An Escape from
Reality
Richard Barons
7 October, 2000
The human population is doomed. Doomed to become lethargic, obese creatures that may never see
the actual light of day again. This
fifth horseman that shall bring about mankind’s lazy Armageddon is
technology. Since the dawn of time man
has prevailed in escaping from the harshness of the natural world. With each technological advancement, humans
have lessened their efforts and slowly reduced the need for a fit and powerful
body for survival. However, humans are
societal creatures, and their energy exertion already decreased with the
formation of communities. The gathering
of people into societies causes interaction and communication. These two actions bring people together to
share work, lives, and ideas. This
caused people to become very dependent, yet it introduced a more rapid
production and creation of technology.
Technology is not evil nor a
terrible plague upon humankind. Most of
the life-altering technologies have been extremely useful and
advantageous. The control of fire and
invention of the wheel have benefited mankind immensely. While the use of fire allowed people to stay
in northern regions without having to make yearly migrations, the wheel
expanded and eased the toiling task of travelling. Mankind’s warfare techniques have evolved from hand-to-hand
combat to a mere push of a button.
Although the minor push of a button requires extensive work and
complicated machinery, most of this machinery required a minimal amount of man’s
natural energy. A sword created in the
past needed more brute force, whereas a weapons system requires more thought
and design. However, not all humans own
button-pushing weapon devices or need to constantly prepare for war. There are
not many humans that have the time or money for many technological advances
found in modern societies. In these
modern technological societies, there are inventions have pushed the
requirements for a healthy human body to drop, as well as the need for an
active and capable mind. Some of these
inventions serve as landmarks in reducing the need for a body and the need for
thinking. They have provided an escape
from the actuality of learning, working, fighting, and interacting that was so
prevalent in the past.
One of these bookmark inventions is
the book. Books expanded the memory and
experience of entire civilizations.
Here all the records and events are found for everyone to read. People no longer have to learn everything
for themselves through experiences and exploration. It utilizes human efforts by not having to reinvent the
wheel. When somebody discovers
something and records it, no longer does another person have to make this breakthrough
by his or herself. This reduces the
amount of travelling and personal attainment of knowledge. People can easily be influenced by anyone
with a pen and some ideas.
One example of this is the creation
of the “armchair” anthropologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth
century. The anthropologists would
rarely venture out to understand new cultures, but would rather sit in their
den and read books written by missionaries and explorers. In turn, they would write their ideas about
other people’s ideas about this culture.
Although knowledge gained from books may not be entirely reliable, it
allows for more efficiency in learning yet with a lack of a self-sufficient
population. Although “reading a book,
was once considered a highly unnatural activity,” it has become a foundation for
modern society. (Stone, 59) Another way of viewing the idea of a
foundation is that of a crutch, an exceptionally useful crutch, but a crutch
nonetheless.
In the field of entertainment, books
provided an escape from the monotonous events of everyday life. People lost themselves to other worlds and
other people’s lives, whether fictional or not. They could partake in a great noble quest without wielding a
sword. These breaks in reality gave
people experiences that were not their own, but simply just the thoughts of a
writer. All that people required to
live these adventures was the ability to read and turn words into pictures and
actions.
Another influential technology that
was created many thousands of years after man started recording written records
is the television. Invented in 1923 by
Zworykin, this device was a remarkable way to record and present events. Instead of having to read about something or
someone, people could just watch a movie or documentary on the television. Watching television requires less effort
that having to read a book (in a book, there is at least the possibility to
increase one’s vocabulary). Like books,
the information viewed on television is the product of someone’s ideas and
views. And with it easy accessibility
straight to people’s homes, it is “probably the most powerful influence on
culture in western civilization” (Stone, 58).
One did not even need literacy or the cognitive capability of
translating words into imagery. This
offers people a further escape from the typical day with only the push of a
button. While most children would
normally frolic with friends, television has acted as a substitute for running
around and venturing out into the world.
Along with television, came the
introduction of the video game. Video
games exhibit even more features that allow a user to escape from the real
world. It involves more focus and
thought than television, yet for only limited simulation. Children, and even a rapidly growing number
of adults, become obsessed with these virtual games to the point where they may
never leave the room for hours on end.
The quality of the graphics and sounds today are “so real that it
subliminally enters the user’s experience with no feeling of unreality”
(Sutherland, 19). It is no wonder that
this industry has become so popular.
Instead of using one’s imagination to put yourself into a world, others
have created that world and most of its effects for you. This is why for many people, video game
systems have replaced quite a bit of physical activity such as sports. One does not have to worry about going out
and making enough friends to play a game, when you have all your teammates and
enemies on one video game cartridge.
The future of video games and
television leads to virtual reality.
