REALITY is the same as TRUTH: PLEASE DON'T BELIEVE ME

Using the example of an average person who is born with all their five senses; sight hearing, touch, smell, and taste.
When we stop and think about it, it becomes clear that we are entirely dependent on our five senses for "information" of our environment / reality
So how do we really know what is real? How can I be sure that what you see is the same as I what I see?
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT
Imagine you went back in time and met the famous impressionist artist Monet. And so there you are both standing in his garden. You see purple flower and say; "Look Monet! What a beautiful purple flower!" But then Monet replies; "What are you talking about, the flower is bright red."
So which person's perception of the flower is correct? Which is the truth? What are you going to do, argue with one of the world's most respected artists who is known for their knowledge of colour? Do you believe him or do you believe your own eyes?
COLOUR DISTORTION
In his late 60s, the artist Monet went to have his eyes tested and it was discovered he had cataracts. After the surgery Monet returned home and was horrified when he looked at his paintings and immediately broke down in tears. He later burned those paintings. The reason why he reacted so dramatically was because he saw he had used only red paint. This was because the cataracts on his eyes had distorted his eyesight so badly that he could only see the world in red tones. When the cataracts was removed he could once again saw all the colours of the rainbow. He could not bare to see the paintings he had painted "wrongly" and so destroyed them.
STEP FURTHER
Let's take this thought experiment one step further:
Imagine that dogs could talk. One evening you and your dog go outside to watch a beautiful sunset.
"Look at those beautiful orange colours", you comment.
Your dog turns to look at youa nd says: "What are you talking about? What the hell is is orange?" It is then you realise that dogs can only see in black and white. So what the dog sees are variations of grey. So whose reality is the truth? The dog or the human?
If you said "human" then let's take the experiment one step further again.
Did you know that a goldfish can see almost all of the light spectrum. This gives it the ability to see see through solid walls. About a decade ago the military developed technology based on the eyes of a goldfish that resulted in a camera that ccan see through solid walls. They use this technolgy in warfare today.
So considering the goldfish can see far more of the world than we can, whose reality is the true one, ours or the goldfish?
You see, determining the truth of reality is not so easy. And we haven't even considered the other four senses. A dog for example, has 40 times the scent ability than we have, a shark can detect a single drop of blood from 10 miles away.

OUR OWN PERSONAL DATA-STREAM
What I am trying to get at here is that; what we perceive as "reality" is entirely based on our "own" personal five sensory input. Light comes into our eyes and the brain interprets that "information" as a visual environment of which is limited to how much of the light spectrum the eye can see. Sound waves comes into our ears and the brain interprets that "information" as speech or music etc and so on.
Another word for "information" is "data".
Try to think of all your fives senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) as a; "data stream"; a stream of "information" which the brain then pieces together that we "perceive" as a reality.
But it is "our" interpretation of reality and no one else's.

OUR TRUTH
So, to sum up:
If we all have five senses, and they are functioning normally, I think it is safe to say that no person's "perception" of reality is any more advanced than our own.
So, if someone said to you; "My perception of reality is the right one and yours is the wrong one" - then what they would actually be saying is; "My five senses are more advanced than yours." And that can not be true can it?
Therefore ONLY our own personal "experience" of the world can be our truth. And that also means that no one else's truth is any more valuable than our own. I hope that makes sense?

REALITY AND TRUTH= INFORMATION PERCEPTION
So let's pursue this idea of reality and truth: if your brain is not worn out by now : )
So, if we all have our own personal "data stream", then there are two main forms of "information" that we can "receive." First-hand information and second-hand information.

First-hand information would be direct data received through our five senses (our data-stream).
So for example;
I take a roller-coaster ride at the fairground. All my 5 senses (my data-stream) take in all the "information" of that "experience" of the roller-coaster ride and that then is "real" for me. It was not someone else who had that experience and told me about it, I actually had the experience myself first -hand - This is then could be classed as 100% our truth.
OK so you now go home from the fairground and you meet with a friend and tell them of your experience of riding on the roller-coaster. Imagine your friend had never heard or seen a rollercoaster in their life and says; "I don't believe you?" because it is so outside of her "own" experience.
How could you prove it?
You have no photographs or any form of recording on a mobile phone or anything like that. No evidence whatsoever. All she has is your word for it. Your description of the experience. What your friend is now receiving from you is; "second-hand" information. She did NOT have the experience herself therefore it is NOT her truth. The best you can hope for is that your friend "believes" you and if she finds the information "useful" or not. ONLY when your friend actually has a ride on a roller-coaster herself does the reality that roller-coasters exist become her "truth." After that, whenever the friends talk about roller-coasters, they can both relate to it.
SECOND-HAND INFORMATION
Other forms of "second-hand" information, we take in through our data-stream, are from; books, TV, movies, internet etc. Information we read in a book is the writer's own interpretation of what he/she had "experienced" via their own data-stream. And as we have determined already, no one else's interpretation of reality can be any more accurate than our own. If you "believe" what the writer has written is more accurate and more valuable than your own version of reality, then you yourself are agreeing that the writer's five senses are more advanced than yours. Do you see what I am getting at here?
NO ONE'S INTERPRETATION OF REALITY (TRUTH) CAN EVER BE MORE VALUABLE THAN OUR OWN FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE THAT WE RECEIVED DIRECT THROUGH OUR OWN FIVE SENSES (DATA-STREAM).
It makes no difference if that person is a scientist, a professor priest, a doctor, it is still "their" interpretation of reality that they interpreted through their five senses.
When other people tell us some information, or we read it in a book, it can NEVER be classed as our truth. The best we can do is to decide to "believe" that information - but then we must be aware it can only ever be a "belief" and NOT a truth. But the most important thing to do with information is to ask; "What can I do with this information? Will this information help me? In fact this is what we should ask with ALL information. Both first-hand and second-hand.

VIRTUAL REALITY AND TRUTH
Now you know why the virtual reality hypothesis calls "reality"; an "information based reality"
All we can ever know of our environment is literally from "information" / "data" that our brains interpret after it receives it through our five senses.
ANY REALITY THAT IS BASED ENTIRELY ON INFORMATION SIMPLY HAS TO BE VIRTUAL.
To finish: I am well aware that what I have written here you must class as "second-hand" information. So please do NOT BELEIVE this as YOUR TRUTH. Instead ask yourself two questions:

1. Does this relate to my OWN experience of reality?
2. Is this useful to me in a way that it helps me?
   That is all that matters.
   And remember;
   if it is NOT your FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE then it is NOT your TRUTH.