Reality Checkpoint

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Reality Checkpoint is the name given to a large lamp-post in the middle of Parker's Piece, Cambridge, England where the diagonal paths cross in the middle of the common. The name comes from an unofficial inscription which has been painted on the lamp-post since the early 1970s.

[edit] Interpretation

There are three main theories as to the meaning of the name:

• It may mark the boundary between the central university area of Cambridge (referred to as the 'reality bubble') and the 'real world' of non-academic locals living beyond. One is warned to check one's notions of reality before passing.

• It may be because the lamp post forms a useful landmark for people crossing the park at night - perhaps drunk or in the fog - since it is the only light for hundreds of metres.

• It may be because when one is intoxicated it provides vital evidence that the reality being experienced is the standard version. This entails the fact that other realities have their own checkpoints in different locations.

[edit] Inscription

One report claims that the name was first painted on the lamp post by students from CCAT (now Anglia Ruskin University) under the guidance of one of their teachers.

It has been repeatedly re-painted since then in response to removal by the council or obliteration by graffiti. For the first half of 1998 the lamp-post carried an unofficial plaque bearing its name.

[edit] External links

• The Jargon file, under entry Real-World, is one source of this article.
• The cam.* FAQ wiki has an article on the Reality Checkpoint.

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 52.202182° 0.128155°
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia or Google Map
  • Street map from Multimap or GlobalGuide
  • Aerial image from TerraServer