moved to The Game Room? I think it’s Gabby Johnson’s grandchild. Authentic new age gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/7 "2011-01-06T04:00:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m not sure if this is a Mad Libs game or a random sampling of refrigerator magnet words-in either case, would you like this moved to The Game Room? It could be a typo. If he’s asking about the reality of the reals, then move it to GQ and let the math experts take a crack at it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/8 "2011-01-06T04:07:40Z")
> [@gl1520](#): > > There is no question if you have no limits! Any question of possibility is what keeps so many grounded and blocked. This is what has happened through out history. Just like in the time of Merlin, people started to doubt the possibilities, resulting in the closing of so many protals that were once easy to achieve. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m not sure if this is a Mad Libs game or a random sampling of refrigerator magnet words-in either case, would you like this moved to The Game Room? Don’t bother - soon he’ll slip through one of those portals that only the enlightened like him and Merlin know about. Or he may just get grounded and blocked when his mom sees the shit he’s using her compter to post on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/9 "2011-01-06T08:36:55Z")
I once had a guy on the street (who was VERY obviously tripping balls) say something very similar to the OP. Just walked up and started yammering about how “Everything is reality!” and laughing as if it were the most obvious thing. Quite interesting. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/10 "2011-01-06T08:38:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It could be a typo. If he’s asking about the reality of the reals, then move it to GQ and let the math experts take a crack at it. 🙂 Or maybe the ‘reality of the reels’. Let’s send it to Cafe Society for the movie buffs! ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/11 "2011-01-06T14:19:38Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > Or maybe the ‘reality of the reels’. Let’s send it to Cafe Society for the movie buffs! Could be a fisherman, they like their reels too? Or maybe a spanish football fan questioning whether Real Madrid and Real Sociadad actually exist. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/12 "2011-01-06T16:16:45Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I once had a guy on the street (who was VERY obviously tripping balls) say something very similar to the OP. Just walked up and started yammering about how “Everything is reality!” and laughing as if it were the most obvious thing. Quite interesting. True enough, actually. C. S. Lewis remarks somewhere that one should never ask, “Is this real?” because everything is real. The correct question is, “What real thing is this?” – _e.g.,_ real snakes or real D.T.'s. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/13 "2011-01-06T17:51:35Z")
Is this real life? Or is this just fantasy? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/14 "2011-01-06T17:58:20Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Is this real life? Or is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide. No escape from reality. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/15 "2011-01-06T20:26:33Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > True enough, actually. C. S. Lewis remarks somewhere that one should never ask, “Is this real?” because everything is real. The correct question is, “What real thing is this?” – _e.g.,_ real snakes or real D.T.'s. Mr. Lewis is overly pedantic here, seems to me. When a person asks, “Is this real?”, I think it’s generally understood he’s asking whether his perception of reality matches actual reality, not whether the perception itself is really happening (which presumably isn’t the interesting question). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/16 "2011-01-06T20:34:43Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > True enough, actually. C. S. Lewis remarks somewhere that one should never ask, “Is this real?” because everything is real. The correct question is, “What real thing is this?” – _e.g.,_ real snakes or real D.T.'s. Well, Mr Lewis was wrong. For example, Mr Lewis is no longer real, though at one time he was real. Only the memory of him, and the works that he created, are real now. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It could be a typo. If he’s asking about the reality of the reals, then move it to GQ and let the math experts take a crack at it. 🙂 Of course the real numbers aren’t real, unless you think that abstract ideas are real. No mathematical objects are real. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/17 "2011-01-07T09:51:52Z")
No, the OP is talking about the reality of the _real_, which was the currency of Portugal from the 1400s until 1911. Since it’s no longer money in Portugal, but minted coins still exist, is the _real_ real or not? ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-of-the-real/566445/18 "2011-01-07T15:40:43Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > No, the OP is talking about the reality of the _real_, which was the currency of Portugal from the 1400s until 1911. Since it’s no longer money in Portugal, but minted coins still exist, is the _real_ real or not? According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_real), Brazil still really uses real reals.