THE METAPHYSICSOFVIRTUAL REALITYDthar Books by the AuthorElectricLanguage: A PhilosophicalStudyofWordProcessing(1987)Translationof MartinHeidegger,TheMetaphysicalFoundationsofLogic (1984)VIRTUAL REALITYMichaelHeimNew YorkIOxfordIOXFORD UNIVERSITYPRESSTHE METAPHYSICS OFOxfordUniversityPressOxfordNew YorkAthensAucklandBangkokBombayCalcuttaCapeTownDar es SalaamDelhiFlorenceHongKongIstanbulKarachiKualaLumpurMadrasMadridMelbourneMexico CityNairobiParisSingaporeTaipieTokyoTorontoandassociatedcompaniesinBerlinIbadariCopyright1993 by Michael HeimFirstpublishedin1993byOxfordUniversityPress, Inc.198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York10016-4314First issued as anOxfordUniversity Press paperback, 1994Oxfordisa registeredtrademark of Oxford University Press, Inc.Allrights reserved.No partof this publicationmay bereproduced,storedina retrievalsystem, or transmitted, inanyformor by anymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording orotherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionof OxfordUniversityPress.Libraryof Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationDataHeim, Michael, 1944-The metaphysics of virtual reality / by Michael Heim.p.cm.Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.ISBN. 0-19-508178-1ISBN 0-19-509258-9 (pbk)1.Humancomputerinteraction.2.Virtualreality.3.TechnologySocialaspects.I.Title.QA76.9.H85H451993006dc201 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3PrintedintheUnitedStatesof AmericaForyoungMike,Jackand Dorothy,and alwaysJoannaIn thepresent stateoftheworld,thecontrol wehave ofphysical en-ergies,heat, light,electricity,etc., withoutcontrol overtheuse ofourselvesis a perilous affair.Withoutcontrol ofourselves,our useofotherthingsis blind.John Dewey,Preface toF. M.Alexander,TheResurrection oftheBodyFOREWORDviIfvirtualreality were just anothertechnology, youwouldnothave heardso muchaboutit.However,itisa technology thatviican be appliedtoevery humanactivityandcan be usedtomediateineveryhumantransaction.Sinceyouarecompletelyimmersedinthevirtualworld,virtual realityconstitutesanewformof humanexperienceone thatmaybeasimportanttothefutureas film, theater,andliteraturehavebeentothepast. Its potentialimpactisso broadthatitmaydefinethecul-turethatresultsfromitsuse.As a consequence,theconceptofvirtual realitywillbeas widelyusedas a metaphoras itisinpractice.In thisbook, Michael Heimpointsout thatvirtual realityistheculminationof a process that hasbeengoing on forsometimeintechnologyandforevenlongerinWesternthought.He goes back totheroots of thisdevelopmentandtraceshoweachchange inthetechnology of knowledgehasledto a change inour relationshipto knowledgeandulti-matelyinourview of ourselves.Hisreviewof theideas offamiliarphilosophersinlightof contemporarytechnologicalchangeisfascinating.Forinstance,Leibniz'svisionof a com-munityof mindspreciselyanticipatescurrentdatanetworks.Thebeginning of thisevolution occurredwhentheinven-tionof writing enormously expandedthecapacityof humanmemorytoextendbeyondasinglelifetime.But untilthein-ventionof theprinting press,writingwasitselfaformof wor-ship.AfterGutenberg, thewrittenwordcouldbeownedbyindividuals as wellasinstitutions.Recently, suchis thepaceof development andsorapidisouradaptationto it thatone revolutionis notoverbeforethenexthasbegun.One wondersif weareinthemidst ofacataclysmthatwillsoonrunitscourse,or if thefactnotjustofchangebutof acceleratingchangehasnowbecomeacon-stantfeatureof ourlives.In thepasttwodecades, theprintedwordhas beguntoyieldto theelectronic word. Whereastheprintingpressmini-mizedthereader'sinvestment,wordprocessingreducesthewriter's.Writers canwritetoseeif theyhaveanythingtosay.Ifa thoughtemerges, theycancaptureit,tameit,andmakeit marchonparade as thoughithadbeenconceivedtodo so.Recently,newtoolsfor thoughtprocessinghaveappearedtofurtheraugment humanthinking.While wordprocessing expeditesthetraditionalwritingtask,hypertextbreaks withthelinearsequenceof orderedthoughtdemandedby theprintedword.Thereaderisaskedtomakedecisionsaboutorderof presentationthattheauthorwasnotwillingto make.Thenonlinear,free-associationformatof hypertexthasbeenincorporatedintomultimediathemostrecent revolu-tion.In thisnewtechnology, theblack-and-white,static,sym-bolic,sensory-deprivation worldof theintellecthasbeguntoyieldtomultisensory modesof presentation.Theawkwardjuxtapositionof picturesandwords thatexistsinprintgiveswaytoa newformof expressioninwhichillustrationsdomi-nate.By totally immersing theconsumerinillustration,virtualrealityisthemomentary culminationof this evolution.However,virtual realitychangesourrelationshiptoinfor-mationinanevenmore fundamentalway. It is the first intel-lectualtechnology thatpermitstheactiveuseof thebodyinthesearchfor knowledge. Does thisimply thedeathof abstractsymbolsandwithit thedemiseof thesedentaryintellect?Or willweinventnewthree-dimensional,colored,animatedsymbolsthatwillinteractwithus