Robert Scribner is a senior majoring in business. He can be contacted at [email protected].Whether you like it or not, computers are very popular things. If I were forced to compile an all-inclusive popularity list for all things, computers would probably end up near the top, among similarly crucial things such as sunlight, tables, time and electrons.
This is not to say that I like computers (I don’t). It’s just to say that most people do.
I dislike computers because of their capabilities. It scares me to think that in the time it takes me to sit here and craftily scribe this article onto aged papyrus scrolls, someone that owns a computer could write ten articles. That’s ten times the salary that I receive.
It’s this cruel cycle that disallows me the opportunity to purchase a computer. And like most, I scorn the things I’ll never be able to understand — ladies, for example.
What’s most scary about computers is how people are only beginning to realize how largely unrealized the aforementioned capabilities are. Some are so captivated by computers that they choose to immerse themselves into them entirely.
And I’m not talking about Facebook.com. I’m not even talking about online role-playing games. I’m talking about something that can only be effectively described by its own name: “Second Life.”
If you’re not familiar with “Second Life,” then please allow me to familiarize you.
“Second Life” is an online virtual world that is becoming increasingly identical to your first life. Just about anything from your first life can be replicated in this so-called metaverse.
By interacting with real people (depicted with “avatars”), transacting real money ($266 in SL equals 1 U.S. dollar), and spending real time (as I write, there are about 50,000 members online), you can buy virtual land, go on virtual dates and open virtual businesses. Virtually anything.
Sounds fun, right? Yes, but also definitely no. I don’t like the ramifications of an online universe. There are just too many things that can go wrong.
As it evolves, more and more problems will manifest themselves, and we need to be prepared for everything. And though I can’t list everything, I can provide an idea of what to expect.
For instance, consider this hypothetically accurate scenario. A young man logs onto “Second Life.” Using his avatar, he walks over to his virtual computer. He then creates a program that he calls First Life, which allows avatars to view and control their bodies outside the game, in real life. What happens when an avatar logs on? Tragically, the avatar and the actual person subsequently freeze up, each stuck in a queue of waiting for their next command. The avatar and the person are stuck in an eternal loop of watching each other sit in front of a computer, probably both naked. The person eventually dies, his mind having exploded under the extreme stress.
Though that is a pretty gruesome example, it is not at all farfetched. You must accept the consequences of living your entire life in a completely virtual world. Just like in the example above, your first life will assuredly come to an end.