Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds are anything the user wants them to be; that is to say, they are the product of our respective imaginations and can be filled with any one, and any thing imaginable. Virtual worlds can be used to recreate vistas that have already disappeared and breathe new life and imagination onto them. Imagining a modern version of Pompeii, an ocean filled with only turtles, or the renaissance era in a steam punk imagination and retelling of it. These are all increasingly available and possible with the power of virtual technology. Furthermore, in the article "In Room 100, It's Sid and Nancy All Over Again"", creator Michael Brown recreated a Chelsea hotel to the spitting image of his imagination and recollection, and has since then used it to enrich his own life through interaction and increased creative control. Additionally, in the article "'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction", the article describes that individuals with Aspegers, a form of autism on the autism spectrum, often use Second Life, a virtual reality platform, to coax themselves into interacting with others in a safe and very controlled space.
Virtual reality doesn't have only positives to them. Yes there is creative control, yes anyone can do it, yes it gives a person agency over an entire world/space that they govern, but it doesn't come without negatives. Modern VR equipment is incredibly expensive and it's hard to break that barrier of entry. Virtual Reality often removes the true element of human activity and interaction from individuals; everything is virtual, the people you talk to may not be the people who claim who they are, etc. this allows for relationships to be created, but removes the actual physical interaction (which can also be good if you're into that). Creating avatars also means that people can be better contacted in various social engineering methods, and can also become a viable way to gather information on a person who thinks they're automatically "safe".
In the future though, Virtual Reality is probably going to be used mostly for entertainment; It's already widely popular and has a very large following, with dedicated 'VR World' store opened up in midtown on 34th street. Realistically, the adoption for VR is incredibly high and there's a lot of demand for people to see things via an inexpensive way of going about them, and I'm excited to see how the VR space develops in the coming years.
Virtual reality doesn't have only positives to them. Yes there is creative control, yes anyone can do it, yes it gives a person agency over an entire world/space that they govern, but it doesn't come without negatives. Modern VR equipment is incredibly expensive and it's hard to break that barrier of entry. Virtual Reality often removes the true element of human activity and interaction from individuals; everything is virtual, the people you talk to may not be the people who claim who they are, etc. this allows for relationships to be created, but removes the actual physical interaction (which can also be good if you're into that). Creating avatars also means that people can be better contacted in various social engineering methods, and can also become a viable way to gather information on a person who thinks they're automatically "safe".
In the future though, Virtual Reality is probably going to be used mostly for entertainment; It's already widely popular and has a very large following, with dedicated 'VR World' store opened up in midtown on 34th street. Realistically, the adoption for VR is incredibly high and there's a lot of demand for people to see things via an inexpensive way of going about them, and I'm excited to see how the VR space develops in the coming years.
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