The Last Shared Reality

What’s real is at risk of becoming obsolete; fading into the background of a filtered echo chamber of mass personalization.

In modern times, we don’t share a reality. We fracture into tribes of our own truth. Algorithms reward extremes, experts are incentivized by polarization, and the middle ground that was once a space for consensus and conversation has all but disappeared.

So what is real? Is it the headline most widely shared? The post with the most engagement? Our ability to discern the genuine from the artificial has never been weaker.

The antidote—the physical environment—remains a vestige of sincerity. A wall is a wall. Light is light. These things exist outside debate. Their meaning can be interpreted, but their presence is undeniable.

The marks, colors, and textures of the everyday built environment [give us a palette from which to draw our inspiration]. In these fragments, we find the last evidence of a shared reality; in the common ground where we all stand.

Maybe the way forward is not to convince others of our truth, but to pause long enough to notice what is right in front of us. To question together, to embrace the uncertainty of perception, and to rediscover civility in the simple act of seeing.