ratherthanwaiting pas-sivelyfor ustoreadthem? Will thisrejoiningof themindandthebody createa newbreedof intellectual?Virtualreality raisesmanyphilosophicalquestions.Whatisthestatusof virtualexperience?Although wetypicallymakea cleardistinctionbetweenfactandfiction,wearein-Forewordcreasinglytheproductsof artificialexperience.Thiscanbegoodfor pilotswhotrainfromcarefullycomposedscenariosthatdistillthecumulativeflightexperienceof allhumankind.Butwhat of a worldinwhichevery actionis rehearsedinsimulationbeforeitis taken, as wasthecase for pilotsduringtheGulfwar? Will realactionloseitsimmediacy whenit isbuta recapitulationof simulated activity?In virtualreality,traditionalphilosophicalquestionsarenolonger hypothetical.Whatis existence?How dowe know?Whatis reality? Who am I? These are aestheticissueswithengineering consequences.Theyare certainly notremote orviiiesoteric,given thepossibilityof creatingartificialexperiencesthatare as compelling as therealones.ixIn thisbook, Heim putshisfingeronwhyvirtual realityhasexcitedusas a culture.It is anintellectualfeasttowhichweare allinvited,anintellectualfrontierthatweare allfreetoexploreandinvent.He analyzes thisprocessof changewithoutjudging whetheritisgoodor bad, because under-standing itis bothimportant andinteresting. We canembraceit not becauseit willcost usnothing, butbecauseitisourdestiny toredefineourselves. In theworldof thebook, thetruthis animmutable thing to becapturedandrecorded. Butastheageof electronic information maturesandtheage ofartificialexperiencecommences, we recognize thatweare onajourney andwhile we may questionwhetherthenextdesti-nationis betterthantheplace weleft,we realize thatthejour-neyisours, for we mustsee whatitisthat whatwe havemade,makes us.Myron W.KruegerForewordThis page intentionally left blank As these wordsspreadacrossmycomputer screen,I occa-sionallylook upat a sublimesight,thehighpeaksof the Ca-nadianRockyMountains.Everyfewminutes,thewindwhistlesthroughthesharp,snow-coveredpeaks, andthesi-lencebeneaththeseNovember windsrunssodeepthatitcatches your breathandholdsyou tightin a deepstillness.Yourealizethenwhythisspotbecame a famousgatheringplace for Canada's artists, theBanffCentrefor theArtsinAl-berta.Uphereat 4,500 feet,yousee big elkgrazing quietlyat theroadside.But a paradoxdisruptsthescenic beauty. Theartistsandwritersin residence at this havenfor theartshavecome heretoplanandconstruct virtual-reality prototypes,computer-simulatedenvironments,andartificialworlds.Pluggedintoelectricpower andcomputer chips, thehumanraceinthislastdecadeof thetwentiethcenturyis preparingtoliftoff fromnature into anotherelectronicspace.Ina previous book, Electric Language, I usedthecom-puterasaseismograph for measuring ontologicalshifts,thechanges inourcontemporary reality.Seenphilosophically,thewordprocessorcreatesa newrelationshiptosymbols, to lan-guage,and,by extension,to reality. Oneaspectof thenewre-alityis a powerful feedbackmechanismthatnowundergirdsourculture.The mediatodaydrawon worldwidecomputerlinks,speeding upcommunications by radio,newspapers,andtelevision.Computer networkshave sprunguptoforma giantwebfor humanexchange. Ideas fly back andforth,circlingtheglobeat thespeedof electricity.ThisnewelectriclanguagePREFACEXxiformsaninstantfeedbackloop, thelikesof whichhaveneverbeforeexisted.Andnota momenttoosoon.Theinformationinfrastructurecomesjust intime. Itbringsa cyberneticdimensionthatallowsustojointogethertodiscussandcritique imminenttechnologies.Majortechno-logicalbreakthroughsloomon thehorizon,suchas theadventofvirtualreality, thetotally immersivecomputersimulation.Previously,a technology would be germinatedby inventors, betestedby engineers, be producedbydevelopers,andthenbesent tomarket totransforma culture. But, theuniversal com-puternetworkmeansthatnotechnologicalbreakthroughcomestomarket withoutfirstpassingovertheplatform ofpublic appraisal.The electronicnetcaptureseverything, firstas asharedproject,thenas news, andfinallyas anissue fordebate. The networkfostersongoing discussioninwhichinter-actionrunsathighspeedandonepersoncanconnecttomany, bypassing theestablishedhierarchies.Whilesuchopen-nessmay hasslethetechnicallyminded,itinsertsa newdi-mensionintotheworldandestablishesa new relationship totechnology,a symbiosisinwhichneitherthehumannorthemachinedominates. Justas thecybernautcangesture tocreateor alterobjectsina virtualenvironment,so too thehumanracenowinhabitsa worldinwhichalmosteverything we rec-ognize resultsfromourowndoing.Virtualreality(VR)was borninthiscyberneticdimen-sion.Fromitsembryonic stage, VR hasbeenunderconstantsocialobservationanddiscussion.Notlefttotechnicians, VRremainsa focalissueof interdisciplinaryandlay debateevenbeforeithasfullyemergedfromthecocoonofresearchanddevelopment. Obviously, as weconvertto VR, thenettoowillundergo achangeas wemove inandoutof aself-subsistentcomputer-generated world.But