Reality

Reality in everyday usage means "the state of things as they actually exist." The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether it is observable, comprehensible, or self-contradictory by science, philosophy, or any other system of analysis.

Sourced

• Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.
  • Philip K. Dick, in "How To Build A Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1978)

• Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.
  • John Lennon, quoted in Sunday Herald Sun (19 January 2003)

• It is not the form of things that must be attended to but their spirit. The real is what matters, not the apparent. In politics, reality is that which is unseen. ~ José Martí

• I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a decent meal.
  • Groucho Marx, quoted in Philosophy on the Go‎ (2007) by Joey Green, p. 78

• The first thing necessary for a constructive dealing with time is to learn to live in the reality of the present moment. For psychologically speaking, this present moment is all we have.
  • Rollo May, in Man’s Search for Himself (1953)

• Consciousness is unquantifiable, a ghost in the machine, barely considered real at all, though in a sense this flickering mosaic of awareness is the only true reality that we can ever know.
  • Alan Moore in What Is Reality?

• Ideas, unlike solid structures, do not perish. They remain immortal, immaterial and everywhere, like all Divine things. Ideas are a golden, savage landscape that we wander unaware, without a map. Be careful: in the last analysis, reality may be exactly what we think it is.
  • Alan Moore in What Is Reality?

• Reality is what you make of it.
  • Prot in "K-PAX" (1995)

• There is no reality but God,
  says the completely surrendered sheik, who is an ocean for all beings.
  • Jelaluddin Rumi, in The Essential Rumi (1995) translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, A. J. Arberry and Reynold Nicholson; "The Grasses" in Ch. 4 Spring Giddiness, p. 44

• You knock at the door of Reality. You shake your thought wings, loosen your shoulders, and open.
  • Jelaluddin Rumi, in The Essential Rumi (1995) translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, A. J. Arberry and Reynold Nicholson; "The Gift of Water" Ch. 18 The Three Fish, p. 200

• It from bit.
  • John Wheeler (Princeton University)
    
    • Reality... What A Concept!
      • Robin Williams, title of his 1979 comedy album.
    
    
    • It from qubit.
      • Paola Zizzi (University of Padova) Note: the quote does not appear in the on-line version that is freely available
        
        • I have seen reality, and reality is an illusion.
          • GameMaster Loveshade The Book of Lies and Other Games
        
        
        • There's real poetry in the real world. Science is the poetry of reality.
          • Richard Dawkins, The Enemies of Reason, "Slaves to Superstition" [1.01], 13 August 2007, timecode 00:38:16ff
        
        
        • Every human being relies on and is bounded by his knowledge and experience to live. This is what we call "reality". However, knowledge and experience are ambiguous, thus reality can become illusion. Is it not possible to think that, all human beings are living in their assumptions?
          • Itachi Uchiha in Naruto: Shippūden
        
        
        • Things are entirely what they appear to be and behind them...there is nothing.
          • Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausia.
        
        
        • He who has the bigger stick has the better chance of imposing his definitions of reality.
          • Peter Berger, "The Social Construction of Reality", p. 109, 1966.
        
        

        Unsourced

        • I reject your reality and substitute my own!
          • Paul Bradford, The Dungeonmaster; popularized by Adam Savage of MythBusters
        
        
        • Reality has become a commodity.
          • Stephen Colbert
        
        
        • Reality has a well known liberal bias.
          • Stephen Colbert
        
        
        • Reality is a term for people who refuse to see things as they can be, so that they might be, instead seeing things as they are, and lazily assuming that's how they'll always be.
          • Walter White
        
        
        • Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
          • Albert Einstein
        
        
        • Every single moment of reality instantly turns into memories; reality can not be caught; we can only catch memories.
          • Mehmet ildan
        
        
        • The real world: no time to do it right, but always time to do it over.
          • Rex Jaeschke
        
        
        • There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.
          • Douglas Everett
        
        
        • There is no reality...only perception.
          • Dr. Phil McGraw
        
        
        • There is a bend in the reality that you see and the reality that really exists and the amount of bend is directly proportional to our sufferings.
          • Dhawal Kaul
        
        
        • What is is. Perceive It. Integrate it. Act on it. Idealize it.
          • Leonard Peikoff
        
        
        • Reality is thinking about moving forward peacefully.
          • Anonymous
        
        
        • Reality is fear and fear is imagination.
          • Anonymous
        
        
        • Poor hate reality and Rich loves to imagine it.
          • Anonymous
        
        
        • Reality is for those who cant handle Drugs.
          • Anonymous