POST-HUMANISM IN SOUTH AFRICA
CHRISTIE V.D MERWE
26306868
BLOG 2
Post-humanism is technology. It is the “cross-fertilization process where post-humanity is becoming a reality.” This is because in post-humanism machines become more humanlike and humans become more computer like. Technology simulates humanity and humanity simulates technology.
Post-humanism has many different aspects and gains more and more aspects daily, due to the latest developments. Post-humanism aspects vary from life-extention to cloning to cryonics and many more. Life-extention is one of the most important aspects as post-humanists strive to find ways to make people live longer or even to prevent them from dying. Post-humanism makes the impossible possible.
In order for a country to have all the latest post-humanistic aspects it has to be highly developed regarding technology. Due to the fact that South Africa is a mixture of first and third world cultures, South Africa is not so highly developed, and is all of the post-humanistic aspects therefore not that freely available and neither implemented in South Africa as yet. When Steve Harris writes about cryonics, he writes from a North American point of view because there is no cryonic centres available in South Africa. “The down set to post-humanism in South Africa is that South Africa is a third world country whereas North America and the rest of the world have the financial aid as well as technology aid to develop programs to research gene-mapping, cloning and cryonics.”
South Africa’s technology is not developed enough for the process of cryonics just yet. Though most of the world is living in a post-humanism era, some countries, like South Africa for instance, just does not use all of the post-humanistic aspects as a result of poor technology. One of the most frequently used and well known post-humanistic aspect used in South Africa is body changes (post-human bodies), which resulted in plastic surgery, where a person can now change his or her appearance and even change their gender.
Looking from a post-human perspective it really seems that the whole world is entering an era where absolutely everything is subject to change. With so many possibilities and so many goals still to be achieved by mankind in the post-humanism sphere, it is obvious that an interesting future is lying ahead of us!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Christie Van Der Merwe - 26306868
Blog 1
Christie van der Merwe
26306868
Virtuele realiteit het die effek van 'n werklike gebeurtenis maar is nie ‘n werklike feit nie. Dit is met ander woorde ‘n geskepte realiteit wat elemente van waarhede bevat en is dus in baie gevalle, baie na aan die waarheid en realiteit. Meeste mense vereenselwig vituele realiteit met rekenaars, maar dit is in werklikheid ‘n effek wat voortspruitend is uit tegnologie. Die gevolg hiervan is dat dit 'n futuristiese geskepte wêreld beskryf vol tegnologiese prosesse, apparate en tegnieke. Dus virtuele realiteit ons deur die proses maar nie in die fisiese werklikheid nie.
Die Virtuele wêreld kan slegs virtueel bly indien dit gekonnekteer word aan die werklike lewe, gebeurtenisse en ervarings. Dit benodig dus ons verbeelding en skeppingsvermoëns om sodoende ‘n vituele realiteit te skep wat so na aan die werklikheid is, dat daar amper slegs met 'n mens se logiese denke ‘n onderskeid getref kan word. Die grootste voordeel met virtuele realiteit, teenoor werklike realiteit is, dat daar by virtuele realiteit feitlike geen perke is nie, maar die werklike realiteit baie meer beperk is, soos wat ons dit daagliks ondervind.
Uit 'n geskiedkundige oogpunt, is virtuele realiteit ontdek deur Jaron Lanier in 1984. Gedurende die 1990's het virtuele realiteit vanuit die rekenaar omgewing meer uitwaarts beweeg na die samelewing en deel daarvan geword.
Hoewel virtuele realiteit deur almal as een basiese begrip beskou word, word die begrip egter in drie vlakke verdeel, naamlik:
Die gebruik van spesiale toerusting soos, data handskoene, brille en sogenaamde “full-body datasuits”, wat die vebruiker die gevoel laat ervaar dat hy binne virtuele wêreld “leef” en deelneem; Virtuele realiteit deur rekenaars waar die verbruiker dan, deur middel van die rekenaar na ‘n driedimensionele wêreld kyk deur die “venster” wat die rekenaar aan hom gee, soos byvoorbeeld ‘n nabootserkajuit; Die derde vlak is die inwerkingstelling van ‘n “derde persoon”, waarin jyself as persoon, interaksie voer met die virtuele wêreld, deur self daaraan deel te neem.
Christie van der Merwe
26306868
Virtuele realiteit het die effek van 'n werklike gebeurtenis maar is nie ‘n werklike feit nie. Dit is met ander woorde ‘n geskepte realiteit wat elemente van waarhede bevat en is dus in baie gevalle, baie na aan die waarheid en realiteit. Meeste mense vereenselwig vituele realiteit met rekenaars, maar dit is in werklikheid ‘n effek wat voortspruitend is uit tegnologie. Die gevolg hiervan is dat dit 'n futuristiese geskepte wêreld beskryf vol tegnologiese prosesse, apparate en tegnieke. Dus virtuele realiteit ons deur die proses maar nie in die fisiese werklikheid nie.
Die Virtuele wêreld kan slegs virtueel bly indien dit gekonnekteer word aan die werklike lewe, gebeurtenisse en ervarings. Dit benodig dus ons verbeelding en skeppingsvermoëns om sodoende ‘n vituele realiteit te skep wat so na aan die werklikheid is, dat daar amper slegs met 'n mens se logiese denke ‘n onderskeid getref kan word. Die grootste voordeel met virtuele realiteit, teenoor werklike realiteit is, dat daar by virtuele realiteit feitlike geen perke is nie, maar die werklike realiteit baie meer beperk is, soos wat ons dit daagliks ondervind.
