From: sean@unix.cis.pitt.edu
Subject: Re: "Space"
Date: 7 Aug 90 21:51:26 GMT
Organization: The Zets



>Humans have intuitive navigation abilities only for 2-D spaces, and fare very
>badly in higher dimensions and alternative geometries.  Ever played "wumpus"?
>It's played on a 3-D dodekaeder, and even though that's a comparatively simple
>space you usually get lost after a few moves.  Humans can navigate complex
>spaces only with the help of cognitive artifacts (maps, paper & pencil, ...),
>and using them in VR therefore defeats the whole idea of VR as a user-friendly
>interface.

I dunno about this.  Sure, I personally have trouble navigating 3D worlds that
are described via text only, but I think it might be a good deal easier to
handle if graphics are used, especially if we can somehow simulate the effects
of motion and orientation on the inner ear.

Also, has anyone given thought to treating 'scale' as a dimension of sorts? 

Sean Owens
sean@unix.cis.pitt.edu