“I shall suppose … that some malicious demon of the utmost power and cunning has employed all his energies in order to deceive me. I shall think that the sky, the air, the earth, colours, shapes, sounds and all external things are merely the delusions of dreams which he has devised to ensnare my judgment.”
We’re taking a little trip down Philosophy lane with my boy Descartes…
René Descartes was sitting by a fire in 1641, probably sipping wine and contemplating existence, when he came up with an idea so disturbing it still keeps philosophers awake at night.
What if everything you think you know is bullshit?
Not just your opinions or beliefs. Everything.
The chair you’re sitting on. The screen you’re reading this on. Your memories of breakfast this morning. Your entire sensory experience of reality.
What if it’s all fake?
Sound familiar? It should. The Wachowskis basically stole this idea and turned it into The Matrix.
But here’s where it gets really twisted.
Descartes’ demon was hypothetical. A thought experiment to test the limits of knowledge and certainty.
Today? We’re voluntarily building that demon ourselves.
We call it social media, virtual reality, augmented reality, AI generated content, deepfakes, and algorithmic feeds.
We’re creating the very deception machine Descartes warned us about, except we’re doing it on purpose and paying monthly subscriptions for the privilege.
Think about it. How much of your daily experience comes through screens? How much of what you “know” about the world comes from sources you’ve never verified? How many of your beliefs were shaped by algorithms designed to keep you engaged rather than informed?
Bit heavy for a Monday eh?
Damn right.
We’re living in custom built reality bubbles, each one slightly different, each one designed to feel completely real while being fundamentally artificial.
Descartes got really clever though.
Faced with this possibility of total deception, he didn’t despair. He found the one thing that couldn’t be doubted…
The fact that he was thinking about it.
“Cogito ergo sum” more popularly know as: I think, therefore I am.
Even if everything else is illusion, even if a demon is deceiving him about everything he experiences, the very act of being deceived proves that something is doing the thinking. You can doubt your senses, your memories, your beliefs, but you can’t doubt that you’re doubting.
This isn’t just philosophical masturbation. This question is becoming urgently practical.
As AI gets better at generating text, images, and videos that are indistinguishable from human created content, how do we tell what’s real?
As virtual and augmented reality become more immersive, how do we maintain our grip on consensus reality? As social media algorithms get better at manipulation, how do we know our own thoughts are our own?
We’re approaching a world where Descartes’ demon is becoming a business model.
The solution isn’t to retreat into scepticism about everything. It’s to do what Descartes did…
…find your unshakeable foundation and build from there.
You think, therefore you are. Everything else is negotiable.
Start with that certainty and work outward carefully. Question sources. Verify claims. Seek direct experience when possible. Build your understanding of reality on evidence rather than assumption.
Because if you don’t actively construct your own relationship with truth, someone else will construct it for you.
And they probably won’t have your best interests in mind.
Little bit of heavy food for thought on a Monday, but worth it.
You can blame this gem for it over here
Stephen Walker.