pragmatica

Relationships in Second Life - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

2007-03-05T02:15:00Z

Having been immersed in Second Life for over six months since last August, I've been surprised at the kinds of relationships (and their intensity) that develop on it. I'm going to comment a little about what I've observed. I've been meaning to write this blog entry for some time.

Second Life is an online 3-D world "imagined, created, and owned by its residents". Run by Linden Labs in California, this continent of over 3 million users has developed in a free-form manner. Everything you see in the game outside of the land you're walking on was created by another user just like yourself. Importantly, unlike an online game like WoW (World of Warcraft), Second Life has no end goal, so it's much more like a parallel or alternate reality. Game isn't the right word for it. It's whatever you want it to be - whether your interest is running an online shop, roleplaying, putting on a live concert, hanging out in clubs and socializing, war games, deviant sex, being a real estate baron, or putting artworks up for display in a gallery.

Your first reactions upon entry are typically to feel completely overwhelmed, like you're at the bottom of a learning curve as steep as a cliff face, and as high as Mount Everest. Because it's so overwhelming, many people drop off after a few days, but those that make it past the first month tend to stick around. In the past there were sometimes severe slowdowns and technical issues, but those have mostly been surmounted in 2007. So far, at least.

I first started last August thanks to our very own George Dvorsky, who told me about SL at the 2006 World Future Society conference in Toronto, although he hadn't yet joined it himself! I didn't know anybody who was already in the game, so I went through a brutal isolated learning curve. Had I had a guide to help me out or people I knew in there, things would have gone a lot faster. Being a technophile though, I persisted on my own. These days, I make a point to help new people that hang out where I do to get up to speed so that they don't feel so overwhelmed and lost. It can shave days or weeks off the learning curve.

My first impressions of Second Life were awe, information overload, and confusion. I had honestly been dreaming of and waiting for this kind of virtual-reality-ish online world since I was a kid. It takes online social interactions to a whole new level, because it allows people to interact in three dimensions and include body language. As most of us are aware, body language, stance, style, and positioning of personal space comprise a huge segment of how we communicate with others in real life. As a result, I've noticed that people (myself included) often have emotional reactions in Second Life similar to what they'd experience in real life. Anyone who's played knows exactly what I'm talking about. At first it can be quite unnerving, to say the least. Your gut feelings and the ability to sense bad vibes from a person, which normally is restricted to first life, tends to work quite accurately in here too. It's just strange to feel all these emotions wash over you as you sit at a computer. In my years using text based instant messengers or emails, the emotional response was never at this level.

I soon found a club to hang out in (Club Industry) and then proceeded to try and drag some people I already knew from real life and an online community I'm a member of (The Spiral) into Second Life. This proved quite successful and there are dozens of people I know on there now. One Spiral member bought a virtual island called NINcropolis where many of us live and gather now. It's hard to enjoy the world if you don't have people to interact with in it, because socializing is a big part of Second Life. I've also met a handful of people in there that I've made great connections with that I didn't already know before I joined. I value them quite highly and they are incredibly articulate, intelligent, and interesting people of the sort I usually have a very, very hard time finding in real life. A quick hello to the ever-wonderful: Gideon (my first friend I made in SL), Lucifer, and AM. Lucifer and I were actually featured in a newspaper article about Second Life recently, which I'll link to at the end of this blog.

My initial impressions of Second Life turned out to be more than a little rosy and idealized as far as human interaction goes. I had it in my mind that this would be a utopia of sorts, and at first it seemed to be. There was no drama at all! What a nice change from the norm. Being a moderator of The Spiral, a large industrial rock group message board on the internet, I have seen and dealt with my share of nutcases and weirdos already, and didn't want to deal with any more of that elsewhere. As I mentioned, a group of regulars formed at NINcropolis, and a lot of us had quite a few things in common. We explored the world and tried out everything it had to offer. At first it was great, but then I noticed the negative features of real life were just as likely to happen here, and started to occur to some members in the group.

