Exactly the sort of reason I think virtual reality might be the next frontier to conquer in the context of ritual. Since with such tech it becomes possible to engage the senses in a way that mimics and is in some ways indistinguishable from the physical thing it corresponds to.
This is a great point. As our senses can be fooled increasingly effectively with simulations, we can have increasingly authentic experiences within VR. It opens up further lines of questions around if and how VR ritual might impact the world outside VR beyond the experiences taken by participants, and in turn to what degree random or seemingly chance interruptions can transpire in a way that participants might find meaningful. So really, it may be that VR is perfectly suited to certain ritual types, like social and communal rituals and possibly less suited to calendrical rituals that celebrate the 'real world' environment. Part of this digs down into the question around what is affected and changed by rituals - the participants and/or the world they live within... hmn... thanks for that its an interesting idea and i'll have to mull it over. I have only one fully immersive digital VR experience and that was recently and i was amazed at how my body and perceptions responded... cheers!
Exactly the sort of reason I think virtual reality might be the next frontier to conquer in the context of ritual. Since with such tech it becomes possible to engage the senses in a way that mimics and is in some ways indistinguishable from the physical thing it corresponds to.
This is a great point. As our senses can be fooled increasingly effectively with simulations, we can have increasingly authentic experiences within VR. It opens up further lines of questions around if and how VR ritual might impact the world outside VR beyond the experiences taken by participants, and in turn to what degree random or seemingly chance interruptions can transpire in a way that participants might find meaningful. So really, it may be that VR is perfectly suited to certain ritual types, like social and communal rituals and possibly less suited to calendrical rituals that celebrate the 'real world' environment. Part of this digs down into the question around what is affected and changed by rituals - the participants and/or the world they live within... hmn... thanks for that its an interesting idea and i'll have to mull it over. I have only one fully immersive digital VR experience and that was recently and i was amazed at how my body and perceptions responded... cheers!