3 ms·

I might be getting old but this is the sort of magic by technology I would like to see more of in the world instead of using tech to try putting people into fak

I might be getting old but this is the sort of magic by technology I would like to see more of in the world instead of using tech to try putting people into fake worlds in some metaverse.

ampdepolymerase 5y ago
There is nothing special about this. This is the basis of all MEMS technology used in lidar. Some VR goggle designs probably contain MEMS parts too. It is disingenuous to complain about the metaverse business model while oohing and aahing over the exact same technology used to implement it.
- dang 5y ago
  Can you please not post in the flamewar style to HN? We're trying to avoid flamewars here, and I'm sure you can make your substantive points without that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - TheRealNGenius 5y ago
    I mean, I don't think the parent post was that substantive either. There is nothing in this submission that necessitates roping in the topic of the metaverse. They could have just left it as they found this tech interesting.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      If you can't say something nice about a project like this then say nothing at all. To belittle it is classless.
      - Turing_Machine 5y ago
        Agreed. I really, really hate it when someone shares something cool they've made and HN people dump on it. I'm not saying that HN has to be all mindless cheerleading, but non-constructive criticism is not helpful to anyone (except the critic's ego, maybe).
      - TheRealNGenius 5y ago
        true
    - dang 5y ago
      Sure, but there are degrees of these things. The GP comment was generic, which does have a bad effect on discussion (it evokes shallower and often nastier things from others), but the comment I replied to took things a few notches further.
gnramires 5y ago
I don't think the particular metaverses available right now seem that good, but I don't share the consistent prejudices against virtual reality. Why is real reality any better? You can build awesome stuff in virtual reality as well (in fact, you can build almost anything imaginable, at a much lower cost). Keeping in touch with reality is extremely important (because we are bound by its rules after all), but virtual existence has enormous potential as well :) (that can't be realized, and certainly not realized for everyone, in the world of atoms -- virtual reality is delightfully egalitarian) Value the bits and atoms!
- spijdar 5y ago
  Just a thought, but one reason to be skeptical of virtual reality, if only out of pragmatism, is that unlike "real" reality, virtual reality is trivially controllable by single entities. Maybe not an intrinsic limitation, but for the foreseeable future, VR = a domain where some entity like Facebook is effectively omniscient and omnipotent.
- r00fus 5y ago
  VR is a better mousetrap to keep people engaged and connected (two things FB values a lot as it drives revenue). What real-world problems does VR serve for the average FB user? Or anyone frankly? Meanwhile, 3D printing could greatly improve how we design and fabricate things people use every day.
- autoexec 5y ago
  > virtual reality is delightfully egalitarian It could be, but I'm willing to bet it'll be primarily used to oppress and control people. The potential for things like VR and AR is great, but the reality is that it will be used against you in ways that couldn't have been possible without it.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

I might be getting old but this is the sort of magic by technology I would like to see more of in the world instead of using tech to try putting people into fake worlds in some metaverse.

ampdepolymerase 5y ago

There is nothing special about this. This is the basis of all MEMS technology used in lidar. Some VR goggle designs probably contain MEMS parts too. It is disingenuous to complain about the metaverse business model while oohing and aahing over the exact same technology used to implement it.

dang 5y ago
Can you please not post in the flamewar style to HN? We're trying to avoid flamewars here, and I'm sure you can make your substantive points without that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- TheRealNGenius 5y ago
  I mean, I don't think the parent post was that substantive either. There is nothing in this submission that necessitates roping in the topic of the metaverse. They could have just left it as they found this tech interesting.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    If you can't say something nice about a project like this then say nothing at all. To belittle it is classless.
    - Turing_Machine 5y ago
      Agreed. I really, really hate it when someone shares something cool they've made and HN people dump on it. I'm not saying that HN has to be all mindless cheerleading, but non-constructive criticism is not helpful to anyone (except the critic's ego, maybe).
    - TheRealNGenius 5y ago
      true
  - dang 5y ago
    Sure, but there are degrees of these things. The GP comment was generic, which does have a bad effect on discussion (it evokes shallower and often nastier things from others), but the comment I replied to took things a few notches further.

gnramires 5y ago

I don't think the particular metaverses available right now seem that good, but I don't share the consistent prejudices against virtual reality. Why is real reality any better? You can build awesome stuff in virtual reality as well (in fact, you can build almost anything imaginable, at a much lower cost). Keeping in touch with reality is extremely important (because we are bound by its rules after all), but virtual existence has enormous potential as well :) (that can't be realized, and certainly not realized for everyone, in the world of atoms -- virtual reality is delightfully egalitarian) Value the bits and atoms!

spijdar 5y ago
Just a thought, but one reason to be skeptical of virtual reality, if only out of pragmatism, is that unlike "real" reality, virtual reality is trivially controllable by single entities. Maybe not an intrinsic limitation, but for the foreseeable future, VR = a domain where some entity like Facebook is effectively omniscient and omnipotent.
r00fus 5y ago
VR is a better mousetrap to keep people engaged and connected (two things FB values a lot as it drives revenue). What real-world problems does VR serve for the average FB user? Or anyone frankly? Meanwhile, 3D printing could greatly improve how we design and fabricate things people use every day.
autoexec 5y ago
> virtual reality is delightfully egalitarian It could be, but I'm willing to bet it'll be primarily used to oppress and control people. The potential for things like VR and AR is great, but the reality is that it will be used against you in ways that couldn't have been possible without it.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]