000			04372cam a2200349 a 4500
005			20211129183357.0
008			980515s1998 nyuaf b 001 0 eng
010			_a 96042035
011			_aBIB MATCHES WORLDCAT
020			_a0195104269 (cloth)
035			_a(DLC) 96042035
035			_a(OCoLC)35814801
040			_aDLC _dATU
050	0	0	_aQA76.9.H85 _bH47 1998
082	0		_a303.4834
100	1		_aHeim, Michael, _d1944- _9407413
245	1	0	_aVirtual realism / _cMichael Heim.
264		1	_aNew York : _bOxford University Press, _c1998.
300			_axiii, 238 p., [8] p. of plates : _bill. (some col.) ; _c25 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aVR 101 -- Virtual realism -- The art of virtual reality -- Interactive design: tunnel or spiral? -- InfoEcology -- Nature and cyberspace -- AWS and UFOs.
520			_a"From the simple VR games found in upscale video arcades, to the ultimate "immersion"--the CAVE, a surround screen, surround sound system that projects 3 D computer graphics into a ten-foot high cube--virtual reality has introduced what is literally a new dimension of reality to daily life.But it is not without controversy. Indeed, some say that a collision is inevitable between those passionately involved in the computer industry and those increasingly alienated from (and often replaced by) its applications. Opinions range from the cyberpunk attitude of Wired magazine and BillGates's commercial optimism to the violent opposition of the Unabomber. Now, with Virtual Realism, readers have a thought-provoking guide to the "cyberspace backlash" debate and the implications of cyberspace for our culture. Michael Heim first offers a thoughtful discussion of what virtual reality is "in the strong sense." He outlines its essential characteristics -including the "Three I's" of immersion, interactivity, and information intensity--and introduces readers to such virtual reality technologies as headmounted displays; SIMNET, a networked simulation of tanks rolling over a virtual terrain; and flight simulators in which a trainee can experience conditions approximating those of actual flight. He also leads us through a fascinating gallery of virtual art experiences, including Marcos Novak'sVirtual Dervish, in which the viewer wears a head mounted display and is immersed among and interacts with drifting, shifting "transhuman figures" and other virtual entities. And he describes various side effects of immersion in virtual reality, including types of relativity sickness known asAlternate World Syndrome (AWS) and Alternate World Disorder (AWD). Perhaps most important, Heim suggests ways of living with technology and harmonizing computers with culture. For instance, he offers a philosophical reconciliation between the conflicting views of "naive realists," who regardcomputer systems as a suppression of reality rather than an extension of it, and "idealists" who seem to think computers and software can cure all ills. Heim argues convincingly that in order to have an accurate view of the relationship between "natural nature" and cyberspace, we must balance theidealist's enthusiasm for computerized life with the need to ground ourselves more deeply in primary reality. This "uneasy balance" he calls virtual realism. In this wide ranging exploration, Michael Heim draws on an incredibly eclectic range of sources, from the lyrics of Jim Morrison, to the wisdom of the Tai Chi masters, to the works of philosophers and writers as varied as Heraclitus, Descartes, William Gibson, and Jacques Ellul. The resultis an ambitious and provocative commentary on the ways in which virtual reality and associated technologies are increasingly influencing our lives."--Publisher description.
650		0	_aHuman-computer interaction _9326854
650		0	_aVirtual reality. _9327774
650		0	_aComputers _xSocial aspects _9370950
856	4	2	_3Contributor biographical information _uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0723/96042035-b.html
907			_a.b10640575 _b26-03-18 _c27-10-15
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