OMG WTF

[number1son]

Oh my droogy droogs.  What tales I have to tell of places far away and creatures that defy description.

That would be fun writing about Second Life like that.  But I'm frankly incapable.  In fact, I defy anyone to describe the place in terms other than their personal experience.  Intrigued by jigsawpig's comments, I signed up on a trial basis the other

Comments

[jigsawpig]

Yes, the cleavage was a bit disconcerting, but it seems to be sorted out now, I notice. In SL when you get a makeover, you really do get a makeover.

In my experience, the world seems to be divided into people who 'get' VR, and people who don't. I'm not sure from where in people's psyche, experience or world-view this distinction derives, but I suspect it has a lot to do with whether or not they have actually reached a sufficient degree of accommodation with their real-world lives to give them a stable base from which to explore other perspectives.

I myself see it as a wonderful privilege to have been given the opportunity not only to get a glimpse into the inevitable 'augmented-reality' future, but also, in a limited way, to experience it.

[number1son]

You make some good points, JP. Our next task is to segment those we know into one of the two camps. Is it necessary for a denizen of SL to have "got VR"? When I watch some of the creatures and witness their behaviour, I wonder if they haven't actually got SL and RL mixed up!

[jigsawpig]

I think that mixing them up is actually the most logical, and the most sensible, approach. When you think about it, the distinction between what we conventionally regard as 'real' and what we think of as 'virtual' is purely an evolutionary accident. We happen, for example, and for reasons of historical convenience, to come pre-equipped with sensors that detect electromagnetic radiation within a narrow band, and air pressure waves with frequencies ranging from tens of cycles per second to a few kilocycles. These detectors were presumably the ones most useful to us in terms of finding small animals to eat, and avoiding being eaten ourselves by larger animals, during our long period of climbing up the Darwinian tree

[number1son]

I can sense quantum mechanics just around the corner. If it pokes its nose out, I shall run away.

Actually, despite your using up four months' quota of long words on me, I can see what you're saying. I'm a little riddled by the idea that my reality is essentially false (smells like religion) but what you are saying about the limited capability of our sensors makes a lot of sense. Especially as we commonly use various equipments to extend our own sensory range a little further.. who is to say what the limit is and what we'll see?

Here I must confess that whilst in SL, I find it faintly ridiculous to be reacting with a bunch of animated pixels. I even found myself, quite involuntarily, expressing pleasure at a virtual hug!

Similarly, why am I shy at initiating a conversation with a beautiful avatar? This bears investigation. For the moment, much more compelling than figuring out how to build a house...