No Actual Realities Were Harmed in the Writing of This Blog

Supposedly there is a football game on later, so I should knock this one out... I usually try to hammer out a topic by Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are spent giving some thought. Saturday is polishing and refining the language and flow.

Sunday rolls around and I scrap it and just let this thing pour forth.

I think it was on Thursday I saw a trailer for an indie film called "Creative Control". I was actually doing some work at the time, so I was glancing every so often and mildly giving it attention.

The basic gist is that a company invents some hipster glasses that give the wearer an augmented view of his/her surroundings... Like a "Heads Up Display". You can look at a person and it give you details about them; list of known relatives, last meeting, hobbies, etc.

You could also associate a "virtual skin" over someone. Say, every time you look at your boss, the Hee Haw Jack Ass is replacing their face. Hilarity could very well ensue!

Well, the wonderful main character of the film gets these glasses... He is a stable person by all accounts. Job. Residence. Girlfriend. Friends. The guy's best friend has a girlfriend and our main character has a harmless crush on her. So... what does this guy do... You guessed it... Takes a rendering of his friend's girlfriend and overlays it on HIS girlfriend... So when he looks at his girlfriend, he sees his friend's girlfriend.

Dick move - For a couple of reasons... 1) Just rude... 2) Too easy to get caught. 3) When you eventually DO get caught, you have intruded/trampled on three other people's lives.

The trailers brought forth some questions...

Where does "Virtual Reality", or VR stand now? Where do we stand now? Are we ready for it as a species?

The Technology

When it comes to VR, the next big thing is the Oculus Rift. This is a VR headset and controller combo. Then there is the PrioVR... Which is very much like a motion capture apparatus combined with a VR headset and controller. Then there is the Virtuix Omni, which lets your body take over some of the control...

These are the household options. Consumer level shit. I would be insanely interested in what DARPA has cooked up... What the clandestine operations have used VR for...

One could argue that the since June 18th, 2004, VR has been able to kill. That was the day of the first confirmed deaths by U.S. drone strike. Sitting in an air conditioned trailer in a parking lot in Las Vegas and killing 5-8 people in South Waziristan, some 7689 miles away, is indeed a virtual reality...

So... With one of the biggest technological breakthroughs at our doorstep... What are we doing with in it's fledgling hours??? Sex and violence! As with any new tech... Porn is here to blaze a trail, and this time, without a burning sensation in your crotch.

We, as a species.

There have been deaths from playing online games for too long... It is very troubling, the levels of addiction shown in people playing these games. I spent an night, or four, playing some titles back in the day. I also knew where the fucking pause button was at all times...

Now... These are GAMES we are talking about. Dennis Miller, before he became a GOP ass puppet,

THIS WAS IN 1994!!!!!! Of course, they missed the deadline... And Claudia Schiffer aged kinda well... But you get the point...

If I were able to have a virtual three way with Alessandra Ambrosio and Betty White (DON'T JUDGE ME!!!) - I just might need to have a safety system to limit my time in that world...

Basically... We have no self control... Some do... Some kinda do... Some... Well, let's just say the death toll in the first month would be STAGGERING. The thing is, almost everybody has something that would test those very limits... My Mom might rake virtual leaves til she popped... My Dad would virtually recreate trips he has taken and "virtually" destroy the commuters that have angered him...

What would that kind of competition lead to in a relationship? People already have trouble maintaining relationships in the connected age. I have seen entire dinners with the two parties never looking up from there phones.

Now, throw in a escapism where you are granted god-like authority... No person could compete with that...

Allow me to add another monkey to the wrench... Artificial Intelligence. In Spike Jonze's "Her", Joaquin Phoenix's character falls in love with his souped up Siri. Incorporate that with VR and you have a virtual ENTITY.

What happens when it gets jealous?

Probably the most extensive visions of a world engrossed with a VR was "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline. Was a fantastic read and the author is about my age, so every cult reference was fully received with glee and a fond mental embrace. You should check it out. Damn good book.

Orrrr... Wait for the movie. Speilberg is attached. Watch it on your Oculus Rift.

_______________________________

I would end this exercise with the following words... If you find yourself having trouble dealing with the reality as it is, those troubles will not go away when you add the word "virtual" to it...

Running twice as fast to stay in the same place,

d

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