Week 8 - Response to Lecture

Week 8: VIRTUAL PHILOSOPHY

This week we talked about how the Matrix pushes the boundaries of computer-generated effects as it explores a possible future world where machines dominate humans but keep them inignorant bliss of their real state. The machines in the Matrix create a totally illusory reality for people, constructing their identities to suit the purposes of the machine. We discussed wether it has already happened and to what extent are our identities constructed by our consumption of corporate media product and where do our identities come from?


We talked about the movie eXistenZ which is a movie that explores the nature of reality vs the video game. It gets us to ask the questions, what is real and what is virtual?  


The lecturer talked about how the 19th and 20th centuries saw the exponential development of communication technologies that have radically altered the economy of the planet. How these changes have also started a shift from the certainties of the literary age and the rationality of logical positivism to the still emerging screen age and an attendant virtual rationality was also discussed.



We learned about a number of thinkers who have sought to come to terms with these new, 'possible' ways of viewing the world where the line between reality and appearance is so blurred that there is no discernible difference between the two, they are:


Guy Debord = 'Society of Spectacle'
Umberto Eco = 'Hyper-reality'
Jean Baudrillard = 'Simulacrum'
William Gibson = 'Cyberspace as Consensual Hallucination'
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari = 'Becoming Media'



Also discussed was one of the central myths of Western society is that of Cartesian dualism - the split between the mind and the body. In this space the cyberbody (not the mind) is immortal, while the human body (the animating soul outside the cyber body) is mortal. This is a direct reversal of current understandings wherein the body is mortal while the soul is immortal.

We also learned about Virtual Reality which is a system that enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment. Various types of devices allow users to sense and manipulate virtual objects much as they would real objects. This natural style of interaction gives participants the feeling of being immersed in the simulated world.Virtual worlds are created by mathematical models and computer programs.

We discussed the Precursors to Virtual Reality:

The Screen Age really began with the advent of cinema a century ago buteven before that there were technological advances that were setting the stage for virtual reality.

Such technologies as: Telegraph, Telephone, Phonograph, Radio, Cinema, and Television are all precursors of virtual reality. 

We discussed how VR works:

• engaging the senses through various hardware including goggles,headphones, gloves and body suits to the exclusion of the real world
• convergence of techniques used in simulation, animation andcomputer games - entertainment as the catalyst for other purposes.

We Learned that the Elements of VR include:

1. Touch

2. Taste

3. Smell 

4. Sound

We learned some of the key issues of VR:

- Convergence

- Depth of field

- Parallax

- Resolution/Acuity

We also learned about the production problems with VR

Production issues

• Cartoon-like graphics limit the involvement of the user.
• The lag time means that the virtual environment is often slow toreact to human input.
• The user's perspective is limited in current manifestations anddoes not reach the normal human range of about 160 degree vision.
• The number of senses involved is limited to vision and sound (notouch, taste or smell).
• Kinaesthetic dissonance is the mismatch or absence of feedback.

Physiological Issues	Psychological Issues
simulation sickness motion sickness eyestrain headaches / dizziness	addiction brainwashing effects of intense interactive pornography / violence desensitisation / devaluing of 'real-world' experience