People started pairing off into couples, which I found a little odd, since I don't tend to invest my emotions into the Internet too much. That in itself wasn't really of much importance (to each their own), but unfortunately people vying and competing for each other sometimes resulted in ridiculous, unhealthy, levels of jealousy and possessiveness. A couple people I knew even ended up with online stalkers in the game. While the possessiveness tends to be more common in females, I've seen plenty of examples of it in the males as well. Frankly, I was astounded that people were taking it so seriously and investing that degree of emotions in this parallel online world. Many times I've wanted to give people a reality check, but I bit my tongue. It seemed I was one of the only people not experiencing all these interpersonal issues, but eventually I had some minor blips of my own on there. Thankfully they were minor in comparison to what others have gone through. My main issues have been: a) beefs about inconsistently applied and uncommunicated rules when people were banned from the private island I hang out at (see this amusing photo for a taste of the war), and b) surprise-surprise, a couple of guys I played around with in the game developed jealousy towards other males I also schmoozed with. One I ended up dropping like a hot potato (he started trying to play mind games extraordinaire to get a reaction out of me), and the others just learn to deal with their jealousy. I am very clear I'm not looking for a serious serious relationship/boyfriend in the world, but sometimes people just can't seem to help their emotions that crop up. Perhaps I'd be more interested in it if I didn't see so many people go off the deep end over online relationships. ;)

It gets even more unusual, though. A couple months ago, Gideon and I attended a Second Life wedding that a friend of his was having. Yes, I did say wedding. People actually get married to other people in the game and go through the entire ceremony, complete with reception, cake cutting, and dancing afterward. Both he and I were a little weirded out by that, as were several of my closer friends who've attended SL weddings. People who have known each other for a matter of weeks (or even just ONE week) have a bad habit of rushing head over heels into marriages in the game, and more often than not, end up breaking up. I just sit back and watch, wondering what's going on in their heads. Myself and others have noticed that it seems level-headed people are the minority in the game. If you can get in with folks who eschew drama, then you'll be ok though.

A person's age seems to have nothing to do with how immature and possessive they are in Second Life. Some of the worst cases of behaviour I've seen were individuals in their mid-30s or older. One of the least irritating, level-headed people I know on there is 18. Everyone's avatar tends to look like an idealized ageless person, and to be honest I don't suggest you put much weight into their real-life age. It has nothing to do with how well you'll get along. Second Life actually helped me get past some of the inadvertent age-ism I held within my heart. I've gotten to know people of all ages - we're all ageless in there, and it lets a person's true self show through. I suppose the only time it would matter is if you're one of the people who intends to take the relationships offline. From what I've heard, virtually every boyfriend-girlfriend relationship that migrates from SL to real life fails. Be forwarned - nobody can live up to how they look and come across in such a quasi-utopian world. I don't know why people think they would in the first place.

Relationships between people in the realm also tend to progress at warp speed, much faster than what would normally occur in real life. It's dizzying at times how quickly they can progress. As you can imagine, they sometimes fizzle just as quickly. Being a calm, laid-back person, I purposely take my time getting to know people. So far it has paid off and resulted in healthy, long-lasting friendships on there, rather than relationships based on some idealized, fast-moving, near-addiction to the online representation of another person.

Speaking of online representations of another person (as in avatars), people in Second Life will actually pay others for sex or stripping. Yeah, paying a cartoon to get naked sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? However, the avatars are such beautiful and idealized visions of people that perhaps it should not be too surprising. I have to admit I've tipped some guy friends money to kiss or make out with each other in there, but it was all in good fun. ;) Some people run serious prostitution businesses in there. Thanks to various add-ons one can have very realistic avatar hugging, kissing, cuddling, and sex in the world.

As a final note, there are generally two types of people in Second Life - those that take it (and the love relationships in it) as seriously as real life, and those who make a clear distinction and don't invest excess emotions in the game. It helps to know who you're dealing with. I find individuals in the former group tend to, on average, be far more prone to drama in the world.

