From: gwertzma@husc10.harvard.edu (James Gwertzman)
Subject: SOCIETY: VR - from a "kid" perspective
Date: 17 Apr 92 02:33:09 EDT
Message-ID: <1992Apr17.023311.11208@husc3.harvard.edu>
Organization: Harvard University Science Center



I resent the way generalizations are being thrown about in the discussion
of Virtual reality regarding "kids". I'm a freshman in college, interested
in VR, and I can say that I have grown up surrounded by the high-tech
products of our day. Television, computers, etc. I am also an avid
nature lover, and I spend as much time as possible outdoors. I am ALSO
an avid technology freak, very interested in VR.

I have spent quite a bit of time with my friends and roomates debating
precisely the issues now being bandied about. Using William Gibson's
novels as a starting point, we've discussed the possibilities
of technology so advanced that one can not tell the difference
between a simulated world and the real one. I can honestly
say I disbelive in this possibility, but we'll use it as
a hypothetical starting point.

1) Will people spend much of their time in a VR world, if possible? This
concept scares us. Drugs form a type of escape from this world, and
among a small percentage of the population, are used for precisely this
purpose. But imagine the "drug" possiblities of VR! Forget LSD, if
it is possible to experience a fantasy world, safely, and where you possess
god-like powers!

2) Is VR a good thing, given this possibility? Is this even a valid
question? The day man stops following his curiosity as far as is possible
is the day the human race becomes stagnant. Just because something
represents possible dangers is no reason not to pursue it. I admit
there are possible outcomes which might seem undesirable. But
there are also possible outcomes which I view as highly desirable.
Take the concept of "cyberspace" wherein data may be manipulated
in a three dimensional world. Much attention is placed on relational
databases these days, and I forsee a use of this VR technology as
a way to find links between information in a way never before
possible. In Gordon Dickson's "The final Encyclopedia" he
discusses a repository for all the information known to man, used
by researches to draw links between information (say poetry, and
pottery) that yield new ways of viewing the universe.

3) What is the ultimate goal of man's evolution anyway? How do we know
that someday we will find a way to leave our bodies behind altogether, and
evolve into creatures of pure energy (I know, cliched SF, but just hold
back your disbelief for one more paragraph). If this is indeed possible,
somewhere down the line, then it seems that VR may very well be an evolutionary
step in that direction. Everyone agrees that physican evolution has slowed
down now that man can alter his environment. I don't believe that evolution
has stopped however, not at all. I believe very strongly that we will
grow in someway, intellectually. The rapid rise in importance over the
past decade of computers shows how powerful a tool they can be. Might
not a new way of interfacing with them prove equally important?