[Foundation-l] MMORPG and Wikimedia

[Keegan Peterzell]

Intersting, this thread evolved into a good discussion.

The way I see it, VR does has potential, as some have pointed out.  There
are current practical applications for it.

On the other hand, it's not here yet.  Some that subscribe to the list have
met me offline and know that I communicate with more than just words, though
I tend to use a lot of them.  Education is provided through some form of
human interaction and not just text.  I can bang out a powerpoint or paper,
but that doesn't mean without interpersonal communication that my point will
be fully grasped.  Such as writing this email.

Video conferencing was promised a decade ago, and now it is free.  That
doesn't mean that in ten years we can't communicate with VR, but I currently
don't own the bodysuit.  It's not a bad idea to think about, but practical
applications for knowledge don't currently exist.  That doesn't mean that
they won't, and active development should be encouraged.  This doesn't mean
immediate use, but it's a decent thought.

To Dan's analogy about the US military applications, that is an apt one.
 Teach soldiers combat before they go into it and this ties into the gaming
principle and Noein's principle.  What we have to bear in mind, as
expressed, is that this is not an immediate application.  Most of the rest
of the world still learns hands on, and we haven't even come close to
building a worldwide userbase either.

So it's something to think about and not get into a debate about the present
applications of VR, but we should follow the process of technological
advancement.

-- 
~Keegan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Keegan