thequestionwillstillbepressing. How muchcan humanschange andstill re-mainhuman as theyenterthecyberspaceofcomputerizedrealities?Thatquestionshatteredmy previous reflectionsonthecomputer ratherabruptlyin1989whenI first enteredVR. In-steadof sittingbeforeascreenwithkeyboardormouse,Idonneda helmet andglove andfeltimmersedina computer-Prefacegeneratedenvironment.No longeroutsidethecomputer, Iwalkedthroughthelooking glass.My philosophicalseismo-graphwentcrazy. This virtual realityI triedwasstilla primi-tiveprototype,likearcadegamesandamateurflightsimulators.But itsimplicationsseemedenormous.Theshiftsinreality I hadfoundinearliercomputer useweresubtlebycomparison.Theontologicalshiftthroughdigitalsymbols be-cameinVR afull-fledged,aggressive, surrogate reality.Thisbook of essayscontinuesthelineof thoughtinmyearlierbook. Only thistime, thingsare more urgent, andthequestionof theontological shifttherealityshifthasbecomexiimoremanifest.WhenI writeof anontological shift,I meanmorethanxiiiachangeinhowwehumanssee things,morethanaparadigmshiftor aswitchinourepistemologicalstance.Of course,ouraccesstoknowledgechangesdramaticallyas wecomputerizethearts, sciences,andbusiness.But therearemorethingsinheavenandearththanaredreamedof inourepistemology.Anontologicalshiftisa changeintheworldunderourfeet,inthewholecontextin whichourknowledge andawarenessarerooted. Thingschangeevenbeforewebecomeawareof whathasbeenhappeningtous.We mightlookupontheauto-mobile,for instance,asa limitedtool,asa humandevice fortransportation.Infact,however,theworlditselfchangedwhenweintroduced theautomobile. Thewidespreaduseof auto-mobilesopensusuptodifferentplaces, andtheseplacescon-nectinnewways thatdifferfromtheoldplacesinkindandquality,andtheworldweliveinchangesgradually butinev-itably.Knowledge inascientific sensecanlag only slightlybehindthis worldtransformation because knowledgebecomestransformedintheprocess.Theholisticbackground or worldisthebasic realityunderlying ourknowledge andawareness.Ontology,thestudyof being, is theefforttodevelopaperiph-eralvisionby whichweperceiveandarticulatethehiddenbackgroundof beings,theworldor contextinwhichthey be-come realand meaningful.Thechaptersof thisbook mirror theprogressionfromdigitaltovirtual reality. Thefirstseveralchaptersofferevi-denceof anontological shift,looking athowourdailyactiv-Prefaceitiesondigitalcomputersshapeour readingandsearchingthroughinformation. Hypertexts andoutliners,electronicmailanddatabasesearching, allbelong to thenewway thingsareorganized. Inmyanalysis,I trytoshowhowthisdigital sym-bolic worldbringsbothgainsandlosses.Eachchapterusuallyofferssomesuggestionsas to howwemightpreservethebetteraspectsof predigital reality inordertobalancethetechnologythatis changing ourgiven reality.Chapter1, "Infomania":Over thetenyearsof the1980s,adramaticchangetookplaceintheproductionandstorageofwrittenlanguage. Anestimated80 percentof writtenlan-guage beganexistingindigital form.Computersswallowedtheculturalheritageof English-speaking countries.Astheau-thorof ElectricLanguage, I wasaskedtosummarizewhatIsawintheshiftunderlyingthisdevelopment.Theresultis"Infomania,"whichfirstappearedinChristopherRicksandLeonardMichaels,eds.,TheStateoftheLanguage (Berkeley:Universityof California Press,1990), andthisarticlewaslaterreprintedintheLondon newspaperTheIndependent."Infomania"subsequently appeared intheinternationaljour-nalElectricWord inMarch 1990,inwhichI wasthecoverfeature.Chapter2, "Logic andIntuition":Electric Language ar-guedthatourwholepsychicframeworkchangesas weusecomputersto readandwrite.Today40 millioncomputersintheUnited Statesalonespewoutthefindingsof ourinfo-mania.Searchingthrough thedigital jungle alterstherelation-shipof logic tointuition.Whilecomputersnowhandlethelinearprocessesof creating, storing,andaccessingdata,thehumanbeing muststillmatchthepatternsandrecognizethesignificanceof thesepatterns.Thisessaytracesthenewdivi-sionof tasksby recallingtheage-old battlebetweenlogicalandintuitiveapproaches. The centralphilosopherhereisG. W. Leibniz, whodeveloped computerprototypes andwhowashimselfsomethingof aprototype fortoday's cybersage."LogicandIntuition"was researchedandwrittenat theinvi-tationof Harvey Wheeler, professor of informationstudiesattheUniversity ofSouthernCalifornia,forasessionof EDU-PrefaceCOM,thoughthepaperwasnotpresented,for complextech-nicalreasons.Chapter3, "HypertextHeaven":AmericanaudiencesburstintoapplausewhentheMillennium Falcon(inthemovieStarWars) first jumpedintohyperspace.Mostcomputeruserscheered,too,whentheyfirstdiscoveredhypertext.Hy-pertextnowappearseverywhereoncomputers,fromtax-preparationprograms toencyclopedicguidesto theLouvre.Likea joyride,hypertexthasa kinestheticappeal.But travelatsuchhighspeedsexactsaprice.Just as thecomputer'ssearchpowersextendour knowledgewhilenarrowingourxivfocus,hypertextbringsblissfulbrowsingbutweavesadan-gerousillusionof God-like