What's Real?
Topic: Technology

"Hey Tige," I said to Mr. Tiger, the sham within, "After hearing and reading about Sony's PlayStation 3 and how people are waiting in line for days to spend $500 or more for a game, I'm confused about our priorities. I have a lot of curiosity about virtual worlds but I have to admit, I can't fully wrap my brain around it."

'Am I supposed to act surprised?' growled the pest with a genuine hint of synthetic boredom.

"If you're not - I am - surprised by it, I mean, " I said, already confused by the direction our conversation was going.

Before we went further, I scratched my head and pointed to Second Life, a virtual community where you can create anything. "I guess it's the computer software that creates a simulated 3-D environment - an artificial reality - resembling what is authentic," I said, trying to sound as though I knew what I meant. I didn't. Nonetheless I added what was real, "Participants spend real money on monthly transactions," I said.

'Anything that can be done and is worth doing,' said Mr. Tiger, behaving as he does - as though a novel approach was second nature to him.

Maybe it was. Maybe I was over-thinking what was, for me, a very vague idea. Maybe it's true that the real world, as I know it, isn't any more real than a place like Second Life, where real estate is for sale for $9.95 a month plus a Land Use Fee proportional to the amount of land you own. "OY!" I said.

'I want an island,' responded the pest.

"That can be had," I said to him and then to myself, as I was trying to fathom this stuff, I said, "What on earth is this world coming to?"

'Cool place," he replied, to, I think, the idea of an island.

"You'll probably need a car," I said back. "Real companies are getting into the act of virtual reality," I told him as I read from a CNNMoney.com article, "General Motors' Pontiac division is spending thousands of dollars to create a make-believe dealership that will sell make-believe cars for as little as a few dollars a piece."

I was still not getting it, my head was spinning.

I ended with some quotes that somehow seemed fitting. But maybe not.

"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." --Rene Descartes

The disciple said, ?I am not yet able to be sure about this.? Confucius was pleased. Confucius. Analects 5 ;6

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." - Voltaire