Book Review: Virtual Reality
Reviewed by W. Ritchie Benedict
Virtual Reality: The Revolutionary Technology of Computer-Generated Artificial Worlds - and How It Promises to Transform Society by Howard Rheingold, 1992, ISBN: 978-0-671-77897-2
The first time I ever heard the term "virtual reality" was not in connection with computers, but was in reference to the mental world we all carry around with us in our heads. Which, I suppose, does pretty we describe what happens on the latest frontier in computer technology.
About a month ago, I had the opportunity to observe virtual reality in action at a display at the Calgary Stampede. There were three enclosed cockpits with the participants wearing headsets that cut them off from their surroundings. TV monitors depicted the scenes transmitted into the headsets, which in this instance involved a game with a lot of stairways. One participant became so enthralled in attempting to zap his opponent that he totally forgot there was an audience "outside" and his language left a lot to be desired. Such is the power of this ultra-futuristic technology.
We are still a long way from the realism of the Holodeck depicted on TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation, but at the present rate, it won't be long before we see extraordinary developments. After all, in only 15 years, we have gone from the first crude video game Pong to CD-ROM with stereo sound and prodigious amounts of memory. The author in this first detailed exploration of the "Virtual Age" is one Howard Rheingold, the editor of the Whole Earth Review, who (appropriately) lives in the San Francisco Bay area. He traces the dawn of the new era back to the Cinerama/CinemaScope/3D movies of the 1950s.
A man named Morton Helig actually made plans for an "Experience Theatre" back in 1955, and patented a head-mounted stereophonic television display in 1960. Helig is still alive, in his sixties, and is delighted to see the seeds of his dream coming to fruition. William Gibson, the well-known science-fiction writer, had the honor of originating the word cyberspace (in his 1984 novel Neuromancer), which is now used widely to describe the internal computer-generated reality that is the subject of this book. The point is made that the computer industry in its early years was not oriented towards the highly creative approaches that virtual reality needs.
I recall a computer demonstration I attended back in the very early 1980s where you could touch the screen to choose an option. This in tum led to glove-mounted sensors. The author was one of the first to try a NASA prototype in 1988 that demonstrated the amazing potential capabilities of the system - the major drawback being a time-lag when the operator moved his hand. So, what good is it all, other than the ultimate in video game realism?
Well, for starters, it holds promise for architectural design, flight training, planetary exploration, medical and chemical research, and even simulated sex! There are currently moves underway to bring the dimension of tactile sensation to the simulations, possibly by means of a lightweight body suit with many sensors built into it. There is undoubtedly going to be a race (already in the very early stages) between Japan and America to see who will reap the glory (and the profits) of producing the first viable system for the public. There are applications to the amusement park field so Disney will naturally be interested.
Finally, virtual reality may change our perceptions of what we think of as "real" forever, making it hard to determine what is an illusion and what is not. Rheingold does an excellent job of detailing all of the various elements that go into producing virtual reality. He even mentions a couple of potential dangers in the concluding chapter. What if the virtual worlds turn out to be so seductive that people will want to spend all of their time there instead of in the so-called "normal" reality? Addiction in other words.
Then there is the weapons potential - it has always been easier to kill people if you are distanced from them by machines, as any bomber pilot from World War II will tell you. A (((dictator))) could zap gentiles with a laser-mounted cannon combined with a virtual/robot system, without ever leaving the comfort of his presidential palace many miles away. However, we must not fall into the trap of arbitrarily rejecting new technology just because of the possibility of misuse. There is a huge potential for paralyzed or physically handicapped individuals to experience things that would otherwise be closed to them forever. It seems that eventually we may never have to leave our homes in order to perform work, entertain ourselves, or learn new skills.
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World may yet prove to be prophetic. Ultimately it may change the way we look at ourselves as human beings or perhaps we will start to view ourselves as hybrids between human and computer. It will be that profound a change.
The book gives the average person a stunning insight into just how far along the road to a science fiction reality we are. Ironically, it uses the very earliest virtual reality device to do so - i.e., the printed word. Well, everyone has used reading at one time or another to tum off the annoyances of the "outside." The difference is that in the future there will be a new and fantastic means of doing so. This is a book that will leave you gasping - don't miss it!