Uit 'n geskiedkundige oogpunt, is virtuele realiteit ontdek deur Jaron Lanier in 1984. Gedurende die 1990's het virtuele realiteit vanuit die rekenaar omgewing meer uitwaarts beweeg na die samelewing en deel daarvan geword.
Hoewel virtuele realiteit deur almal as een basiese begrip beskou word, word die begrip egter in drie vlakke verdeel, naamlik:
Die gebruik van spesiale toerusting soos, data handskoene, brille en sogenaamde “full-body datasuits”, wat die vebruiker die gevoel laat ervaar dat hy binne virtuele wêreld “leef” en deelneem; Virtuele realiteit deur rekenaars waar die verbruiker dan, deur middel van die rekenaar na ‘n driedimensionele wêreld kyk deur die “venster” wat die rekenaar aan hom gee, soos byvoorbeeld ‘n nabootserkajuit; Die derde vlak is die inwerkingstelling van ‘n “derde persoon”, waarin jyself as persoon, interaksie voer met die virtuele wêreld, deur self daaraan deel te neem.
‘n Tipiese voorbeeld van virtuele realiteit is die rekenaarspeletjie “the Sims”. As ‘n mens na hierdie speletjie kyk kan virtuele realiteit goed verstaan word, omdat daar gepoog word om ‘n werklike wêreld uit te beeld deur middel van die gebruik van virtuele prosesse. Die hele “Sims” speletjie is dus ‘n wêreld op sy eie en so na aan die werklikheid dat ‘n sim (‘n virtuele mens) se huis kan afbrand as hulle nalatig is (soos in die werklike lewe) en die oond aan vergeet. Dit is dus ‘n ewebeeld van realiteit, behalwe dat dit op ‘n rekenaar is en nie fisies bestaan nie, want dit is virtueel.
Hierdie speletjie beeld dus die tipiese virtuele kultuur uit, want alhoewel die “Sims” ‘n kultuur op hulle eie is, is dit weereens so dat dit nie fisies bestaan nie, maar slegs virtueel is en dit is virtuele kultuur, gebasseer op virtuele realiteit.
Virtual Reality in Culture
Blog1
Iwona Marczak 25067011
When one considers that Heim describes Wagner’s Parsifal as a means by which the composer could elevate listeners into a different reality, the words, “Virtual Reality” spring to mind. Virtual Reality (VR) is just a more modern way of doing the exact same thing. What makes VR so interesting is that as human beings we are finally taking a step into the technologically unknown. The Industrial Revolution began making its mark over one hundred years ago and although our technological leaps have been great, it does make one wonder why it took so long for us as humans to get to this point.
Although letters and telephoning is a way that we have been able to communicate on a VR level, the level of interaction has been somewhat lower. With VR, a person can interact with a reality beyond society constructions and uses technology as a medium to do so. Because VR is a step into the unknown (and because it can not be defined or controlled), VR has been set apart from other technologies.
As Heim continues to explain, VR can become a mystical journey to many people. The possibilities of VR is so vast that no-one can lay claim to any piece of space that may belong to VR and in turn, no-one may say what is or is not possible within the realms of VR. Other factors must be considered such as the way the VR can update because VR can be enhanced through the use of other technological mechanisms including headgear, data-gloves or hand-held technologies that can assist with the updating of VR. This continuous upgrading will lead to a more enhanced sensation of VR which can, in a sense, make VR more “real”.
Whilst watching a film, the viewer becomes engaged in the film. Even when deconstructing a person’s behavior psychoanalytically, defining where a person was, that means, in which space in time this person was, is a highly controversial definition. One can definitely consider that the person was engaging in VR because the viewer was not plugged in to the reality the in experienced by almost everyone at the same plane or level.
Iwona Marczak 25067011
When one considers that Heim describes Wagner’s Parsifal as a means by which the composer could elevate listeners into a different reality, the words, “Virtual Reality” spring to mind. Virtual Reality (VR) is just a more modern way of doing the exact same thing. What makes VR so interesting is that as human beings we are finally taking a step into the technologically unknown. The Industrial Revolution began making its mark over one hundred years ago and although our technological leaps have been great, it does make one wonder why it took so long for us as humans to get to this point.
Although letters and telephoning is a way that we have been able to communicate on a VR level, the level of interaction has been somewhat lower. With VR, a person can interact with a reality beyond society constructions and uses technology as a medium to do so. Because VR is a step into the unknown (and because it can not be defined or controlled), VR has been set apart from other technologies.
As Heim continues to explain, VR can become a mystical journey to many people. The possibilities of VR is so vast that no-one can lay claim to any piece of space that may belong to VR and in turn, no-one may say what is or is not possible within the realms of VR. Other factors must be considered such as the way the VR can update because VR can be enhanced through the use of other technological mechanisms including headgear, data-gloves or hand-held technologies that can assist with the updating of VR. This continuous upgrading will lead to a more enhanced sensation of VR which can, in a sense, make VR more “real”.
Whilst watching a film, the viewer becomes engaged in the film. Even when deconstructing a person’s behavior psychoanalytically, defining where a person was, that means, in which space in time this person was, is a highly controversial definition. One can definitely consider that the person was engaging in VR because the viewer was not plugged in to the reality the in experienced by almost everyone at the same plane or level.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)