4. Illusions and deviation tolerance
The present chapter offers a signal-detection account of decision making in the fiction domain. Ontological classification, the fiction-reality confusion, the perception of metamorphosis; these phenomena are all liable to the effects of signal strength, personal sensitivity, and tolerance levels to determine in or out, yes or no, true or false. We look into the mechanism that regulates individual tolerance to find out that when the signal-to-noise ratio approaches one (1), illusion transpires. This chapter also shows that perceptual illusions are necessary for us to effectively navigate the world; hence, trusting on fiction as if it were reality is our second nature. We will look at the creation of illusions from a data-driven as well as a more conceptual level and then I will incorporate our findings in the fiction-reality framework.