Space, The Final Frontier

By Wayne Brown


Just about any animal on Earth larger than a flea has some way of experiencing and navigating space. We are hard-wired for it.

We are not quite equipped for "space" that goes out 13 billion light-years or possibly forever. This is why "Science" Fiction needs to do away with real space and make the Universe a more comfortable size. Of course, it helps if all the "aliens" speak good English and differ only by the shape of their ears. Nothing out there is even as weird as an Octopus. This is another thing that is hard-wired in humans: face recognition.

Star Trek now seems ancient. These days we want to turn it into a "game" - an immersive experience where we can feel a bit "immersed." 

It feels even more "real" if people can talk to us (massive multi player games). This tweaks another hard-wired function of the human brain: to have our existence recognized. Without this, we are not a "person."

Modern "VR" platforms, such as Oculus provide all of the above and therefore feel "real'" It is an open question as to whether this particular platform will become popular, but in its current form, it provides an experience that feels pretty "real" and "immersive." Haptic (touch) elements improve this further.

But much older platforms, such as Second Life, can feel very immersive by providing a simple "space" and a way to communicate. Only a fairly capable PC or Mac is required, opening the door to a much wider acceptance than Oculus.

Finally, the discipline of Mindfulness reminds us that we fail to be "immersed" in our everyday experiences. We fail to live in the "now" and overlook the aspects of the real world that make it feel real (see above). 

With this final realization, we can open the door to integrating our experiences and becoming "immersed" in all of them, subject to our own imagination. 

But space is fundamental. For many years, as a computer programmer, I fought to express my ideas in at least two dimensions (escaping the linear text of the early programming languages.) Now I work in immersive 3D with friends in Second Life.

Some have placed their bets on "VR" with the 3D goggles as the next leap in "immersion." It so happens that this experience, while impressive, is not appropriate for building and many forms of exploring. These new "spaces" need "superpowers" that are not available in the real world, where our view is bolted onto our faces.

More later ...

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