omniscience."HypertextHeaven"xvwaspartof my"Reflections on theComputer Screen,"anelec-troniclecture(70 kilobytes) first giveninFebruary1990attheNewSchoolforSocialResearchgraduate programincom-municationsdirectedby ProfessorPaulLevinson;italsoappearedonlineinadifferentversionin June 1990intheelectronicjournal PostModernCulture,editedbyJohnUnsworthandElaineOrr at NorthCarolinaStateUni-versity, whereitis stillavailableinthatversionfrompmc@ncsuvm.bitnetor jmueg@ncsuvm.bitnet.Chapter4,"ThoughtProcessing":Softwarehasahiddenagenda. As wecomputerize, wego througha lengthylearningprocessduringwhichweenjoyfew benefitsandundergomuchpain.Soonwe adaptandbecomeproductiveagain, andthesoftwareseemstransparenttothetasksweface.Yetwhenwetakea closerlookatonespecificcomputerapplication,theoutliner,wediscoverhowsoftwarerestructuresourthoughtprocess.Throughout history,thewrittenoutline haschangeditsusersandhasevenservedas thetoolfor educa-tionalreformerswhowishedtoand didtransformsociety.Today'scomputerizedoutlinersrevealthehiddenagendaun-derlyingsoftwareof allkinds."ThoughtProcessing"appearsforthe first timehere.Chapter5, "HeideggerandMcLuhan: TheComputerasComponent":The twonamesconnecton thepagelikethemeetingof Godzilla andKingKong.Widely knownphilosoph-Prefaceicalnamesof thetwentiethcentury,familiar inboth EuropeandtheUnitedStates,belongto twointellectualgiantswhosawtechnologyas thecentralissueof thetwentiethcentury:Heideggergiving technologya realitystatusand McLuhandiscoveringthatnomeaningescapesthemeshof theelec-tronicmedia.Futurescholarswillsortouthowthesetwothinkersdifferwhilesharing manyassumptions.More impor-tanttousis whatwecanlearnfromthemabout therolecom-putersplayinour lives.Both Heidegger andMcLuhan sawthatthecomputer wouldposelessdanger tousas a rivalarti-ficialintelligence thanitwouldas anintimatecomponentofoureverydaythoughtandwork. I wroteaboutthisforthejournalPhilosophyandLiterature, publishedby JohnsHop-kinsUniversity Press,inwhichadifferentversionof thises-say appearedinOctober 1992.Thelaterchaptersofthisbookexploretheshiftofground,themovefromdigital tovirtualreality.Chapter6,"FromInterfacetoCyberspace":Thelasttwentyyearsof amazing technologicalprogressweredrivenbyadefinitelogic, whichfollowedtheexpansionandpenetra-tionof theinterface by whichhumansinteractwithtechnicalsystems:machinesbecame appliances,appliancesofferedaninterface,theinterface openedtocyberspace, andcyberspaceofferedvirtualworldstoexplore. Witheachstepinthepro-gressioncame a correspondingresponseby thepublic whoim-plementedandusedthesetechnicalsystems.A logicoffeelingunderliesthepublicreactionstothetechnicaldevelopment,"FromInterface toCyberspace"appearsherefor thefirsttimeandmarks theshiftof theoryfromdigitaltovirtual reality.This1992essaytracesthetwosidesof acoin:thelogic oftechnicaldevelopmentandthelogicof feelinginthehumanusers.Chapter7, "TheErotic Ontology of Cyberspace": WilliamGibson'sfictionfirstbrought thetermcyberspaceintouseamongimaginative,technical people. His fiction imaginesandmagnifiesthetrade-offsinthemove to virtualworlds."TheEroticOntology of Cyberspace" exploredthesetrade-offsfortheFirstConference onCyberspace, heldattheUniversityofTexasatAustin, May45,1989.TheessaythenappearedPrefacein MichaelBenedikt, ed., Cyberspace: FirstSteps(Cambridge,Mass.: MIT Press, 1991). Sparksfromthisessay flew inmanydirections,one reachingLaurence Rozier, anexperton NewOrleans voodoo, who buildsand sells hypertextsthatconnectjazz, rock-and-roll,artificial intelligence,andAfricanspiritualtraditions.Chapter8, "TheEssence of VR": In thelate1980s,thecomputerinterface turnedinsideout and becamea virtualworldthatpeoplecouldenter.Jaron Lanier aptlytermedthephenomenonvirtual reality,althoughmany noticedthattheconceptgoes back to Myron Krueger inthe1960sandto IvanxviSutherlandandMorton Heilig even earlier.Someobservers,in their firsteffortsto explainthephenomenonto theircon-xviitemporaries,pointedtodrugs orsex or entertainment.Buttheprofundityof theVR experiencecalls forsomething ofa grander stature,somethingphilosophicalandreligious.Thetimehas come tograsp thephenomenoninitsdepthandscope.Afterall, we are talking about virtual"reality," notfleetinghallucinationsor cheapthrills. We are talkingaboutaprofoundshiftinthelayersof humanlifeandthought. Weare talking about somethingmetaphysical.Chapter9, "Virtual-Reality Check":Thisisa revisedver-sion of a paper thatappearedunderthetitle"TheMetaphysicsofVirtual Reality" inthetradejournal Multimedia Reviewin1990, publishedby Meckler. It thenappearedina Mecklerreprintcalled"Virtual Reality." The paper became thebasisofa talk for theprogram "Virtual Reality: Theory,Practice,andPromise,"heldinSanFranciscoon December 10, 1990,whichalso became a videotapesoldby Meckler.Chapter 10, "TheElectronic Caf6Lecture":Over ahun-dredpeople crowdedintotheElectronic Cafe Internationalon Eighteenth StreetinSantaMonica on March 12, 