Comments on 71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually HappyTypePad2016-03-07T20:46:29ZSLHamlethttps://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2016/03/virtual-reality-vs-real-life-carmack/comments/atom.xml/Clara Seller commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d1ac3182970c2016-03-10T13:42:35Z2016-03-10T13:42:39ZClara Sellerhttp://profile.typepad.com/6p01b7c7f4b099970bFor me, it's not about wanting to stop the technology. I just have trouble with bizarre expectations of what this...<p>For me, it's not about wanting to stop the technology. I just have trouble with bizarre expectations of what this technology can do.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that salesmen like John Carmack will find real happiness with virtual compensation over real compensation that he will use to take real luxury vacations over virtual ones.</p>
<p>It just kind of reminds me of TV evangelism where the everyday man is asked to give up his money with the promise of golden streets and pearly gates in his next life. And the one making that promise always chooses to have his golden driveway and gated mansion in this life.</p>JohnC commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c821d19e970b2016-03-10T07:14:28Z2016-03-10T07:14:28ZJohnCYes, I also am sick of all this new technology trashing reality and messing with humanity. We should return to...<p>Yes, I also am sick of all this new technology trashing reality and messing with humanity. We should return to the past, the golden age, when everyone was sane and happy and everything worked in harmony. Hang on, can someone just remind me roughly when that was was. </p>
<p>Amanda puts it very well. <br />
</p>Amanda Dallin commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d1abff24970c2016-03-10T02:45:35Z2016-03-10T02:45:35ZAmanda DallinFor most people who enjoy a "virtual life" it's just part of their life, not a replacement. My virtual life...<p>For most people who enjoy a "virtual life" it's just part of their life, not a replacement. My virtual life makes my life happier. If it disappeared tomorrow, I'd miss it. It's not a binary question. It's also not new. People have always found ways to lose themselves such as books, music, movies, or TV. It's all just part of life.</p>joe commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d1abed93970c2016-03-09T23:06:44Z2016-03-09T23:06:44ZjoeP.S Don't ever invite those "happy VR people" to a camping trip.<p>P.S</p>
<p>Don't ever invite those "happy VR people" to a camping trip.</p>joe commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c821a827970b2016-03-09T23:05:30Z2016-03-09T23:05:30ZjoeScreen capturing this page because of the sheer absurdity of it. Easy to see why U.S.A. is going down the...<p>Screen capturing this page because of the sheer absurdity of it. Easy to see why U.S.A. is going down the tubes with the rest of the world.</p>Iggy commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d1abad04970c2016-03-09T15:36:27Z2016-03-09T15:36:27ZIggyhttp://iggyo.blogspot.comHawaii is a lovely place. But one can find happiness in most any place. I found it in a gritty...<p>Hawaii is a lovely place. But one can find happiness in most any place. I found it in a gritty little middle-class urban neighborhood in the 60s and 70s.</p>
<p>If one has an unhappy marriage, awful job, hateful peers, or limited prospects for retirement, however, I'm not sure how a virtual life will help much. Sure, for a few lucky SL entrepreneurs, the virtual world offers a real source of income. For some homebound folks with illnesses, it offers freedom that their RL bodies cannot. For some who live in places where their sexual identities are always under siege, a virtual community offers fellowship that probably makes daily life in the world of matter more bearable.</p>
<p>For many others it's just a palliative. For techno-enthusiasts like Carmack and Luckey, it's where they want us to go as a culture. They make more money as a result.</p>
<p>That's what scares me about choosing the Blue Pill. I'm with Jarod Lanier. VR wrongly used is a danger to our civilization, just as the addiction to smart phones has been: we ignore the Real at our peril, because rising seas, political demagogues, savages like those in ISIS, and angry dispossessed of the planet do not give a rip about our shiny virtual lives.</p>JohnC commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01bb08c5afdb970d2016-03-09T07:27:07Z2016-03-09T07:27:07ZJohnCAs we progress through life we attach ourselves to more and more new inventions of experience and convenience, along with...<p>As we progress through life we attach ourselves to more and more new inventions of experience and convenience, along with all our physical and mental desires, all of which have a sell by date which we usually ignore. Are we to avoid them or treat them all with extreme caution simply because they are not eternal. Your family and friends will all die one day, in many cases, far sooner than you think, does that mean it's best not to dwell to much on your parents, get married, have a family or get close to anyone so you can avoid the inevitable experience of loss. <br />
So called “reality” is just as prone to the equivalent of power outages and sudden irreversible changes as any other form of experience, and those who experience these things go just a crazy as may those who loose some future happy virtual life. A lot of people seem to me to have to much faith in an imagined, romanticized concept of a set in stone reality that we all supposedly share. But as touched upon by Ryan, personal reality is just a mental construct we create for ourselves from incoming stimuli, filtered through our own twisted network of social and personal complexes. By the time it is presented to our conscious mind the original incoming information is far from the raw sensory data that was originally presented to it. In a sense most, if not all, of us already dwell in the virtual world of the mind, spending most of our days considering our thought's about reality rather than experiencing it as it really is. </p>Dartagan Shepherd commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01bb08c593ec970d2016-03-09T02:20:38Z2016-03-09T02:20:38ZDartagan ShepherdAlrighty then. Time to start a micro-homes business, who needs room? Desk chairs complete with IV tubing, auto-wash, good drainage....<p>Alrighty then. Time to start a micro-homes business, who needs room? Desk chairs complete with IV tubing, auto-wash, good drainage. Microwave built into the desk with a food vending system ... I'm going to be rich.</p>Clara Seller commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b7c8210c51970b2016-03-09T01:44:09Z2016-03-09T01:44:13ZClara Sellerhttp://profile.typepad.com/6p01b7c7f4b099970bI'm really glad that my parents didn't have these questions to ponder. I kinda liked them content in the real...<p>I'm really glad that my parents didn't have these questions to ponder. I kinda liked them content in the real world.</p>
<p>I guess I can just shove this in my "WTF is everybody thinking?" closet right next to the whole presidential election thingy.</p>Guy commented on '71% of Virtual Reality & Virtual World Fans Agree With John Carmack That Virtually Happy is Actually Happy'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341bf74053ef01b8d1ab573d970c2016-03-09T00:40:52Z2016-03-09T00:40:52ZGuyThe problem with VR is ... when you unplug would you still be happy? If you have a full and...<p>The problem with VR is ... when you unplug would you still be happy? If you have a full and happy life and the power goes out you will still be happy and make due with those you love around you. If you are "happy" in VR but have not built anything else meaningful then the second VR is turned off you are probably fidgety, upset, and anxious to get back into VR. If you can't get in VR I can see someone getting angry at whatever is blocking them. Ultimately, it would behave more like a drug and be a temporary, even if able to consistently plug in, mask of an empty life.</p>