Jadek Menaheim
Xer Cloud Consortium
347
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Posted - 2013.11.13 16:45:00 -
[1] - Quote
Introduction
The purpose of this inquiry examines the emergent trend of various Empyrean Age communication technologies as they model mediums which strive to bring heightened impressions of bodily co-presence over great distance. We will look at these technologies, particularly the precursors of full three-dimensional virtual collaborative environments with the contextual viewpoints of ancient recovered text; namely of the confiscation of self and body image by Morris BermanGÇÖs Coming to Our Senses, and its chapter on the Basic Fault. The spirit of the study drives with BermanGÇÖs observation on the severance (gap) of the self through social awakening to others as, GÇ£The gap is not of constant dimensions; its career over time, the different ways treating, and its translation into a (changing) body image may be the real hidden history of civilization,GÇ¥ (p.62). Additional scholars, including Jeremy Bailenson bring an extension of this observation with study and documentation of a phenomenon called the Proteus effect in respect to the transformed social interaction theory and how a transformed social presence impacts virtual communication ecosystems. Finally, we will explore the use of haptic immersion in these virtual environments as a characteristic which reaffirms a sense of somatic self in the environment and further creates schism as a perceived extension of oneself, the avatar, is the object which GÇÿfeelsGÇÖ touch.
Morris Berman on the Basic Fault
The realization of the "I" as a member of a greater social framework represents a monumental development of human self-awareness that is both tragic and beautiful. As Morris Berman brings to light, "In order to win membership in the human race, we are asked to pay a 'small price: everything," (Berman, p.37). The manner by which we as human beings' currently divine agreeable social contexts result from the apprehension of the self as "an other for others" to gaze upon. Such manner of apprehending identity from a visual platform creates a great "tension" in the psyche of the body image, as the self in its original physical interiority is confiscated for the use of others to behold in a visual realmGÇöhere, such an external representation is highly vulnerable.
Berman illustrates the body first knew itself, without knowing, as a vessel which moved in an undivided unity with the "mother." The manner of oneness was a deeply somatic experience where all needs for nourishment and growth were met resulting in a state of "primary satisfaction;" however, at a time when the mother lost perfect rhythm with the child, a profound first trauma occurred--a fall from the state of satisfaction which resulted in a lifelong feeling of incompleteness or emptiness which Berman illustrates as the "emergence of the Nemo." As Berman describes, "It is not merely that the self is something that remains unfinished; it is, more significantly, that its validity, its very existence, can be thrown into question," (Berman, p.36). With the state of the Nemo, a fractured self, individuals often align themselves on a life path to build up an external body identity of the self that brings satisfaction because it can be perceptibly validated by others under the visual parameters of complex cultural milieu. Berman argues such a quest for that type of external validation (secondary satisfaction) is ultimately fruitless because it will never nourish oneGÇÖs being in the manner that unity with the mother once performed. Unfortunately, regardless of what one does in life they can never truly regain primary satisfaction; however, Berman does explain that through the reaffirming nature of touch, caress, and haptic feedback, one may gain a closer feeling to that primary satisfaction. It is through such somatic interaction that human beings are reminded and reground in the experience of their physical bodies.
Virtual Environments
Communicative Embodiment
When people think about the world today, they often regard the astonishing technological advances that have occurred in the last few decadesGÇönamely the discovery of transferal of consciousness into new bodily vessels. The purpose of these systems is to facilitate the expedient transference of information amidst a social network. Paul Hildereth in his dissertation on the distribution of knowledge among various communities describes that hard knowledge such as definitions can be transmitted best via written word. Soft knowledge such as intelligence and experience can be transmitted via play and war. This is strongest in physical interaction; however, galactic interaction calls for ways to emulate the experiences of physical interaction. With this need, we see the modern day emergence of three-dimensional collaborative virtual environments.
A virtual environment sounds like science fiction; however, as immigrants to an information-technology age, humanity has become deeply comfortable in communicating over great distances with one another by universal voice transmitters. Henry Jenkins, a leading scholar in comparative media, suggests that use of the transmitter is also a virtual environment because a digital network facilitates a sense of presence between two people who are in separate locations (Dretzin Interview Data Disks). As Berman illustrates, this sense co-presence between two bodies is an extension of the voiceGÇöwhere voice and breath emerge from the internal being of the speaker to somatically influence the receiver by sending vibrations through a medium to the minute bones in the ear (Berman, p.58). Jenkins conveys that people now take the transmitter for granted as a means of virtual communication. In the near future, people may likewise take three dimensional (3D) collaborative virtual communications for granted. Here, more than simple auditory information is conveyed. Virtual worlds are digital environments where people are represented by avatars, or digital visions of themselves (Yee, Bailenson).
cont.
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Jadu Wen
Xer Deadspace
164
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Posted - 2013.11.13 16:56:00 -
[4] - Quote
 Woah, so you're saying we're always going to be ****** up in the head through this whole process of body transferal?
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GûÆGûêGûäGûÇGûäGûê GûÆGûêGûäGûäGûä GûÆGûêGûæGûæGûÇGûê ? SoonGäó
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