Gmod Realism

A Garry's Mod trend kickstarted by Rische, a small YouTube channel. The trend itself circulates around implementing realistic elements into Garry's mod, such as visual and physical modifications to the game. Some of these modifications can include things like ReShade or the implementation of Firearms with Realistic behavior.

Person 1: "Yo, Let's play gmod!"
Person 2: "OK."
Person 3: "But first, download my Gmod Realism Modpa-
Person 4: *Leaves call*

by sandfork May 31, 2024

realism

it is what it is, you force someone to drink one night. You drink the next, its realism. Its just the law of the jungle.

yo thats just realism, she made him drink last night. She drinks tonight.

by Feef Queef November 26, 2021

Cognitive Realism

The position that our internal cognitive representations (concepts, schemas, mental models) accurately mirror the external world. Our minds are like maps that, while not perfect, are fundamentally aligned with the territory. Truth is about correspondence between thought and reality, and through reason and perception, we can progressively refine our maps to be more accurate.

Cognitive Realism believes that the concept of "tree" in your mind, while simplified, corresponds to an actual class of objects with shared properties (roots, trunk, leaves) that exist independently of you. Scientific models, like the heliocentric solar system, are triumphantly realistic maps that displaced less accurate ones (geocentrism). When you learn a new fact and update your belief, you're moving your cognitive map closer to reality.

by Abzugal January 24, 2026

Scientific-Epistemological Realism

The belief that the entities, laws, and structures described by successful scientific theories (like electrons, natural selection, or gravitational waves) are real, mind-independent features of the world, and that science progressively uncovers this objective truth. Theories may change, but they converge on an accurate description of reality "as it is."

Example: A scientific-epistemological realism believes that DNA existed and carried genetic information long before humans discovered it. The shift from Newtonian physics to Einsteinian relativity wasn't a change of arbitrary stories, but a closer approximation to the actual fabric of spacetime. When physicists talk about the Higgs boson, they're not just describing a useful calculation tool; they believe it's a real particle their instruments actually detected.

by Abzugal January 24, 2026

Cognitive Realism

The philosophical hypothesis that our perception of reality isn't a perfect mirror of the world, but a limited, processed construction built by our brains. It argues that our nervous systems act as a filter and an interpreter, shaping what we can see, hear, and understand. The "realism" part acknowledges an external world exists, but our access to it is always mediated by our cognitive machinery. This theory has a spectrum: a Weak Version (Cognitive Relativism) suggests our biology heavily influences our reality, while a Strong Version (Cognitive Determinism) argues it dictates and limits what reality can even be for us.

*Example: "Looking at a rainbow, Cognitive Realism kicks in. The rainbow 'out there' is just water droplets refracting white light. But my primate brain, equipped with only three types of color cones, constructs the bands of ROYGBIV. A mantis shrimp, with 16 color cones, would perceive a rainbow of unimaginable complexity. My reality isn't false, but it's a profoundly limited, biologically-determined sketch of what's actually there."*

by Abzunammu February 2, 2026

Pragmatic Anti-realism

The position that it is meaningless or pointless to talk about a reality completely independent of our conceptual schemes and practical engagements. What we call "truth" or "reality" is constituted by what works for us within our forms of life. There is no "God's-eye view" to compare our useful theories to; the only criteria for judgment are coherence, utility, and fruitfulness within our human practices.

Example: For a Pragmatic Anti-realist, saying "electrons exist" means "using the concept of 'electrons' allows us to build functioning computers, predict chemical reactions, and communicate successfully with other scientists." They deny we need to (or can) say anything about what electrons are "in themselves," apart from their role in our successful ways of acting and talking about the world. Pragmatic Anti-realism

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Pragmatic Realism

The viewpoint that there is a mind-independent reality, but our access to it and our descriptions of it are always mediated by our practical interests, cognitive tools, and languages. Therefore, "truth" is the set of beliefs that, at a given time, best enables us to cope with and predict the behavior of that reality. It's a realism tempered by pragmatism: the world is real, but our maps of it are judged by how well they help us travel.

Pragmatic Realism Example: A Pragmatic Realist scientist believes quarks are real features of the universe, not just useful fictions. However, they also acknowledge that our "quark" model is a human construct that works stunningly well for prediction and engineering. If a better, more useful model emerges, they would abandon the old one, confident we are getting closer to the reality, but never claiming to have the final, perfect picture.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026