Virtual Living
February 24th, 2016
Thank you Christy Rose for the request.
“Virtual Living” is a huge chunk of imagination and reality today. The definition according to Urban Dictionary is –
Virtual Living: Giving too much time and attention to the internet, especially the virtual world.
So it’s everything from social media, to designing a room, to a virtual sensation suit, to interacting in a virtual world through an avatar. It seems the next progression would be to lose the avatar and be inserted directly to the program.
So is all of this good or bad? Like most everything else mankind does it has the potential to be either. A teen aged girl told me that social media is a way of maintaining friendships through the reading and writing of comments. I get that and I agree; just not to the same degree. While researching this topic I read that folks will type more in a comment then they would ever say face to face. I can attest to that as well. Still I can’t see spending most of your day on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Being a blogger I spend a lot of time on the computer but I balance that with no or very little computer time on some days. I fear that some people lose that incredibly delicate balance.
On the television we see rooms that are totally made over with a computer generated image before the first nail comes out. Property Brothers come to mind and there are many others. It’s a very helpful tool. I’ll consider this virtual room even further later in this Blog.
Imagine having a suit that could make you feel rain. sunshine or even a hug artificially by stimulating the correct nerves to these corresponding feelings. Well if you have $3,300 you can own one in July of 2016. If that’s too pricey you can own 1 for $1,800 in December. Tesla is the company that makes the suit. This sensor packed suit will immerse you in virtual reality like never before. The next question is when will someone be able to have the audio and visual to accompany these sensations. The technology already exist on their own and it’s a matter of time before they’re combined. I think it’s awesome but it is and should be a bit scary. If past technology has proven to be addicting what will this bring?
There are virtual reality games like Ever Quest and World of Warcraft.
There are other simulations that are more about the experience than getting a win. Second Life is one such simulation which outlasted it’s competitor The Sims Online. In many ways, Second Life (Wikipedia) “is similar to MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games); however, Linden Lab is emphatic that their creation is not a game: There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective”. Second Life has an economy and a currency know as Linden dollar, named after Linden Lab. The exchange rate changes. $270 of these dollars were worth 1 real American dollar at the time that reference was written. Entropia Universe is a virtual experience program with a fixed exchange rate of 10 PED (Project Entropia Dollar) to 1 American dollar. It’s a world that at least 1 user is paying for college with. There are many atractions and real-estate. Jon Jacobs paid $63,500 for “Club Neverdie”. Combine 1 of these virtual realities or a room design program with Tesla’s suit and the line between reality and virtual reality could be easily blurred.
What if your synergy, the stuff that makes you you, could be converted. What if quarks, proton, electron, and, neutrons, the things that molecules are made of, could be manipulated in a computer program. We’d just have to get the real world particles to be compatible to the virtual world. Phillip Rosedale CEO of Second Life was quoted “In just a few years, this is gonna look like walking into a movie screen,” Rosedale said. “And that’s just gonna be such an amazing thing.” In 1966 no-one would have dreamed a microwave oven would be possible. What does the next 50 years hold on the technological front.
The thing that interest me most is the prospect of trying out real world solutions in a harmless virtual world. I would love to try Occupational Parenting in a virtual economy. Maybe someone believes a dictatorship, socialism, or radicalism is a better way to govern using a simulated avatar population.
The possibilities give rise to some difficult questions. What if someone wants to experience murder; either the victim (with a simulated death) or predator. Is it ethical, psychologically or sociologically healthy, or would it have real life implications? I think it must but which implications would be positive and which ones negative?
Some would say it’d be a lot better for the earth if humans did live in a virtual world; a place where our existence does little to harm the environment. Would you allow yourself to be inserted into a computer program if it were possible today? What if you could be superhuman or live forever? What would be the drawbacks? It’s worth thinking about with the future right around the corner.
So how do we know we don’t already exist in a virtual world? Are we living in a virtual world? Who could say with 100% surety that everything we know, our entire Universe isn’t an advanced program. How would you even prove or disprove it. I’ve given it much thought and if I was a part of a simulation I would hold the same values, I would still believe in God, and I would consider love to be the strongest force in existence. Basically I would try to maintain the person that am, even in the strangest of places. It is simply a matter of faith. Until next time, keep your homes well.
Welcome Occupational Parenting Health and Happiness The Human Element The Perceivable Universe The Environment Word Play Conclusion Glossary In The Kitchen Pets Tips Cleaning Tips Parenting Tips Blog