That summarizes my experiences with Second Life relationships - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Frankly, it's just like real life set on blinding fast-forward. Arm yourself with common sense and a slower pace, and you'll do just fine. Hmmm, sounds a lot like real life, doesn't it?

Additional link:

Simon Smith's blog entry about Second Life.

Movie Review: The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky

2006-09-15T18:12:00Z

Yesterday I saw The Fountain at the Toronto International Film Festival. General themes present in this film include: immortality, death, the human condition, terminal illness, mental illness, and enlightenment. Darren Aronofsky is one of my favourite directors so I've been eager to see this movie for some time now. His earlier works include Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000).

I got there 45 minutes in advance (I wanted to get there sooner, but had trouble finding parking, and finding my guest). The line up for this movie when I got there went 3/4 of the way (or more) around an entire large city block! It was unbelievable. I haven't seen that kind of line up since Terminator 2 in 1991. Everyone was very excited to be there to see what Darren was going to blow us away with this time.

I got in and got a decent seat in the right section. The announcer said Darren couldn't make it today, but the studio executives were there. The actual premiere for the movie at the film fest was on Tuesday - this was an additional second screening on Thursday. Without any delay, the film began.

I'm not going to speak about the plot (which is three stories set in vastly different time periods interweaved) as it's a film that's best approached without too much plot knowledge in advance. That way you can truly immerse yourself into the bends and turns and lessons of the story. I'm also not going to say what the final conclusion is in the end about the concept of mortality, immortality, and the human condition. One thing I can assure you though is you will probably have a broader perspective on life and death once you walk out of this film. It is one of the most tasteful, real, and honest treatments of the subject I have seen.

So, I'll talk a little about Darren's techniques in the film. His little trademarks make their mark, as usual.

The main character, the rogue cancer researcher, reminds me somewhat of Max from his first film Pi (which is probably my favourite movie). Driven, temperamental, atheist, resolutely single-minded, he's a modern day mad scientist, without the bad Einstein hair. This time he's functional enough to be in a relationship with a wife. Unfortunately his wife is terminally ill, and her character has some of the most expressive eyes I have even seen. She truly speaks through them.

Once again, like in Pi, the mad scientist starts to look like a bald hairless yoga type of individual as he evolves mentally to the next level of development. There is a very unique scene where he is in a transparent sphere in space a thousand years from now, doing tai chi exercises, set on a backdrop of stars. All you see is his black profile moving against the sea of stars. Great visual.

One element that reminds me of Requiem for a Dream (the fast-shot close ups of bloodshot eyeballs, pills, sighs, and hallucinations every time they took drugs in that movie) is his extreme close ups of hairs standing on end as lips brush past them or a finger is run near them. You can see the effects of static electricity as each hair tremulously raises. It's almost gross, but works in the film. What's particularly unsettling is seeing these hairs on the bark of a tree. There is also a small bit of self-mutilation, but it serves a purpose, it is not gratuitous. Also, he really knows how to make a person look dead. Most of the time in movies you can see the pulse in a person's neck or see their eyelids move when they are dead, but Darren sees to all details including ensuring dead people truly look authentic and gray. He captures the moment of death very aptly through his various techniques. The gore is not to the degree of what we saw towards the end of Requiem for a Dream, by any means.

Darren justaposes the most harrowing agonizing emotional moments with touching gestures of desperate and very human reassurance (I'll refer to the 'bathtub scene'). Imagine the dreadfully hopeless yet very human feeling of kissing and making love to your loved one as they are dying incrementally by the second. Yes, it gets quite dark at times. Moods change so quickly in the movie it's a rollercoaster of a ride if you're a sensitive person like I am. He does not hold back when it comes to presenting the brutal reality of what these people are facing in their lives. You are sure to dredge up things and feelings you've experienced in your own life as you participate in this movie.

