Perceptions are structured by a value hierarchy, and a story is a description of that hierarchy.

“I came up with a hypothesis when I was writing my last book which is that a story is a description you could say a story is a description of the value hierarchy that structures perception that's actually what a story is”

Perception is an unconscious inference process where the brain uses internal models to predict and interpret sensory data from the external world.

“it says that if inside your head you've got a model of how your Sensations were caused then you can use this model to generate a prediction of what you would sense if this was the right CA”

Perception is inherently driven by goals and missions rather than being a value-free aggregation of objective data.

“the point is that all the data is hitting all of your eyes but you guys are seeing different things you're seeing you're having different experiences of the world predicated on what questions you're asking and that of course is predicated on you know who you are”

Human perception is a controlled hallucination that the brain uses to actively interpret sensory signals for survival.

“our experience is like a controlled hallucination it's a hallucination in the sense that it is generated by the brain but it's the control is equally important”