VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO SAY
AH, did you catch that? “Virtually” nothing to say. That is, nothing — nada, nope — to say about the virtual world, but a lot to say about the “real” world.
Less than a decade ago, the distinction between real and virtual was quite clear: The real world was where one lived out one’s mortal life, for better or worse, gaining experience over time from face-to-face and sometimes body-to-body social encounters. No more. In many cases, the virtual world is these days more real than the “real” world. A favorite example was riding on a local train in Japan filled with students on their way home from school. The train was completely silent. Everyone sat or stood politely ignoring the person next them them. Every student was, however, fervently communicating on their cell phones with each other. Another example, this time from my Daniel S. Janik actor perspective: Korean dramas spend almost (but not quite) as much time following the characters on their cell phones as face-to-face. In fact, the drama of face-to-face communication wouldn’t be such without the constant background chatting in the virtual world.
While the process of virtual verbal communication is both more common and increasingly sophisticated, I’m waiting for the moment when the next big breakthrough occurs and we no longer have to live in the “real” world at all: the moment when we can communicate virtually body-to-body. Released from the constraints of verbal-style communication, I wonder what appeal would be left for living in the “real” world, replete as it is with danger.
For one thing, we’d lose use of several of our important evolutionary senses — taste, smell (especially pheromone “smell”) — to be replaced by better “virtual” touch, hearing, seeing, or at least more potent digital substitutes. One “side effect,” of course, would be the potential of increased impulsivity, compulsivity, addiction and in special instances, “virtual violence.” Add to that the loss of one’s physical humanity — which for some, like victims of physical bullying, might actually be a blessing — and what kind of world is left? A virtual world that would have to be supported, maintained and eventually interpreted by artificial intelligences. That’s not a threat. It’s a Sci-Fu moment, envisioning the future simply by extending today’s socio-technological advances. Sci-Fu, or science-based futuring. Future Studies in academic terms.
An example? Get hold of a copy of the Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — and experience “virtuality” in the “real” world for yourself. THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, virtual (meaning digital) and audio formats and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
Virtual Book Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
The Edge of Madness
Less than a decade ago, the distinction between real and virtual was quite clear: The real world was where one lived out one’s mortal life, for better or worse, gaining experience over time from face-to-face and sometimes body-to-body social encounters. No more. In many cases, the virtual world is these days more real than the “real” world. A favorite example was riding on a local train in Japan filled with students on their way home from school. The train was completely silent. Everyone sat or stood politely ignoring the person next them them. Every student was, however, fervently communicating on their cell phones with each other. Another example, this time from my Daniel S. Janik actor perspective: Korean dramas spend almost (but not quite) as much time following the characters on their cell phones as face-to-face. In fact, the drama of face-to-face communication wouldn’t be such without the constant background chatting in the virtual world.
While the process of virtual verbal communication is both more common and increasingly sophisticated, I’m waiting for the moment when the next big breakthrough occurs and we no longer have to live in the “real” world at all: the moment when we can communicate virtually body-to-body. Released from the constraints of verbal-style communication, I wonder what appeal would be left for living in the “real” world, replete as it is with danger.
For one thing, we’d lose use of several of our important evolutionary senses — taste, smell (especially pheromone “smell”) — to be replaced by better “virtual” touch, hearing, seeing, or at least more potent digital substitutes. One “side effect,” of course, would be the potential of increased impulsivity, compulsivity, addiction and in special instances, “virtual violence.” Add to that the loss of one’s physical humanity — which for some, like victims of physical bullying, might actually be a blessing — and what kind of world is left? A virtual world that would have to be supported, maintained and eventually interpreted by artificial intelligences. That’s not a threat. It’s a Sci-Fu moment, envisioning the future simply by extending today’s socio-technological advances. Sci-Fu, or science-based futuring. Future Studies in academic terms.
An example? Get hold of a copy of the Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — and experience “virtuality” in the “real” world for yourself. THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, virtual (meaning digital) and audio formats and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
Virtual Book Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6CC...
The Edge of Madness
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