From: anderson@ncrssd.StPaul.NCR.COM (Joel Anderson)
Subject:  Dangerous VR in Brin's _Earth_
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 91 09:30:42 CDT
Organization: NCR Network Product Group



Regarding the 'abusive and or dangerous VR' discussion begun with the 
report:

>> >From 'Computer Weekly' today (22/8/91):
>> | TORTURE WARNING
>> | Medical experts have warned that virtual reality ...
>> | could be used as an instrument of torture.

In David Brin's novel "Earth" (an enjoyable and thoughtful book in
many dimensions) popular VR entertainment figures significantly in the
occupation of one of the major characters.  She is a VR artist/editor
of a sort who revises movies and TV shows, enhancing them into full
blown 3D sensory experiences.  Her work is so intense that a legally
required signal, a flashing pink diamond in the edge of view, must be
encoded into them to keep viewers from getting too caught up in the
experience. 

(She also 'edits down' some slow moving works into short punchy half hour
movies for the 21st century couch potatoes who are used to a fast-forward 
style of flick).

(BTW, this is the second major SF novel I know of that has central
characters who work at revising old movies with sophisticated computer
technology.  The other is Clarke's _The Ghost From The Great Banks_ which
features a couple who, among other things, specializes in editing out
the politically and socially incorrect habit of smoking out of 20th century
films.)

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    Joel Peter Anderson          |PNET: jpa@pnet51.orb.mn.org
  NCR Comten / Software engineer |GEnie:J.ANDERSON71
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