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Here's a wild idea: What if it were free (or cost pennies) to get any materialistic good besides food? Imagine owning a 300 foot yacht or a jumbo jet for a p

Here's a wild idea: What if it were free (or cost pennies) to get any materialistic good besides food? Imagine owning a 300 foot yacht or a jumbo jet for a penny. And everyone in the world can have their own with unlimited supplies. I believe we're in the middle of an adjustment period that will take 15 to 25 years. At the end of this period, virtual reality will be a sufficient replacement for reality, and as affordable as a cellphone is today. When all goods (besides food) are virtual goods, all of a sudden the cost doesn't matter. The rich divide gets shattered. You could be living in a cardboard shack, but in VR, you're living in a mansion. I know it's a crazy idea, but I just don't see wealth being associated with real materialistic goods in the future which will change everything.

Lambdanaut 12y ago
I'm a futurist optimist and yet I REALLY don't see VR reasonably replacing reality in 15 to 25 years. There's too many sensory parts of reality to replicate. At best it'll be a shoddy ripoff for a long time. Not to mention the health benefits that come with interacting in the real world that you don't get from VR. You're not going to be soaking up those sun rays or enjoying that tuna you caught off the side of your yacht in Second Life VR. You'll be watching your avatar enjoy these things. At the end of the day you've still gotta log off and enjoy the real world, or you'll atrophy. VR might supplement reality just like watching TV does, but it'll be a long time before we're living our lives in VR.
- sixQuarks 12y ago
  I don't think VR needs to replicate reality perfectly. 80% of reality will be way more than sufficient when you consider the fact that you can do impossible things in VR (like flying, travelling instantly anywhere, etc). When you say "at the end of the day you've still gotta log off and enjoy the real world" - why? When VR is replicating the real world, why must you log off to "enjoy" it? You could essentially do anything in VR that you can do in "reality", with way more magical powers. Who would want to go back to "boring reality" anymore?
  - Oletros 12y ago
    > You could essentially do anything in VR that you can do in "reality", No, you're not doing anything in "reality"

Lambdanaut 12y ago

I'm a futurist optimist and yet I REALLY don't see VR reasonably replacing reality in 15 to 25 years. There's too many sensory parts of reality to replicate. At best it'll be a shoddy ripoff for a long time. Not to mention the health benefits that come with interacting in the real world that you don't get from VR. You're not going to be soaking up those sun rays or enjoying that tuna you caught off the side of your yacht in Second Life VR. You'll be watching your avatar enjoy these things. At the end of the day you've still gotta log off and enjoy the real world, or you'll atrophy. VR might supplement reality just like watching TV does, but it'll be a long time before we're living our lives in VR.

sixQuarks 12y ago
I don't think VR needs to replicate reality perfectly. 80% of reality will be way more than sufficient when you consider the fact that you can do impossible things in VR (like flying, travelling instantly anywhere, etc). When you say "at the end of the day you've still gotta log off and enjoy the real world" - why? When VR is replicating the real world, why must you log off to "enjoy" it? You could essentially do anything in VR that you can do in "reality", with way more magical powers. Who would want to go back to "boring reality" anymore?
- Oletros 12y ago
  > You could essentially do anything in VR that you can do in "reality", No, you're not doing anything in "reality"