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A simple venn diagram based on the theories of B Coleman in her book Hello Avatar!

X-Reality: The Cross Between Real and Virtual Experience

After reading the first chapter of Professor Beth Coleman's book Hello Avatar, I started thinking about how different channels of communication shape and affect our lives. More and more, we are living in a world with new ways of connecting, understanding and interacting. While the mediums of communication have changed over time and will almost certainly continue to evolve further with the passage of time, it is clear that humans will continue looking for ways to use these mediums to in ways that are meaningful to them. In her book, Dr. Coleman states "... our modes of communication impact our concepts of space, place and time; as we change modalities of representation, we also change our human perspective." (p. 49). The channels we use to communicate, define what the message being transmitted really means. Also, the method selected for delivery of a message help shape the meaning of what is being communicated. Dr. Coleman also states that "as networked subjects we desire more not less, contact. And we like to have multiple channels through which we can send a message" (p. 50). This means that humans have a basic need or an instinct embedded in their being that wants to connect with other people and the more variety in options to communicate, the better since it allows us the ability to select mediums that best represent our interests.

In my research on various topics including: identity, reality, virtual reality, x-reality and avatars, one particular piece from Wired Magazine caught my attention. The article is entitled: "Virtual Reality Allows Adults to See World Through a Child’s Eyes" (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/virtual-reality-perspective/) and is written by Nisha Giridharan from ScienceNow.

#avatars #virtual reality #x-reality #reality #human experience #empathy