The movie feels like something you're participating in, not just watching. It's like listening to a wise old man weave life lessons through stories and analogies that leave you wide-eyed, especially as the film builds to its conclusion.

Once again he includes religious references and lessons with relevance to the topics of death and immortality - very important tidbits never focused on by organized religion, but fundamentally important. There are Christian, Jewish, atheist, and Buddhist elements alluded to, but his lessons on spirituality never interfere with the story line or offend people who aren't of that faith. What he is finding is simply gems of important wisdom in texts and practices thousands of years old... just like he did in the movie Pi with its explanations of number theories and the Kabballah. These topics are fascinating.

What I like about his techniques is he masterfully takes you along this interweaved journey while never coming across as preachy or forceful about the end conclusion or opinion reached by the film. That brutal honesty of his style, the humanity of the characters, the importance of the topic at hand, combined with incredible subtlety at storytelling, is what makes it such a finely crafted story. It's satisfying. Unsettling, yes, but also oddly reassuring, at least on some levels, as it comes to a close. Most of all, it's very human. The movie is of relevance to every human being on the planet because of what it touches upon. These are things people need to talk about more. Transhumanists will see a variety of opinions presented on the issues of importance to them.

Everyone clapped heartily at the end. It's really hard to talk about the film without giving it time to digest. After seeing it, so many ideas and thoughts keep popping into your head for hours. People were buzzing talking about it, and had the impressed look on their faces. To truly appreciate it I'm going to have to see it at least two more times. Sadly, that means a two month wait until it hits the public cinemas on November 22nd.

The film had a low budget compared to most modern films - something like $70 million. His first film Pi from 1998, he made with a mere $60,000 including asking people for $100 donations on the streets of NYC. The Fountain was shot in a sound stage here in Montreal, Canada. As usual, he put every cent to good work, with a focus on story more than effects, although the effects are also good. I can't wait to see his next movie. His movies aren't for everyone, but they definitely contain no compromises - and a unique perspective and techniques.

Go see The Fountain [official site] when it comes to a theatre near you on November 22nd!

The Fountain: an epic movie about immortality

2006-07-25T03:50:00Z

Coming soon to theatres this fall is an epic, thought-provoking movie dealing with immortality and the concept of the tree of life. It's called "The Fountain" and was originally titled "The Last Man". Darren Aronofsky directs this movie that spans an epic 1000 years (1500-2500). He is well known for his thought-provoking and critically acclaimed independent films "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream". The Fountain has been a long time coming after it was initially dropped after disagreements between Darren and the original lead actor. The film is slated to be released October 13, 2006. Early screenings are underway, and all reviews so far are positive. Make sure you don't miss this film!

Here is a preliminary review of The Fountain, which rates it 9.8/10. Excerpt: "Brilliant is really the only word I can use to describe the film. It took Darren Aronofsky years to get his movie made, but every day was worth it. The Fountain is the sort of movie that makes me want to write a book about it. What’s most important, though, is that The Fountain vaults Aronofsky to a new level as a filmmaker. Before he was a cult director, a fringe talent who appealed to the film geeks and the people who look to the edge. The Fountain’s not a mainstream movie – it’s really fucking smart, for one thing – but the director who made this movie is a man coming into his own. The Fountain is beautiful, gripping and utterly transcendent. It’s the best film of 2006."

MULTIMEDIA (requires Flash and Apple QuickTime player):

Teaser video

Trailer (longer, more detail)

General site containing additional links:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thefountain/

"An odyssey about one man’s thousand-year struggle to save the woman he loves. As a 16th century Conquistador, a modern-day scientist, and a 26th century astronaut, he searches for the secret to eternal life. The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world."

Directed, screenplay, and story, all by Darren Aronofsky.

In Theatres: October 13th, 2006

Other works by Darren Aronofsky:
Pi (1998)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)

The growing role of virtual humans

2006-03-01T21:34:00Z

Digital/Virtual humans are models of people based on scans, algorithms, and detailed motion-capture data taken from real human volunteers. Their application goes far beyong blockbuster movie and game effects.