1992.Theycamefromthecomputerindustry,theentertainmentfield,andmany otherprofessions. Theyhadcome for thefirstmeet-ing of theSouthernCalifornia Virtual Reality SpecialInterestGroup.Thecafe,a modelfor thecyberartssincethe1984Olympics,has become a centerfor experimentsintelepoetry,electronicdance,cinema, andothermultimediaexperiments.Thecafe'sowners, Kit Galloway andSherrieRabinowitz, setPrefaceupa televisedlinkwitha sistercafe,theMetropophobiaCafein Phoenix,Arizona,so that theevening'slecturecouldspanelectronicspace.Dave Blackburn of Virtual Venturesin LosAngeles hadconvenedthegroup andinvitedme to give thefirst address.Brett Leonard, a frequentcontributorto thecafe,hadwrittenanddirectedthemovie Lawnmower Man. Becausehismoviecelebratesthespecialeffectsof VR, I took theop-portunitytolinkmy philosophicalwritingsto this place ofpopularculture.One sharpobservermy sononce describedmyunderlyingapproachas"Techno-Taoism."In short,my analysisacceptsacertaindegree of inevitabilityaboutourembraceoftechnol-ogy while I try to incorporate a deliberate balance, a balanceofenergieslearnedover years fromTaoistpractices.So, ifpressedfor a singlethreadrunningunderneaththeseessays,I mightadmit to"Techno-Taoism,"butmy purposeis nottofashiona style of thisor thatbuttoilluminatecertainphe-nomena, togo more deeplyintowherewe are andwhereweare headed.Notonly do we have a breakthroughincomputerinter-face,butevenmore important, we nowfacethechallenge ofknowingourselvesanddetermininghowthetechnologyshoulddevelopandultimatelyaffectthesocietyinwhichitgrows.At thesame time, Ioffertheseessaysinthehopethatmy belovedphilosophiawillawakenfromherslumberandonce againradiatebrightlyandmove beautifully as she hasinpastcenturiesandinmy dreams.LongBeach, Calif.M. H.December 1992PrefaceACKNOWLEDGMENTSxviiiThisbook drawsonthethoughts,projects, andideasof manypeople.I cannotpossiblymentioneveryonewhohascontrib-xixutedto thework, butwhatfollowscomesfrommyrecollec-tionof thelastfewyears.I hadthegood fortune early on to make theacquaintanceofseveralpioneersintheVR (virtual reality)field. Theirworkintelepresence,teleoperators,andvirtualrealityfed myspec-ulations.Foremostamong theseis Myron Krueger, the"fatherofartificialreality,"whostateshisideasaboutartandsciencewithclarityandforce;bothDr. William BrickenandMeredithBrickenat theHumanInterfaceTechnologyLab of the Wash-ington Technology Centersharethepassionof fellowphiloso-phers;Dr. Chris Espositoat Boeing Aircraftoutfittedmeformy first virtual helicopterflight;bothMichaelNaimark andRobin Minardgave meday-long discussionsof theirVR proj-ectsat theBanffCentre for theArts; andalsoatBanffis Dr.DavidRothenberg, whosewritingsinphilosophyandelec-tronicmusiccorroboratedthedirectionof this book. ProfessorMichaelBenediktinstigatedtheFirstConference onCy-berspaceat theUniversityof TexasinMay 1990,andhe fur-thersconstructive thinkingateverychancehegets. Dr.SandraHelselof theMeckler publishingcompany summonedtheFirstVirtual Reality Conference inSan Franciscoin December1990,andshe understandstheroleof philosophyinculturallife.Howard Rheingold taughtmea lotfromhislookoutpostontheWELL andfromhisbooks. Dr. Bob Jacobsontirelesslyhoststhenetworkgroup sci.virtual-worldsfromtheUniversityofWashingtonandheisa boon toeveryoneintheVR commu-nity.Dr. David Zeltzer of theMIT MediaLab gave meacrucialinsightintotheimpulsebehindVR; Dr. FrederickBrooks, Dr.Henry Fuchs,andWarren Robinettat theUniversity of NorthCarolinasharedmany ideasandaspirations;Dr. Jonathan Wal-dernof W IndustrieswasopenandcandidabouthisviewoffutureVR developments;Dr. Joseph Henderson,M.D., direc-torof theInteractive Media Laboratory at theDartmouth Medi-calSchool,was kindandshowedme thewiderange of humanissues involved;andDr. MichaelMoshellandJacki Morieat theInstitutefor SimulationandTrainingat theUniversityofCentral Floridawere mosthospitableandencouraging.Ilearnedmuchfromjoint discussionswithSandyStoneandBrenda Laurel. I also bowto my friendly helpin JapanfromKoichi Murakami at FujitsuCorporation,Ryoji Nakajimaat Matsushita,Haruo Takemura at Advanced Technology Re-search,andRoe Adams III atRPG Cyberspace.Drs.StephenEllisandLewis Hitchner,bothat NASA-Ames,sat medownfora philosophicalchat.My thanksalso to Jaron LanierandGeorge Zachary of VPL, whoseetheneedfor philosophicalre-flectionontheirfield.ColonelRichard Satava,M.D., oftheU.S.Army Medical Corps, kindlycorrectedsomeof mymis-conceptionsabout telepresence.Dr. Mike Zyda, acomputerscientistat theNaval Postgraduate School,providedhelpandinformationonseveraloccasions.TomBarrett of ElectronicDataSystemshas beena friendeversince we metat theFirstConferenceonCyberspace. Drs. Charles Grantham andBradSmithfromtheUniversityofSanFranciscobroughtnewbreadthinapplyingVR concepts.Both Dr. Richard EconomyofGE AerospaceandDr. PeteTinkerof RockwellScienceCen-terclarified virtualenvironmentsfor me.Dr. Emily HowardatRockwelladvisedmeatcrucialmoments,andRandalWalserespeciallyRandal