In a virtual universe designed by humans, humans know it all. The beauty of the real universe is that, the more we learn, the more we realise the vastness of our ignorance.
Ahh! Really appreciate the ridiculously kind words, sir. Thank you.
And as you say, the stories are key here. Because stories speak to feelings as much as rational argument. And I feel like we are so easily bamboozled by rational arguments presented in the form of "data"...
Since this makes me sound a bit anti-facts: data, of the kind collected by Facebook, is incredibly useful at telling us where we are and what we're all doing. It is much less useful at arguing what we *could* and maybe *should* be doing, which is where stories and Art (and the philosophical sciences) should come in and present the other half of the puzzle of being human beings.
Mark Zuckerberg seems to be arguing: We're all indoors all the time these days, and we're all online all the time these days, so this is *clearly* what we all want and need, and the Metaverse represents The Reality Of Life Going Forward, and maybe you should listen to the data and fall in line like everyone else. But reality is always negotiated. It's a mix of what is and what could be. And the Metaverse seems like a really awful What-If, presented by someone who maybe doesn't consume enough stories (particularly scifi).
(Data would tell me that it's been two weeks since I braved the Scottish sea here on the west coast, continuing the outdoor-swimming routine that's been so, so great for my brain for the last 5 months. Data would say "the data clearly shows you've given up". And since my new wetsuit should be arriving tomorrow, well, data can shove it. The reality I subscribe to is "However erratically, I'm an outdoor swimmer now, and I'm determined to act like it, apocalyptic weather permitting...")
Ahh! Really appreciate the ridiculously kind words, sir. Thank you.
And as you say, the stories are key here. Because stories speak to feelings as much as rational argument. And I feel like we are so easily bamboozled by rational arguments presented in the form of "data"...
Since this makes me sound a bit anti-facts: data, of the kind collected by Facebook, is incredibly useful at telling us where we are and what we're all doing. It is much less useful at arguing what we *could* and maybe *should* be doing, which is where stories and Art (and the philosophical sciences) should come in and present the other half of the puzzle of being human beings.
Mark Zuckerberg seems to be arguing: We're all indoors all the time these days, and we're all online all the time these days, so this is *clearly* what we all want and need, and the Metaverse represents The Reality Of Life Going Forward, and maybe you should listen to the data and fall in line like everyone else. But reality is always negotiated. It's a mix of what is and what could be. And the Metaverse seems like a really awful What-If, presented by someone who maybe doesn't consume enough stories (particularly scifi).
(Data would tell me that it's been two weeks since I braved the Scottish sea here on the west coast, continuing the outdoor-swimming routine that's been so, so great for my brain for the last 5 months. Data would say "the data clearly shows you've given up". And since my new wetsuit should be arriving tomorrow, well, data can shove it. The reality I subscribe to is "However erratically, I'm an outdoor swimmer now, and I'm determined to act like it, apocalyptic weather permitting...")
Anyway, I'm ranting again.
Thanks for riffing off what I said. :)