Read the opening paragraph of “Virtual Reality Gets Real.”
In 1965, Ivan Sutherland, a computer-graphics pioneer, addressed an international meeting of techies on the subject of virtual reality. The ultimate virtual-reality display, he told the audience, would be “a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming, such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.”
What uncertainty about virtual reality is suggested by this paragraph?
It is unclear why a simulated reality would be beneficial to anyone but a thrill seeker.
It is unclear why a simulated reality would be beneficial to anyone but a thrill seeker.
It is inevitable that a simulated reality scenario would cause people to be uncertain about physical reality.
It is inevitable that a simulated reality scenario would cause people to be uncertain about physical reality.
It is unknown why a simulated reality would be essential to anyone but a game designer.
It is unknown why a simulated reality would be essential to anyone but a game designer.
It is unknown how people might react psychologically to a simulated reality that would appear to be real and scary.
The correct answer is: It is unknown how people might react psychologically to a simulated reality that would appear to be real and scary.
In the opening paragraph, Ivan Sutherland describes a virtual reality display that is so realistic that objects displayed within it would have real-world effects. He suggests that a chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in, handcuffs displayed would be confining, and a bullet displayed would be fatal. With this level of realism, he compares it to Alice's Wonderland.
This suggests an uncertainty about how people might psychologically react to this level of realism in a simulated reality. It raises questions about the potential impact on people's perception of physical reality and how they might handle experiences that are both real and scary within a virtual environment.