2.03.2004
Another reality?
The Dibbell piece effectively demonstrates the changes in perception that happen over time when one confronts new territories in cyberspace. This pertains not only to MUDs, but to any conceivable realm of the Internet. Many people who are not comfortable with computers reference their inability to "grasp it," suggesting both an insecurity in their knowledge of computers/Internet and a lack of certainty in its merit.
However, how much of the ability to grasp or not grasp these realms is a matter of the technology? I would suggest that gaining knowledge and appreciation for a new realm is less a matter of overcoming technological barriers than it is about immersion. For instance, Sunday's event of the Super Bowl. What would a person (or maybe an alien) who had never watched football think of the game? Consider: Twenty-two men run around on a patch of grass. Penalties include losing fifteen feet. Time can be stopped. Players make the decision to play with broken bones. Fans in the stands go ape shit. A billion people at home get drunk and fat and watch the game on TV. Why do people care about the result of this game? What makes it significant? Why do we allow these rules to be "the rules?" Would we suggest that there is something inherent in football that causes us to shift into a separate reality? Are we present in another realm when we watch this?
Choose your example of an event, experience, or group you are intensely involved with. What about a shared experience in cyberspace is any different than one that exists in "RL?"
However, how much of the ability to grasp or not grasp these realms is a matter of the technology? I would suggest that gaining knowledge and appreciation for a new realm is less a matter of overcoming technological barriers than it is about immersion. For instance, Sunday's event of the Super Bowl. What would a person (or maybe an alien) who had never watched football think of the game? Consider: Twenty-two men run around on a patch of grass. Penalties include losing fifteen feet. Time can be stopped. Players make the decision to play with broken bones. Fans in the stands go ape shit. A billion people at home get drunk and fat and watch the game on TV. Why do people care about the result of this game? What makes it significant? Why do we allow these rules to be "the rules?" Would we suggest that there is something inherent in football that causes us to shift into a separate reality? Are we present in another realm when we watch this?
Choose your example of an event, experience, or group you are intensely involved with. What about a shared experience in cyberspace is any different than one that exists in "RL?"
