From: dcw11111@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Blackmore)
Subject: Re: Computerized Reality: Better than VR
Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1991 00:11:25 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana



david@actsn.fay.ar.us (David Summers) writes:

>What I am wanting to know is if anyone has read the Science Fiction
>writer James P. Hogan's books, especially the second and third of
>the "Inherit the Stars" trilogy ("The Gentle Giants of Ganymede"
>and "Giant's Star") ?  In these books he projects a future where
>people lay down in specially suited chairs and allow the computer to
>"interface"  directly with their neural system, thereby pretty much
>excluding their "outside world" sensory inputs until they decide to
>"come back".

Though I have not read this book, I ran across something similar while writing
a paper a number of years ago.  The book (or magazine article), was about
AI (the topic of my paper).  One researcher discussed a futuristic system where
a person's brain would be connected to a computer.  This computer would be 
linked to a robot version of the person.  

The examples given as a demonstration of it's benefits were similar to:

	"Imagine taking a trip to France.  With this system, you could stay at
	 home, and the robot would go to France.  In your mind, it would be as
	 if you really were there.  However, you would be free of all the 
	 limitations of the human body...eating, going to the bathroom, getting
	 sick, etc."

Essentially, the person suggested removing the body, leaving just your mind - 
the core of your consciousness, so that you could experience things without
experiencing the discomforts that the physical body is prone to.

Since I'm not a member of the VR community, and will probably never have the
qualifications to join it, I was wondering what those with more knowledge 
thought about the researcher's ideas:

1)  Are people actually hoping some day to reach this point?  To me, removing
the body is removing the human-ness of the person, and something like this 
would be more my idea of a nightmare than a dream.

2)  Is this something too debatable to discuss?  Is there a big split in 
people's opinions of this?

>- David Summers (david@actsn.fay.ar.us)


Dean  C. Wagner				Like the well-trained dancer
Bmore@uiuc.edu				Liquid motions in a trance
dcw11111@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu		We ignore the aching
Blackmore@MUDs.MUCKs.MUSHs		And continue with the dance
						- Cycles, Animator