Virtual humans are now used to test products before they are produced. An operator instructs the virtual person to interact with digital prototypes based on CAD (computer assisted design) product models, replicating how a human would engage with it in the real world. Human modeling today is so refined, a physical prototype becomes unnecessary, resulting in savings in manufacturing and materials costs.

The well known company Caterpillar, which manufactures heavy equipment, uses a digital human called Santos for testing:

"They (Caterpillar) have an interest in serviceability and mental ability," said Abdel-Malek. "We can ask Santos to change an oil filter on a dump truck or some similar task. As he goes about doing the job, we can query any part of his body functions, such as heart rate, temperature, muscle load and others. At the same time, we can watch him work onscreen and observe any problems he might encounter." (Wired, Feb. 22, 2006)

The U.S. Army also uses Santos for testing new designs for body armor and other protective gear. When Santos moves in response to commands, information is relayed regarding his heart rate, comfort level, restrictiveness of the outfit, and joint angles.

Digital human models are becoming more accurate, thanks to projects such as Visible Human:

"Digital modeling of the human body will continue to be refined. One project known as the Visible Human is providing information gleaned from reducing a cadaver to slices only 0.3 mm wide. Resolutions down to the cellular level -- or eventually the atomic scale -- could mean almost limitless scenarios for virtual humans, including forensics and accident reconstruction." (Wired, Feb. 22, 2006)

The positive impact of reducing the amount of human and, eventually, animal testing of products means a bright future for virtual human modeling.

For details and information see:

Cashing In on Virtual Humans

Virtual Soldier Research

Visible Human Project

2006 Futurist conference in Toronto, Canada

2005-08-24T03:23:21Z

Each year, the World Future Society hosts a multi-day conference on futurism topics in a large, accessible metropolis in North America. The World Future Society also publishes a magazine that includes topics of interest to Betterhumans members, such as advances in biotech, nanotechnology, societal evolution, and global futures & scenarios in general. This year, their annual conference is coming to Canada!

Below you'll find information from their latest email announcement, and their site will contain many more updates as details such as speakers become confirmed:

EARLY-BIRD SAVINGS FOR WORLDFUTURE 2006

Plan now to attend the World Future Society's 2006 conference in Toronto next year, and be rewarded with our biggest early-bird registration discount: You'll save $250 off the on-site fee.

WorldFuture 2006: Creating Global Strategies for Humanity's Future will be held July 28-30 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Toronto. The meeting looks to be one of the most inspiring--and practical--conferences ever.

The conference planning committee will accept session proposals until October 31. The deadline for papers submitted to the conference volume is March 6, 2006.

REGISTER BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30, AND SAVE $250:
https://www.wfs.org/2006regform.htm

SESSION PROPOSAL GUIDELINES: http://www.wfs.org/2006propguidelines.htm

CONFERENCE VOLUME GUIDELINES: www.wfs.org/2006volguidelines.htm

See you at the conference in 2006.....

NASA funds revolutionary sci-fi research

2005-08-10T17:36:15Z

I recently learned about NASA's sci-fi research division called NIAC (NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts). On a yearly basis, 12-15 grants are given after a select group of proposals is chosen from typically 60-170 submissions per year. Grants are given to researchers investigating concepts that:

could be viable within 10-40 years
are revolutionary advanced concepts
could have a useful impact on future aeronautics or space missions
have some degree of credible scientific basis
must be US organizations/researchers

Examples of concepts that are currently being funded include:

