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The metaverse is certainly an alluring concept. But, it’s a warning, not a suggestion. Snowcrash is _not_ about how great the metaverse is. That being said, of
by nynx 5y ago
The metaverse is certainly an alluring concept. But, it’s a warning, not a suggestion. Snowcrash is _not_ about how great the metaverse is.
That being said, of course the metaverse will happen and the boundaries between the physical and the digital will become thin. I only hope we can do it without losing track of what really matters.
- xwdv 5y ago> I only hope we can do it without losing track of what really matters. Which is what?
- nynx 5y agoImproving our physical reality.
- Nevermark 5y agoI don't think it is as simple as that. Mathematicians have long lived in a useful non-physical reality. So have many artists and writers. Certainly improving physical reality remains valuable, but the non-physical world will likely grow in real as well as ephemeral value at a higher rate. From a purely functional angle, the physical world does not include many affordances that the digital world provides for our minds, ability to communicate, learn, discover, etc. Virtual worlds will adapt to our minds, being the ultimate mental tools. And our minds will co-adapt. Where that goes, nobody knows. But along with AI its likely to be the story of this century.
- AndrewUnmuted 5y ago> So have many artists and writers. A site like this is bound to have naive views of arts like this. But it's not correct. Art lives within the world of physical reality - otherwise, we would not be able to perceive it. Art is the enhancement of some aspect to reality, not a departure from it.
- Nevermark 5y agoI don’t have naive views on art. I did not claim the physical world is unnecessary for anything.
- mediocregopher 5y ago> Certainly improving physical reality remains valuable, but the non-physical world will likely grow in real as well as ephemeral value at a higher rate. Value requires purpose, so the question is: from what is each individual's purpose derived in the virtual world, where we can leave the physical behind? And is there a purpose to our physical being that we do harm by neglecting? To me our physical world has much purpose, and the virtual world, in whatever form it takes, is only valuable to the extent it allows me to fulfill my purpose in the physical.
- justanotherguy0 5y agoValue only requires that somebody is willing to pay for it. Any other measure of value is just moral relativism. What purpose does The Simpsons fulfill in the physical world? This is just a step further than what already exists. And it's already happening; nobody can stop it, no matter how many pearls you clutch.
- mediocregopher 5y ago> Value only requires that somebody is willing to pay for it. And they will only be willing to pay if they want or need to do something with it. Wants and needs require some purpose, some intention, to drive them. The Simpsons gives the viewer a break for a short time, during which they can recharge. Or maybe it gives them a viewpoint with which to understand the world that they find useful. Or maybe the viewer has decided that life's purpose is to watch everything on tv. I'm not asking anyone to stop anything, I only gave my own viewpoint that my purpose comes from the physical world. I have no problem with others finding theirs elsewhere.
- jakelazaroff 5y ago> And it's already happening; nobody can stop it, no matter how many pearls you clutch. Sure we can. It’s not an act of god. Nothing about technology is inevitable or emergent. If it happens, it will happen because people chose to make it so. And there’s nothing binding us to that choice, even if it is “just a step further than what already exists”. We can choose something else.
- krona 5y agothe physical world does not include many affordances that the digital world provides Except it does provide many things that are necessary (e.g. food, clean water) whereas the digital world is not necessary for anything, really.
- Nevermark 5y agoAt this point the digital world is necessary to maintain efficiencies and progress that keep civilization running on the resources we have. So it is necessary. We could survive without it, in some sense, but not without a global catastrophe. Coordination, communication, efficient finance and logistics, etc. provide huge leverage on our physical resources.
- eyelovewe 5y agoCome on, do you expect me to believe that this sort of activity would occur in a Facebook branded world? You’d be lucky to get anything done the rest of your life. Political arguments with 3 meter tall taking porpoises would occupy any time left as you dodge walking ads.
- Nevermark 5y agoYour free to live in a Facebook world if you choose in which case good luck! As you point out you will need it. My view of Facebook is just as dim as yours.
- r7000 5y agoCarter-Zimmerman polis vs the rest of the Coalition
- surrealize 5y agoNow I have to re-read Diaspora. Thanks!
- eyelovewe 5y agoLife
- nvusuvu 5y agoFamily, relationships, and altruistic service to people without expectation of payback.
- xwdv 5y agoFamily? Don't want kids. Relationships? Hard to make much new friends once you're past college age. Altruistic service to people? For what? So they could continue to be productive workers that consume the same things you consume anyway?