gabethefool

Why Second Life Is A Singularity:

2006-11-03T17:33:23Z

Angels, pins, and the nature of a virtual world

I should begin by acknowledge that “singularity” might not be the right word; my grasp of definitions has always been shaky at best. By singularity, I mean a sort of co-location; a negation of space that allows us to ignore the physical limitations imposed by the real world. This lack of limitations allows Second Life—and especially the social interaction therein—to transcend normal experience.

As an example—say that I am walking around Suffugium. My friend Alycia is in the Burnet sim. She has the option of talking to me, despite my location; indeed, the text appears on my screen as though it has been spoken by someone right next to me. She also has the option of offering me a teleport. In a matter of seconds, I can be standing right next to her, viewing her avatar and interacting with her environment.

Thus far, one could make the same argument for the internet. After all, I can instant message people from just about any country that I want. I can enter a chat room in the blink of an eye. The internet, however, lacks the continuity of physical presence that infuses Second Life. With a three-dimensional, realistic simulation of physical space, I can be more involved in a greater variety of environments than I ever could in real life. Moreover, the environment in which I am immersed is infinitely expandable, and infinitely versatile.

I can create content in Second Life. Membership is not restricted by ability to pay. If something doesn’t exist, I can create it. The only limitation is the number of servers involved, and servers can always be added.

Second Life is also different from games like City of Heroes and World of Warcraft in that there is no overarching goal. I don’t need to vanquish villains, level up, or complete quests. Likewise, I am not bound by the goals of those surrounding me; I cannot be used to their ends, cannot be set back in my enjoyment of the game by the loss of swag. No one can take the shirt off my back.

One could even argue that individuals in Second Life are omnipresent. I can view a map of wherever I want. I can teleport anywhere I want. I can go from sim to sim to sim. If I wanted to, I could script an object that could bring the world to a standstill. My interactions are not limited by space, even though space is everywhere.

Aquinas once famously debated the question of how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. In Second Life, we are the angels, and our systems—our graphics cards, our RAM and monitors, our user interface—is the pin. We are some of the smartest, well-connected, hippest people on the planet (to paraphrase Mr. Neal Stephenson), and we all exist simultaneously in the same morass of bits and bytes. If that’s not a singularity. . .I don’t know what the hell is.

gabethefool @ 2006-10-10T14:33:00

2006-10-10T14:46:44Z

So, I found this old-as-dirt poem from Back In The Day (TM). Figured I should post it, 'cause, hey, what the hell?

The coming of something new

Lead me into a house
filled with x-rays where
skeletons walk nude,
and there will be a revelation.
Sanction me in the center
room, windowless,
and I will hear voices

speaking from invisible
places. "Gabriel, have you
lain with a girl,
read Luke 1:19, bared
silk-white skin
in moonlight?" and I'll give

no hint of affirmation.
That nameless refrain,
secret, will wrap around
me in ribbons, questions
that echo long after "I am Gabriel,
who stands before God."

So...that's why I'm Gabe. Whoops.

gabethefool @ 2005-01-30T23:49:00

2005-01-31T05:51:03Z

yeah, all those stars drip down like butter,
and promises are sweet,
we hold out our pans with our hands to catch them.
we eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up

hey, let me in.
hey, let me in.

I only wish that I could hear you whisper down,
mister fisher moved to a less peculiar ground.
he gathered up his loved ones and he brought them all around
to say goodbye, nice try.

hey, let me in. yeah yeah yeah
hey, let me in. let me in.

I had a mind to try to stop you. let me in. let me in.
but I've got tar on my feet and I can't see.
all the birds look down and laugh at me.
clumsy, crawling out of my skin.

hey, let me in. yeah yeah yeah
heyy, let me in.
hey, let me in. yeah yeah yeah
hey, let me in.

--REM, "Let Me In."