[Essay] Surviving the Metaverse
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Pull the plug?
And to think that people give me funny looks for still insisting on using a flip phone.
There won't be any benefit to virtual simulations of internet protocols until we have direct mind-machine interfaces that are faster than phones. Perhaps then a use case that sees common network tools transformed into some kind of analogs to real forms in a virtual space might make sense. But maybe not - it depends how well we can adapt to thinking abstract complex commands to make them happen.
The writer, Mary Harrington, tried to review a book on the Metaverse and was left with the nagging question of "Why?" Why make the metaverse?
This essay touches on the Metaverse, atomization, Gnosticism, and the disenchantment of Western culture over the last several centuries.
Metaverse is literally just VR internet. It may have it's pros, but it's not necessary at all and it's certainly not revolutionary in the least.
This reminds me of a book that eludes me at moment. It was written in the 90's and had a katana welding delivery guy. The internet world was described as addictive but surreal. I didn't want to participate in that Metaverse.
Sounds like Snowcrash. I remember reading it fresh into college and finding it a fun romp but the whole premise sounds like hell to me now.
Yes, that's it. The author couldn't make it sound fun, only cool.
I hope the Metaverse doesn't remain associated with Facebook's shitty collection of basic VR games that they rebranded to coopt the term. That would truly be a depressing future.
It's a little bit like calling these hoverboards. Is this all we're ever going to get?