From: S.A.Bensalem@sheffield.ac.uk
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: PHIL: Artificial versus Virtual
Date: 22 Jan 93 02:49:24 GMT
Article-I.D.: shelley.1jvou3INNmc5
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu
Originator: hlab@stein.u.washington.edu


Hy,

I found an intresting way to define Virtual Reality and Artificial
Reality, In an article about new Human - Computer Interfaces
 (I think it was about that ) James Foley (and not Van Dam like I
said before in one of my email) said:

- * - * - *

Artificial Reality have three components : imagery, behavor and
interaction.
Realistic visual IMAGERY help the user to interpret the information
being presented by the computer. The image may represent real object,
such as building frames, or abstractions, such as patterns of fluid
flow.
These images BEHAVE the way the objects or abstractions they
represent would behave....
Finally, the user INTERACT with an artificial reality in much the
same way as he interacts with the three-dimentional word: By moving,
pointing and picking thigns up, by talking and by observing from many
different angles.

- * - * - *

SO THIS ARTIFICIAL REALITY, and then (this is my idea ):

Virtual Reality is more than that, we can also interact without
respecting the 'real' world rules ie we can fly, have out-of-the-body
experiences, cross the walls etc.. We can add power to the
Virtual body ie having our Index able to draw and our hand to erase,
choosing option by specific gesture etc etc..
[ remember VR Architecture ]

- * - * - *

I read approx.  10 years ago a book called SIMULACRON 3 , IT WAS A
FRENCH TRANSLATION of an AMERICAN book
(to be read in french :sacre 'ricain toujours foux ceux la)
about someone who was working on a company which have built a Virtual
world simulating a town where people were living, the purpose was to
studing the changing of their way of 'life' when the company changed
for example the weather or the demographic characteristics or the
state of economy . then they discovered that in their computer called
simulacron , a lot a people started to suicide, they asked our heroe
to investigate, so he transported himself inside the simulacron (I
think that the writer spoke about a specific device to do so )
and he found the solution of the crisis there was some one who
created a company which have built a virtual world simulating a town
where people where living and when studying his Virtual world, he
discovered that in fact he was insinde a simulacron himself.
Then our heroe started to ask himself a lot of question and at the
last page he discovered that he was also inside a virtual world (that
from where come the 3 for SIMULACRON 3 )

Do you have any info 'cause I lost the book ?

- * - * - * - *

Does anyone asked himself, In less than 10 years we will have devices
and softwares so powerful that we will have problem to distingush
between Virtual Reality and True reality, and may be then someone
will discover that we all are just files in a simulacron of a company
.
Let me tell you that it's most probably what will hapen, yes we all
are just entities in the simulacron < give me any proof or any clue
showing what I'm saying is wrong >

[ This is the kind of psychological problems that we can have later
if we do not take care of where we're going ]

 * - * - * - * -

Any comments and any Info vveerryy WELCOME
Virtualy
Bens

repply to S.A.Bensalem@sheffield.ac.uk