Infinite Reality, Jim Blascovich
Infinite Reality, Jim Blascovich
3 Rating(s)
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Infinite Reality
Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution

Author: Jim Blascovich, Jeremy Bailenson

Narrator: John Pruden

Unabridged: 7 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 04/05/2011

Categories: Nonfiction, Science


Synopsis

“Enough with speculation about our digital future. Infinite Reality is the straight dope on what is and isn’t happening to us right now, from two of the only scientists working on the boundaries between real life and its virtual extensions.”
—Douglas Rushkoff, author of Program or Be ProgrammedCan our brains recognize where ""reality"" ends and ""virtual"" begins? Where will technology lead us in five, fifty, or five hundred years? An unrivaled guide to our digital future that has been cited by the Supreme Court, Infinite Reality is a mind-bending ""journey through the virtual universe"" (Wall Street Journal). Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailenson, two pioneering authorities, explore the profound potential of emerging technologies and reveal how our brains behave in digital worlds.
Along the way, Bailenson and Blascovich examine the timeless philosophical questions of the self and ""reality"" that arise through the digital experience; explain how virtual reality's latest and future forms—including immersive video games and social-networking sites—will soon be seamlessly integrated into our lives; show the many surprising practical applications of virtual reality, from education and medicine to sex and warfare; and probe further-off possibilities like ""total personality downloads"" that would allow your great-great-grandchildren to have a conversation with ""you"" a century or more after your death.Equally fascinating, farsighted, and profound, Infinite Reality is an essential guide to our virtual future, where the experience of being human will be deeply transformed.

About Jim Blascovich

Jim Blascovich is the director and co-founder of the Research Center for Virtual Environments at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is Distinguished Professor of Psychology. Professor Blascovich has served as the president of international scientific societies, including the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, and he has been invited to lecture on social neuroscience and virtual reality topics worldwide.

About Jeremy Bailenson

Jeremy Bailenson is the founding director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab. Professor Bailenson has been featured on Frontline, All Things Considered, and Today, and in Time, Discover, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Science, Health, World, and Style sections of the New York Times, as well as in the New York Times Magazine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Always on January 04, 2018

I don't think this book had any substance at all, the author just kept talking about virtual reality in very vague terms without giving any new speculations to how it's use could actually change things. Anyone can read an article on virtual reality or second life and find out all the things he talks......more

Goodreads review by Jacob on May 07, 2012

This book reads like a drab intro to digital media. I'd suggest reading Wikipedia articles on Virtual Reality and Second Life and save $10. It does seem well researched and provide some interesting facts but that being said I am also disappointed with the lack of discussion around what any of this m......more

Goodreads review by Eric on February 28, 2015

Really cool book that I managed to discover while watching a Matrix trilogy marathon on tv. I had seen the matrix trilogy several times, and as it was on tv in the background I realized I never truly understood the meaning of how it all ended. I decided to look for a forum with explanations and foun......more

Goodreads review by Cassandra Kay on November 11, 2012

Disappointing. There was little in the way of new speculation on any of these topics and to be perfectly honest I think these topics have been better covered by the sci fi genre than they are here. A lot of the stories and points brought up in the book were not only unoriginal but stimulated short s......more

Goodreads review by Ailith on November 05, 2019

Bonus points for the 2011 publish date, it's an amusing enough thing to just read quickly during an hour or two of boredom. Pretty much reinforces the position that the future will be worse than the present, if psychologists and capitalists have anything to say about it. It's all very well to say a......more