Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds today play a big role in society. It shows people living in the 21st century a whole new experience. This kind of virtual experience is pretty hard to replicate to reality. There are many different ways that virtual worlds can be used in society today. In the article "After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds get a Reboot?", the author explains how virtual worlds can play a different role than they did in the past. "One thing tech has led us to consider is what some people consider a sense of isolation. We’re “alone together” as Sherry Turkle says in her latest book. In virtual worlds, however, you are not alone together, you are really, truly together—connected by these bodily representations caused avatars." What the author is saying here is that virtual worlds seem to eliminate the fact of real world isolation. People can simply go onto these virtual worlds to connect with people on a global network. She went to talk about a huge phenomenon called Minecraft. It is a game where you have a character and you use your imagination to build new things. "It’s digital LEGOs if you will, but it’s a space for kids to exercise their imagination and to connect with others to also want to build and create things. And it’s the biggest phenomenon today." Back when I was a kid, we actually played with physical legos. We had a variety, but there was always a limit to how much you can build because of sufficient pieces. If you wanted to build more things, you would have to buy more pieces. But it seems that this virtual game of Minecraft has unlimited number of lego pieces so you don't have to stop building. This is a great game for kids to stimulate their inner imaginative skills and pretty cost efficient. This virtual world seems to be a whole new concept of networking and stimulation for kids to exercise their brains while they are on the computer. Virtual worlds can also be used as a tool for military relief. "When the U. S. Army funded the creation of ICT USC in 1999, they were looking for ways to leverage the kind of engagement that Hollywood was able to get—and apply that to better training for the army. I started making virtual training environments that could were more cognitively real, in that they could evoke in soldiers a sense of unease and fear that could make training more realistic." It seems that the army can benefit from these virtual world by giving soldiers experiences before they go to combat or after. It brings the new concept virtual training for soldiers to see if they are qualified for war or just a tool to see how prepared they are for war. Virtual worlds foster creativity because they allow people to use their minds even though it may not be real. For example, a child who plays Minecraft will definitely use his creative mind to create new things with the tools given to him. His creativity is endless and children have fun while playing as well. For the army, this may foster creativity by allowing soldiers to think more strategically, but explore their options due to the situation. It allows them to think differently and be more creative because they are in an artificial world. Some pros of virtual worlds is the fact that you can easily network and meet people domestically and internationally by simply logging into your avatar. It also allows you to test your military unit to see if they are fit for battle. Another pro is that people with autism can use these virtual worlds to do things that they could not do in real life. In the article, "iReport: 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction", people that have autism seem to live second lives on the virtual world. "Savill, who represents himself in the virtual world using an avatar named Dave Sparrow, said one benefit is that visitors can practice social interaction and find information about the condition. The graphical representations of real people create a "comfort zone" that can coax users out of their shells and get them communicating with others, he said." It seems that people come to this virtual world to share their thoughts on the disorder in a safe environment. This is a pro because there are not many places in the physical world that one could meet with other people that have knowledge of autism and feel comfortable talking to them face to face. The virtual worlds eliminate that face to face conversation and turns it into a chat room where people can converse amongst each other in a safe and comfortable manner. Some cons of virtual worlds may be kids getting too fat from not getting physical exercise. If kids were to be on the computer the majority of their free time, they will not get physical exercise which is bad. Although their virtual avatar might be in shape, their physical bodies would not be. The soldiers that go through the simulation could be scarred for life if something goes wrong. It could also trigger a vet's memories bringing them back to war times and have them go into P.T.S.D. It could be back for the autistic virtual world if people feed the wrong information. I see virtual worlds expanding in the future. There are somethings that people look down upon them, but I believe it would expand so great that everyone will have a use for them. I think the fact of 3D modeling would definitely help business presentations be more exciting than your regular powerpoint. I see virtual worlds aiding the world into world peace in the next century or so.