Suzanne Harrington: We're living in an alternative universe — choking on lies and fake news

"A huge example of this is the upcoming US elections, bearing down on us like those action movie scenes where the goodie and the not-as-baddie are trying to wrestle control of a speeding juggernaut as it hurtles towards a playground."

Former US President Donald Trump looks up at the partial solar eclipse with former First Lady Melania Trump from the balcony of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 21, 2017.

Like you, I am all for the concept of shared reality. The sky is blue. You and I might disagree about whether we like the colour blue or not, but the basis of the argument is built upon a shared acceptance that the sky (a) exists and (b) is blue.

But what happens when one of us fundamentally doesn’t believe that the sky exists at all?