From Interface to Cyberspace: The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality

Author: Heim Guoren Liu Gang (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-07-01
Features: Computers have dramatically changed life in the 20th century. Today, we accelerate the communication that was once conducted through broadcasting, newspapers, and television with the help of a global computer network. Ideas fly around the world at lightning speed. In the corner, a fully developed virtual reality lies dormant. In virtual reality, we can immerse ourselves in sensory simulations, not only of the real world but also of the imaginary world. As we begin to transition between the real world and the virtual world, Michael Heim asks, how does our perception of reality change? In From Interface to Cyberspace, Heim explores this question and other philosophical issues of the information age. With a keen insight into both the bright and dark sides of computer technology, he examines the logical and historical origins of our computerized world and investigates the future direction of our computerized lives. Along the path toward cyberspace and virtual reality, Heim discusses topics such as the textual effects of the "linguistics of reality" and the new literature given birth by hypertext. This book is a fascinating and vivid work that opens an engaging window on developments that promise—or threaten—to become an integral part of daily life in the 21st century. It was ranked as one of the best academic books of 1993 by Choice magazine.