Los Angelenos' tendency after the 1992 riots to inhabit a virtualized, media-based world will no doubt cause certain people in other parts of the country to roll their eyes or chuckle, or to offer up various pointed comments on what's to be expected of the mental processes of folks who may have stayed out too long in the sun.

But misperceptions of this type are by no means limited to Southern California.

The world we believe we inhabit is out of whack with the world we actually inhabit on matters ranging from the way we treat criminals to the way we choose our political leaders--even the way some researchers purport to advance scientific knowledge.