From a cognitive science pov, we compress what comes into us
   because, frankly, our brains are too small to take ALL THE
   UNIQUENESS of everything in.

   So, our brains coalesce similarities into patterns. These
   patterns have an absolute "feel" to them; that of certainty of
   the nature of their categorization as being fact... but that
   'feeling of fact' is, but a feeling.

   There is so much we must ignore to even be able to exist here.
   We have to ignore most of our reality. Nearly all of it. That
   which we *don't* ignore, we have to form into patterns in order
   to process *that*, and that allows us, to learn more and more.

   In other words, form more and more patterns we can use to
   compare the world with our knowledge of it.