Essay Reality or virtuality? By Michael Pronko	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
リアルかバーチャルか コンピューターゲームやネットの世界が複雑化し、リアルとバーチャルの境目がはっきりしなくなってきた。筆者はバーチャル世界が魅力的な理由も分かるが、現実世界の良さは、人間が予測不可能である点だと言う。

As computer games and virtual worlds become increasingly complicated, the line where reality stops and the computer-generated world starts becomes less clear. As people become satisfied with the pleasures of virtual games, the distinction between what's real and what's artificial becomes blurred.

Take girlfriends, for example. A recent news story reported that a Japanese man brought his virtual girlfriend to his wedding ceremony. Such virtual girlfriends are a recent fad, but apparently, this man's real-world bride was not virtually, but genuinely jealous. She smashed his game display at the end of the wedding ceremony. I can sympathize with her.

Even the world of pop music is becoming virtual. The first virtual star is Hatsune Miku, a projected 3-D image that sings and struts across screens on stage. Perhaps the technology is too expensive to make the band virtual, too; they are, in fact, real people. I wonder, though, why fans are so enamored of what a computer can do. To me, human singers are truly amazing. A singer's ability to use their voice to carry meaning, emotion and energy always astounds and fascinates me.

To some degree, I understand this love of the virtual because it is so wonderfully child-like. Children have a natural ability to create their own worlds by making up stories and situations. This game-playing is part of how they learn the social abilities they will need in the future to get along with others, follow rules and engage in society. At a certain point, though, they realize Santa Claus is not real, and that Christmas presents come from people.

What I like about what virtual gamers call "meat space" is the unpredictability of human beings. As a teacher, I can never guess what my students are going to say. When I talk with friends, (not online friends, but in-person, eye-to-eye friends), I love the spontaneity of our give-and-take. You never know what people will say, and it's not always what you want. When they say wild, new or irritating things, you experience the fullness and richness of humanity.

When I "talk" online, I feel like the technological filter gets in the way. I never know if an email or text message has been edited, reconsidered or rewritten. I miss getting an immediate reaction, which is sometimes the strongest one. Even on video calls, I can't get the full effect of body language. Sometimes, a facial expression or body gesture carries as much meaning as the words.

A virtual map, even with photographs of the street view, will never be as exciting as taking an actual walk through an actual city. The difference between a live concert and a recording, between a friend in person and an image on the screen, is the suspense of not knowing what will happen next. That real-world suspense, whether with a conversation, a concert, a city or a wedding partner, will always excite me more.

Shukan ST: DECEMBER 14, 2012

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