WalserofAutodeskIncorporatedmadeitclearto me over theyears thatphilosophersbelongtotheteamof cyberspacecreators.Dr. JohnLatta,presidentof 4thWave, revealedtomethebusinessside of theendeavor, whileMcCagie Rogers andhisMythseeker Systemshowedme thesublimeside; DavidAcknowl edgmentsSmith,presidentof Virtus Corporation,wasalwaysafriendofthisproject (whilestillsecretlyharboringa preferenceforTom Clancy'stakeontechnology). Dr. MichaelCenturyandDouglas MacLeod, directorsattheBanffCentrefor theArts,lavishedtimeandinterestonthephilosophyof VR. DaveBlackburn,presidentof Virtual Ventures,invitedmetoad-dressthefirstmeetingof theSouthernCaliforniaVirtual Real-itySpecialInterestGroup, andKitGallowayandSherrieRabinowitzprovidedtheelectronichookup.FlorianBrodyandBob Stein,presidentof Voyager Company,demonstratedwhatcouldbe doneanddreamedininteractivemultimedia.I wanttoacknowledgethemanydearandwonderfulpeoplewhojoinedmesince1991toformtheLong Beach Vir-tualReality Group, includingDr. Roman Yanda, ChrisandLindeFarmer, Dr. Kent Palmer, Dr. RalphLewis, Merrie Mar-tino,SheilaFinch,Margaret Elliott, Roger Trilling,LaurenceRozier,Dr. PhilAgre, andDr. Dave Warner. TheChamberPotLiterarySociety,ledbyDr. LennyKoffatUCLA,gave mefeed-backonseveraloccasions.Bettijane Levineof theLos AngelesTimes probedmy workwithfrequent questions,asdid VeraGraaffromtheSiiddeutscheZeitung.BenDelaneyof Cy-berEdge Journalencouragedmywriting,asdidPhilBevis ofArundelPress,andKarin Augustof VRASPextendedmynet-work. Dr. David WeinbergeratInterleafSystemssupportedmyworkwithhiswritingskillandhisintellectualback-ground. Eugene MalloninTotnes,England, andGreg Panos,inLakewood, California, showedme newconnections.At animportantpoint,JeanneFerrisbroughtherenthusiasmtothedawnof thisbook.MyfriendsinacademiaincludeDrs. WilliamMcGowanandHelmutWautischer,whogave methepreciousgift ofhoursof fellowship andunderstanding.Dr. PaulTangshowedcontinuedinterestinmy projects, as didtheSchelerexpert,ProfessorManfredFrings.Drs. LeslieBurkholderandRobertCavalierat Carnegie-Mellon Universityexpressedtheirinterestonbehalfof theAmericanPhilosophicalAssociationCommit-teeonComputersandPhilosophy.ProfessorDon JonesattheUniversityof Central Floridaprovideda foruminwhichIcouldaddresscolleaguesinacademia.Dr. RichardLanhamAcknowl edgmentsxxxxioftheUCLA Writing Program showedmetheparallelsinourwork.ProfessorHenningPrydsandThomasMoellerKristensenatOdenseUniversity gave meanopportunitytotestmy ideasat theDanishHumanitiesInstitute.MypatientandperceptiveeditoratOxfordUniversity Press,CynthiaA.Read,helpedorganize this book.I alsowanttoacknowledgeMarkMitchellandTomHuchelat Technology TrainingCorporation andat the Educa-tionFoundationof theData ProcessingManagement Associa-tion.As theirVR consultant,I learnedmuchfromorganizingandchairinga numberof conferencesinWashington, D.C. Theconferencesgave mea continualupdateon theactualstateoftheartandbrought hometheimportance of keepingthepublicdiscussionof technologyon aseriousandsoberlevel.Finally, thankstoall whotossedideasto me throughelectronicmail on Internetat theaddressmheim@beach.csulb.eduoronCompuServe atID: 76645,2075orontheWELLatmheim@well.sf.ca.us. I continuetowelcomeideasandcommentsfromreaders andnetdwellers.Acknowl edgmentsCONTENTSxxiiiWhathavecomputersdonetotheEnglishlan-guageover thelast decade?2.Logic and Intuition,13How doesthelogic of thecomputer searchtrans-formour thoughthabits?3.HypertextHeaven,29Hypertext promises a new kind of literacy. What isit, andwhereis it leading?4.ThoughtProcessing,41Post-Gutenbergwritersnolonger write; they pro-cessideas.Currentsoftwareoffersaglimpse ofthesechanges.5.Heideggerand McLuhan:The ComputerasComponent,55These two intellectual giants feared computers notascyberneticrivalsbutashandydevicesthatblendinsidiouslyintoeveryday activities.6.FromInterfacetoCyberspace,73A computer screen or television set places us in aninterface. The latest interface is a totallysimulatedxxii1 . I n f o m a n i a , 3environment,avirtual realitythatwecanenter.How far can we enter cyberspace andstill remainhuman?7.The EroticOntologyofCyberspace,83Whataretheprimaloriginsof cyberspaceinthehumanpsyche?Look to Plato andLeibniz forthesourcesof ourcurrentdreams.8.The EssenceofVR,109WhatisVR? Thepioneersof virtualrealityseeawiderangeofpossibilitiesforthetechnology.Theirdefinitions differ.What innervisionunitesandpropels the technology?9.Virtual-RealityCheck,129Computerdesignersfacetoughquestions, but be-hindtheengineersisaspookierquestion:Howlongcanwedistinguishvirtualfromreal reality?Here are three existentialanchors for making real-ity checks.10.The ElectronicCafe Lecture,139Popularculturecelebratestheadventofvirtualreality,seeinginitbothFrankensteinand"StarTrek."OneeveninginSantaMonica,thefilmLawnmotverManbecameaspringboardfordis-cussing thereasonsfor bothfearandfervor.UsefulVocabulary fortheMetaphysicsofVirtual