Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Critical Thinking Blog – Assignment #6

In regards to my research paper, I chose to write about the promises and perils of virtual reality (VR) portrayed in the novel, Plowing the Dark, by Richard Powers. Based on several popular and scholar sources, an argument can be made that the promise of virtual reality as portrayed in Richard Powers’ Plowing the Dark outweigh its perils.
For the first source I chose "Virtual Reality and Presence" by the following people: Bohil, Corey, Charles B. Owen, Eui Jun Jeaong, and Bradly Alicea. This article was found in the Gale Virtual General Reference Collection database. The authors of this article gave an overview on the experience of virtual reality. In order to create an illusion for the senses, hardware and software are utilized in VR system to recreate the information present to the sensory/perceptional system in the physical world (Bohil, et al). Therefore, the creation of this illusion is necessary to immerse the user in the virtual space, while also allowing them to develop a strong presence in it. I chose to use this source because it offers a good overview of what to expect from VR. This source will allow understand the mechanics that an VR user would go through, and the insight to current implementations of immersive and non-immersive VR.

The primary imaginative text that will be used would be Plowing the Dark. I purchased this novel from Amazon.com. In this novel, Richard Powers utilize virtual spaces to illustrate the extent that human ingenuity can be harnessed through the use of the Cavern, while exploring the consequences of being enveloped by it. The promises of VR have been shown to be innumerable; however, it should be noted that they also come with perils of their own. I chose this novel as my primary text because I am interested in the potential that can tapped from VR. As an aspiring Computer and Information Research Scientist, I may end up working on research project on this subject.

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