From: minsky@media-lab.media.mit.edu.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Marvin Minsky)
Subject: Re: The Media Lab
Date: 30 Apr 91 20:55:12 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA




In article <1991Apr30.183007.26998@milton.u.washington.edu> trump@elaine45.
stanford.edu (Michael Jason Lewis) writes:

>Having just read _The_Media_Lab_ by Stweart Brand, I have been struck
>by a bolt of white light .. to apply my life's work to this VR field.
>Actually, it wasn't quite that exciting, but I do think that it would be an
>interesting way to spend a career--and as a college freshman, I have the 
>opportunity to follow this desire up.

Yes, a good way to do this is to visit the active places, etc.  But as
a freshman, consider that the best way is not always the direct way.
If you want ot be good at X, it is probably best not to major in X,
but in something else more fundamental.  (IMHO, the best X is usually
Mathematics.  You then can pick up Computer Science, or VR, or
whatever, in the street.

On the other hand, if you major in VR or even CS, both of which have
useful half-lives of about 3.792 years, then when you graduate you
have to start all over again.  Mathematics has a half-life of 43.8
years, which is more suitable to current life spans.  (:-}=



[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  Especially as lifespans get longer! It would be
interesting to see how many VR practitioners actually have degrees in
CS.  (VR degrees?  Not yet!)  In our lab , they're still a decided
minority.  Education, design and planning, mathematics, and engineer-
ing still prevail. -- Bob Jacobson]