From: Paco Xander Nathan <74020.2145@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: MISC: Reality Benchmark
Date: 28 Apr 92 16:17:04 EDT


Hiya!

I'm a writer for a magazine called bOING-bOING (among others) and I cover the 
brain-machine/street-tech/VR beat.  Some time ago, an erstwhile journalist of 
the serious media proclaimed VR as "electronic LSD"...  Aficionados among the 
VR community promptly retorted "Sorry, acid has a better price/performance 
ratio" to settle the issue.  But hey, just what do those nasty 
price/performance ratios look like anyway?

To that end, the deeply concerned staff at bOING-bOING has established a 
reality benchmark to help track this emerging commodity index.  In fact, our 
study is scientifically based on your experiences, feedback, hallucinations, 
rants, etc.  So please participate.  Reality is at steak.


The proposed benchmark is called RITES, for "Reality Immersion Temporal 
Economic Side-F/X".  Costs are based on the principle that most folks tire of 
their toys after about six months.  Your input is EZ - simply figure out:

        1 - what do you use to leave reality
        2 - how much it costs per week (we'll convert to US$)
        3 - how immersed you get, averaged over the entire session length (%)
        4 - how long it alters the knob atop your shoulders per session (min)
        5 - how many alternity sessions you typically engorge per week

Send experiential data for statistical analysis to moi-meme at:

        74020.2145@compuserve.com
        pacoid@well.sf.ca.us

or Snailmail if you must:

        2118 Guadalupe, Suite 195
        Austin, Texas 78705

Data sets will be crunched according to the formula:
        
        RITES = (Reality Immersion) * (Time/Session) 
                * (Sessions/Week) / (Cost/Week)

The RITES benchmark works out to be a percentage of Time/Cost.  Basically, the
more involved you get with an alternative/virtual reality, the more that it 
leads to a suspension of disbelief.  Ergo the more, the better.  

Here are some results from the benmark to date, based on other responses:

 Item           Cost/Wk         RI      Time            #/Week  RITES

 Day Dreamer    $15/26 wk       80%     10 min          7       97.07
 lysergic       $5/hit          75%     6 hrs           1       54.00
 brain machine  $500/26 wk      80%     30 min          7       8.74
 shrooms        $15/gobble      70%     3 hrs           1       8.40
 VR             $10k/26 wk      95%     90 min          7       1.56
 cinema         $3/matinee       5%     90 min          1       1.50
 ESO/tantra     $50             20%     2 hrs           3       1.44
 cocktails      $45 tab         10%     1 hr            3       0.40


For more information on bOING-bOING, you can send email to me or check your 
local bookstore!  Thank you very much -

paco.
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Copyright (C) 1992, Paco Xander Nathan.  All rights reserved.
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