Reality,147Selected Readings,163Index,173ContentsTHE METAPHYSICSOFVIRTUAL REALITYThis page intentionally left blank INFOMAIMIAWhatis thestateof theEnglishlanguage? No stateatall. Itis inprocess.Ourlanguage is being wordprocessed.If lan-guages havestatesof health,sickor well, thenoursismanic.Wefacea tidalwave of writtenwords.Thewaveof fu-tureshockswellson thehorizon.Firstcamespeedreading,atwentieth-century versionof literacy. Next photocopydupli-cation,thewordprocessor,andthefax machine.Now wedrive a technologythatdrivesourverballifefasterandfaster.The word processoris computerizing ourlanguage.Word-processedsubmissionshavedoubledtheworkloadofeditorsatcommercialandacademicpresses. Writers growprolix, withmanuscriptsbloatedto twicenormalsize.Theproseisprofuse,garbled,torturouslydisorganized,asifthedifferencebetweenwriting andrevisingwerepasse.Pagesare becoming moredifficultto read. Reams of paperpouroutuneditedstreams of consciousness.Theonly writerwhoad-mittedthathewas nofasterthanhe hadbeenbeforecom-puterswas Isaac Asimov, whopublished141 booksin 138months.Before1980themicrocomputer wasa crude,costlykitforhobbyistsandexperimenters.ThenDan BricklinandDanFylstracreatedsoftware for anelectronicspreadsheet(an ac-counting tool for figuring finances inrowsandcolumns). Vis-icalcranon theAppleII andopenedthemarketfordesktopcomputers.In 1981InternationalBusinessMachines(IBM) per-suadedbusinessesthatcomputerizedspreadsheets wouldin-creaseproductivity.Onceinstalled,computerscouldalso123runothersoftware,includingwordprocessing. Thelure ofgreaterproductivity hookedprofessional writers,too, andbynow most writersuse wordprocessing.IBMcoinedthetermword processingin1964todescribea brandof typewriter. Themagnetic tape"Selectric" type-writer(MTST) boasted word-processing capabilitiesbecauseitusedmagnetictape tostorepages of text. You couldselectpagesfor retrievalfromelectronicmemory, whichgreatlystreamlinedtheproductionof texts.Machinesdedicatedsolelyto word processing,like theWang, soonappeared.Thequan-tumleapinwriting technology, however,came with micro-computers.Thebroad baseof microusers allowed word-pro-cessingsoftwaretoflourish.A decade earlier, dataprocessorshadusedtext-editing softwareonmainframecomputerstocreateprograms for number crunching. Theirediting programsappliedinformation-processing techniques ratherthanallowdirecthumaninteractionwithtextson video monitors.Whenvideo arrived,inventorslikeDoug Engelbart andTed Nelsonsaw thatcomputerscoulddo more thanaidmechanicaltype-writing.They believedthatwordprocessingcouldamplifymentalpowersandincreaseourcommandoverlanguage.Wordprocessingthusceasedbeing a typing gadget andbe-came a culturalphenomenon.Over80 percentof computeruseis now wordprocessing.Todaycomputersspewoutthebulk of writtenEnglish.During the1980sa new vocabularyestablishedthecom-puterizationof English.To beinitiated,youhadtorepeatbuzzwordslikeaccess,input, andoutput. You learnedtospeakof files having noapparentphysicaldimensions,menusofferinga selectionof nonedibles,andmonitors providingvigilanceover your ownwords.You learnedto navigatewithwraparoundanda cursorsometimes dubbedcurseeas itbecame therecipientof your profanities.You may haveevenexploredmouse compatibility, theASCII code,andthediffer-encebetweenHAM andROM memory. At thevery least,youaddressedyourselfto floppies andwindows, to functionkeysandprogramdocumentation (read: instructionmanual). Youhadto take into accountblock moves, hyphenationzones,andsoftreturn versus hardreturn. Theeditorialcut-and-pasteTheMetaphysics ofVirtualRealitybecameyours electronically.You learnednotonly todeletebutalsotounerase, thentosearch-and-rep]ace,andonwardto globally search-and-replace. Automatic formatting andre-formattingenteredyour writingroutine.Onceinitiatedintothebasicsof wordprocessing,yousigh,"This is bliss!"No morecuttingpaperandpasting, nomoreanxietyaboutrevisions.Nowyoucangettoworkwithoutthenuisanceof typingandretyping.Wordsdanceonthescreen.Sentencesslidesmoothly intoplace, makingway for oneanother, whileparagraphs ripplerhythmically.Wordsbecomehighlighted, vanish,andthenreappearin-stantlyatthepushof a button. Digital writing isnearlyfric-tionless.You formulatethoughts directlyonscreen.Youdon'thave toconsiderwhether you are writing thebeginning,mid-dle,orendof your text.Youcansnapanypassageintoanyplace withthepushof a key. Theflowof ideasflashesdirectlyonscreen.No needtoponderor sitonanideacapture itonthe fly!But thehoneymoonfades,andthedark sideof comput-ing descendsupon you. The romance withcomputersshowsitspathological aspects: mindlessproductivityandincreasedstress.Yourprosenowreadswelldifferently.You nolongerformulatethoughts carefullybeforebeginning towrite.Youthinkon screen. You editmore aggressively as youwrite, mak-ing changeswithout thepenalty of retyping.Possiblechangesoccurtoyourapidlyandfrequently,so thata leaningtower ofprintoutsstretchesfromthewastebaskettotheheights