Cyberspace

Conclusion

While cyberspace may be popularly viewed as a playground for role-playing gamesters who like to immerse themselves in an alternate reality, the potential for investigating the very basis of real world human society by comparison with man's interaction in cyberspace cannot be overlooked.

The idea that man becomes a cyborg when he connects to the Internet for his game of SIMS online is not so far-fetched. The individual interacts with other players of the game in a virtual environment that has rules and a community agreed by the participants. The human need for order and justice is seen in the creation of 'wizards' and 'sheriffs' to maintain a control even in the most fantastical virtual worlds.

Pavel Curtis's opinion in 1997 that

"In the near future (a few years at most), I expect such specialized virtual realities to be commonplace, an accepted part of at least the academic community." (Curtis, P 1997, p139)

has not yet been fully realised. The technology is available but the take up by the general populace is slower than might have been expected.

We have a generation growing up that is unafraid of delving into cyberspace, who will look on virtual worlds, virtual reality and virtual communities as an extension and enhancement of their real world experience.

Cyberspace provides the technologically advanced societies a means of adding to human experience new concepts and worlds without leaving their keyboard. Perhaps fully immersive techniques will enable man to experience space travel without leaving home. Some may say that this could lead to stifling of the exploration of reality but perhaps it could lead to the discovery of new worlds of the inner mind.

References

(Live_Chem,n.d.), Adcock, Oliver (2005) LiveChem - Online Reaction Video Library, The Department of Chemistry. Available from: http://neon.chem.ox.ac.uk/vrchemistry/ [online] Accessed on 5 June 2006

(Curtis P, 1997, p125), Curtis, P. (1997) 'Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual Realities' in Kiesler, S. (ed.) Culture of the Internet, Carnegie Mellon University, Lawrence Erlbaum.

(Curtis P, 1997, p139), Curtis, P. (1997) 'Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual Realities' in Kiesler, S. (ed.) Culture of the Internet, Carnegie Mellon University, Lawrence Erlbaum.

(ISP Glossary n.d.), ISP Glossary The (n.d.) Cyberspace definition - isp.webopedia.com - The Glossary for Internet Providers, [online], The ISP Glossary .Available from: http://isp.webopedia.com/TERM/C/cyberspace.html [accessed on 4/06/2006]

(Lamson R, transcript T209 CD), Lamson, Ralph Transcript - Ralph Lamson interviews 1, 2 and 3 THD204 Information Technology and Society, The Open University

NetDoctor (n.d.) NetDoctor.co.uk - The UK's leading independent health website, NetDoctor. Available from: http://netdoctor.co.uk [online] Accessed on 16 June 2006

(The Advanced Interfaces Group, 2006), School of Computer Science (2006), The Advanced Interfaces Group, School of Computer Science University of Manchester. Available from: http://aig.cs.man.ac.uk/home/home.php [online] Accessed on 5 June 2006

Bilbliography

Book, Betsy (n.d.) Virtual World Review -What is a Virtual World, [online], Virtual Worlds Review. Available from : http://www.virtualworldsreview.com/info/whatis.shtml [online] Accessed on 10/06/2006

Gibson, W. (1984) Neuromancer, Ace Books, New York.

Plato (360 BCE) The Republic (translated by Desmond Lee) Penguin Classics; Rev/2nd Rp edition (September 30, 1955)

Rex, F(n.d.) LambdaMOO(with LambdaMOO map) An Introduction, [online] Felix Rex. Available from http://lambdamoo.info Accessed on 16 June 2006.

Keir K, (2002) 'Cyberspace',T209 Information and Communication Technologies: people and interactions, The Open University, Milton Keynes

[998 words]

Return to Cyborg Overview