<nettime> “Meta”

["Michael H. Goldhaber" <michael@goldhaber.org>]

I remember in the early ‘50’s being excited to go to a pioneering 3-D movie, but they soon fell out of fashion. There followed a whole series of similar attempts, all failing to last or become anything as widely accepted as color movies , TV, or videos. The same fate is likely, I strongly suspect, for various iterations of virtual reality, including Zuckerberg’s fantasies. You hold out your hand to shake with your distant friend, but nothing is there; or they “serve you some food” but you feel, taste, and digest nothing. And so on. 

Also, of course, there’s the little matter of the finite speed of light. Singing or dancing or playing music or tennis with distant partners just can’t work unless speeds are tortoise-like. 

Best,

Michael via iPhone, so please ecuse misteaks.
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