Antimatter drives for propulsion
Wide Bandwidth Deep Space Quantum Communications
Tailored Force Fields: Phase 2
Interactive Nuclear Cryoprobes to Explore Ice Sheets on Mars and Europa
Food replicators: Customizable, Reprogrammable, Food Preparation, Production and Invention System
Extraction of antiparticles Concentrated in Planetary Magnetic Fields
Artificial neural membrane flapping wing
Redesigning Living Organisms to Survive on Mars
Methods to harvest antimatter from space
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy for Exploration of Space
Advanced Solar and Laser Pushed Lightsail Concepts
Cyclical Visits to Mars via Astronaut Hotels
Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch (HASTOL) Study - Phase II
System Feasibility Demonstrations of Caves and Subsurface Constructs for Mars Habitation and Scientific Exploration

See the full list of funded projects at: http://www.niac.usra.edu/studies/studies.jsp

It's amazing that people are actually researching all those exciting things we've been hearing about for years in hard sci-fi media. Some studies are now even in the Phase 2 stage!

For more information on the NIAC and the projects it funds, go to: http://www.niac.usra.edu/

To hear a streaming audio interview with Bob Cassanova, director at NIAC, go to the Planetary Society's Planetary Radio website at: http://www.planetary.org/audio/planetaryradio.html

Back to Basics: ideas for living not just long, but healthy

2005-06-10T00:51:51Z

Although I'm not as concerned about living a LOT longer than today's average lifespan, I wouldn't mind living to be 100. What's more important to me, and perhaps to a lot of people, is QUALITY of life. I want all my years to be healthy, and I don't want to feel like I'm degenerating with each passing year. Who wants to spend their last 10 or 20 years as a full or partial invalid? I'd rather my decline to death be rapid and late so that it doesn't take away from the sheer enjoyment of life. So, avoiding degenerative and lifestyle-related disease is important.

Although many take the bleeding-edge technological approach to anti-aging tactics, my approach is pretty simple. My tactics are what many of us already know, but often don't have the willpower to implement. It's so simple really.

All it boils down to is: eating healthfully (plant-based & maintain a good BMI), exercising at least 3 to 4 times a week, minimizing stress by avoiding the workaholic/consumerist lifestyle, making the effort to maintain close and valuable relationships (which extends lifespan even more than dietary changes), limiting unprotected exposure to sun to 1 hour daily, and supplementing with a basic multivitamin plus a wild-caught salmon fish oil capsule. The merits of all of the above are well-documented in many studies for decades already. I like to stick with tactics that are time-proven rather than jumping on every new bandwagon.

I do like to keep informed of the latest developments, nonethless, which is why I'm a member of this site. I follow the news until a few years have passed and side-effects of tactics, if any, are likely to have surfaced - before I dive in myself.

These tactics are all important, so that's why I try to do them all, rather than just one thing. Dietary changes alone are insufficient if you're a couch potato. To get really worthwhile results one must commit to the 'whole package' of time-proven lifestyle optimizers. So, that's what I try to do. Imagine what the average lifespan would be if everyone took the time to do this. Humanity's average lifespan would attain a whole new level!

We need to look beyond the privileged individual though. There are also basic medical needs that are considered a 'given' for Westerners but uncommon in the majority of the third world's populations: immunizations, and basic medical and dental care on at least a yearly basis. Most of the world's population - the majority - would live DECADES longer by simply getting access to mosquito nets, a few immunizations, sexual health instruction, and malaria medication.

Caveat regarding my sunlight comment: In my case, because I'm Canadian, our entire country receives a much lower intensity of sunlight than the average, and we need a little more sun exposure duration for vitamin D production and to stave off Seasonal Affective Disorder, a clinical depression induced by long dark winters, which is why I quoted an hour of unscreened sunlight per day. Someone living further south might want to keep covered up from the UV rays more of the time, as they already do in many Eastern countries. The most recent research shows the benefits of increased vitamin D production from sunlight: it reduces osteoporosis risk, and reduces the likelihood of more serious life threatening cancers elsewhere in the body, so over time is worth the marginal increase in skin cancer risk. At the same time, though - don't go out and become a sun worshipper either! Be sensible and wear those sunglasses to prevent cataracts.

Good luck and live long.