Although virtual reality is still in a rather preliminary stage, it is
expected to advance in leaps and bounds like most technology. By 2003, British Telecom anticipates that
the market will see a perfected cyberspace ‘holodeck’ using a giant
hamster-ball (Pearson). This will allow
a person to visit many different places without having to leave the room. And even this technology will be
improved. It is predicted that in the
not so distant future “navigation (through a virtual world) will be
accomplished by natural actions, such as walking, rather than with data wands,
unicycles, or treadmills” (Rosenblum, 38).
Incorporated into this kind of virtual environment would be olfactory
senses and even reverberation eventually.
People will be able to act and play any way they desire without ever
having to step outside or exert much energy.
While virtual reality holds the key
to different worlds and experiences, AR, or augmented reality, will enhance the
world we see around us. The basic idea
of this is the “overlaying of computer-generated imagery atop the real world
using a see-through display” (Rosenblum, 39).
No longer will tourists need tour guides or maps, and the audio
cassettes found in museum tours will be replaced with virtual displays. This will enhance human experience and
radically reduce the amount of planning and effort put into vacations. Of course, upon the perfection of virtual
reality, people will not have to take the step of travelling to experience AR
in another land.
Virtual and augmented reality, like
most other inventions, could benefit our society. It could provide services for disabled people, increase the
education factor to allow kids to experience the past, and generally create
amusement or people. Like books and
television, this technology tends to shift towards a reduction in physical and
mental activity. It will lessen the
drudgery of life and artificially increase the pleasure. This will create the “risk of virtual environments
becoming more attractive than reality for a segment of the population”
(Rosenblum, 39).
The invention that has and will
continually bring all these creations and the world together is the
Internet. The Internet combines text,
videos, and even social interactions through a network of websites. It provides an ease of rapid absorption of
information. The text found in websites
includes editorials, news, history, and information on culture. Rarely can one not find information about
almost any topic within a few minutes.
Although the Internet decreases the time put into most research, it is
not always accurate. Unlike television
and books, the Internet is not very regulated.
Information found on web pages, created by users from their homes, is
displayed with their complete and unedited ideas and views. Here viewers can acquire all sorts of ideas
without venturing to a library or even thinking things through by one’s
self. This almost negates the need for
a cognitive mind or a physical body to learn about the world.
The videos and graphics found
throughout the Internet provide the same experience as video games and
television. It is mostly used for
entertainment and learning purposes.
Learning can take on the forms of books and graphics with interaction
through virtual displays, “substituting inferior virtual reality for true
reality” (Stone, 59). The Internet
replaces the body as a vessel, albeit not a complete vessel yet, in which to
attain knowledge.
While the Internet is replacing the
need for the body in order to learn, so will it replace the body for socialization. The Internet may have reduced the
interaction of humans; it has not dissipated their desire for communities. The communities today, however, are “created
by mutual interests and habits rather than geography” (Stone, 59). In these communities one can find so many
forms of communication. The
interpersonal aspects of these include emails, chat rooms, and instant
messaging. One no longer has to worry
about distances affecting a friendship, when the friendship was formed
thousands of miles away through the World Wide Web. The Internet has been “accused of turning people away from the
real world of interpersonal relationships” (Stone, 58). These societies have the capability to draw
people completely away from their local towns and associate their residence
with an online community. These
communities share the same characteristic of virtual reality, mocking real
life. There has even been a prediction
that the first net war will take place in 2007 (Pearson, 1997). Along with shopping resources and the work
at home programs, mankind will almost never need to ‘access’ the real
world.
These inventions and many more to come will slowly reduce humankind’s need for a body, and eventually a mind. People will become mere shells that contain the information of their virtual self. The technologies discussed above increase the need for genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. There will be no need for the maintenance for bodies, with the upcoming genetic engineering technology. Body parts could be updated and replaced when it is necessary. The widespread use of artificial intelligence could cover the maintenance of the physical world, and reduce the need for manual labor. This would enable humans to become more involved with their virtual lives and further disappear into the internet. So then, for our reader, a proper good night, good afternoon, or good morning is in order, depending upon the time of day it is in whatever geographical or virtual location they are viewing this from.
Pearson, Ian. “BT Technology Timeline – Towards life in 2020.” BT Technology Journal. Advanced Communications and Engineering, London, 1999.
http://www.bt.com/bttj/vol18no1/tomorrow.htm.
Rosenblum, Lawrence. “Virtual and augmented reality 2020.” IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. IEEE, Los Alamitos, CA, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 38-39, 2000.
Stone, Maureen. “The Graphic Web.” IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. IEEE, Los Alamitos, CA, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 38-39, 2000.
Sutherland, John. “Reality Takes Over.” Computer Bulletin. BR COMPUT SOC, SWINDON, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 18-19, 2000.