the desert of the real

authenticity can change the meaning of the worth of something depending how authenticated its is.  giving meaning to the work gives it authenticity with out meaning the piece is just an object created by the creator.

the printing press made works less genuine over times as they were mass produced so the original becomes more and more obscure.

what we lose in authenticity we gain in domocusentaion as now the object belongs to the people and not just the select few.

difference the real and the simulation
the simulation becomes the reality (some one who simulates illness feels sick because they believe that they are)  it doesn't matter if it is real or not as long as it feels real the authenticity is there.

if the simulation is exactly the same as the original which is the real one.

the question what is reality is reality what we can see in front of us or is reality what we believe exists. in my person opinion for something to exist you have to be able to interact with it in one shape or form, this includes sight, smell, touch and hearing.

science states that reality is "the state of things as they actually exist" to find out if something actual exists you need evidence to prove that the object or entity actually has presence and isnt just an illusion. (http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/what-is-reality.html)
however there is something called Consensus reality, this is when a group of people or society believe something is true with very little to no prof that it exists, a good example of this is organised religion where people believe in a all powerful creator or being that created the world or influences events around them.
(example) in Christianity it is believed there is an all powerful creature that created the world and every thing on it in 7 periods of time, this idea has been believed by millions of people for thousands of  years to be true, it is only in the last few hundred years that the religion has started to soften down in some respects however there are allot of people that solidly believe it is face and there for reality.
another example of this is the world is flat, this was believed the be reality for a long time until it was proven to be false by Christopher Columbus.

in my opinion i believe reality is constantly changing depending on what we see or believe the definition of reality is.