ofperfectionalmost.The powerat your fingertips temptsyouto believe thatfasteris better,thateasemeansinstantquality.BusinessinAmericaembracedcomputersunderthemagic rubric of productivity. Yet companyreportsdonotseemtoget betterafterthirtydrafts.RealeconomicproductivityintheUnitedStates actuallydeclinedoverthelastdecade,andso hasthecompetitivenessof theU.S. economy. Feel pro-ductive; pushmore paper.Universitiesandcollegesalsoboughtintocomputeriza-tion. Milesoffiber-opticcable make subterraneanlinksbe-tweenacademicbuildings, snaking underthetree-linedfoot-Infomania45paths likeinvisiblesuperhighways.Yet few believe thatcom-puternetworksactuallyadvanceliberallearningor thatagreateroutpouringof scholarlyresearchmakesbetterreaders.Pusha button; fella tree.Beforecomputers,newspapereditorshada mentor-apprenticerelationshipwithreporters.Reporters wouldwriteapieceandshowit to theireditor; afterblue-pencilingit,theeditorwoulddiscussitwiththereporters.Thereporterswouldthentake responsibilityfor making thechanges.Nowthingsaredifferent.Theeditor gets theelectronictext, makesthechanges, andthensends thereportersa copy. Reportersare notlearning howto rewrite.While theeditorsare be-coming betterwriters, thereportersare becoming dataentryclerks.Ifyourcompany hada computer network installed,youcouldconductbusinesswithoutworrying aboutcoordinatingschedulesor reserving conferenceroomsor flying onairplanestomeetings. Through electronicmail,youcanbelong toa vir-tual(nonphysical) workgroup. You exchangereportsor PROFnoteswithoutthesmalltalkof phoneconversationandthedelayof papermail.To prevent theaccusation"Youdidn'ttellmeyou weregoing todo that," you(and everyoneelseinthegroup)justhita keyandcopiesof your messagefly offtoeveryone in the network.Onthereceivingend,however,lifeislessrosy.Computer-generatednotes, memoranda,andreportsaccumu-late.Filesclutteryour workspace,dauntingyour mindwiththeirsheervolume.You are workinginanintellectualswamp.Because youdo notknowimmediatelywhichfilesareworthsaving,youhavetowadethrougheachof thembeforedeletingany.The paperlessoffice hasmore,notless,junk mail.Physicalhazardsalsolurkonthedarksideofcomputing.Phosphorescentwordson thescreenholda hypnoticattrac-tion.So intenselydo they attract thathumaneyesblinklessoftenwhen viewingcomputertexts.Thecorneaof theeyerequiresfrequentfluidbaths,andeyelidsnormally batheandmassagetheeyeballsby blinking every five seconds.Butthestressof computerinteractiontendsto fix visioninastare.Asblinkingdecreases,theeye muscleshavedifficultyfocusing.TheMetaphysics ofVirtualReal i tyTheresulting strain eventually leadstorefractiveerror, mostoftenmyopia.Thestressof digital writing causesmore than myopia.Becauseitisintenselyinteractive andyetnearly frictionless,computer workinvolvesmore prolongedstrainthandoespen-cilor typewriter. You takefewerrest breaks.You haveno filecabinetstovisit,nocorrectionstomake by hand,novariety ofphysicalmotions. Fingersjust keep moving, repeatingthesamekeystrokes. You hardly noticeyour unrelievedadapta-tionto themachine'sspecifications. The resultis a workplaceepidemiccalledrepetitive motion syndrome(RMS).Thein-flamedhandandarmtendonsof RMS patientsoftenrequiresurgery,anddoctorsare finding permanentdamage to bodilymovementinmany RMS patients.Thewordprocessorisnotmerelya glorifiedtypewriter.1 have yet to find a single writerwholearnedword pro-cessingandthenabandoneditfor penor typewriter. Mostwritersandjournalists shareStephenWhite'saffectionforwordprocessing.InTheWritten Word hesays of hisfellowcraftsmen:A writerof anykindwhodoesnotwork ona wordprocessoriseitherdeadbroke orsome kindof fool:itisassimpleasthatandwe shouldnotshilly-shallyaboutit.He may be atthesame time anabsolutely first-rate writer, butalthoughhemaywelldisputeit, he gains nothing by hisabnegation,andonly makeslifeharderfor himself and,toa limitedextent,forothers.1Gore Vidal, neitherbroke norafool,woulddisagree."Thewordprocessoris erasingliterature,"hesays.2Butmake nomistake.Despite thepathologyofinfomania,withits mindlessproductivityandits technostress,computersare here to stay.Efficiency,speed,andnetworkedcommunica-tionare inourbones.Ourliferhythmmovesto thetempoofthecomputer.Alreadyin1957 Martin Heideggernoticedashiftinthefeltsenseof time. Hesawthedrivefor technologicalmasterypushingintothehumaninterior,wherethoughtandrealitymeetinlanguage:Infomania67The language machineregulatesandadjustsinadvancethemodeof ourpossibleusage of languagethroughmechanicalenergiesandfunctions. Thelanguagemachineisandaboveall,isstillbecomingone way in whichmoderntechnologycontrolsthemodeandtheworldof languageas such.Mean-while,theimpressionisstillmaintainedthatman is themasterofthelanguage machine.But thetruthof themattermightwellbe that thelanguage machinetakeslanguageintoitsmanage-ment,andthusmasterstheessenceof thehumanbeing.3Heidegger'sphilosophywas neitherLudditenortechnophobic.He resistedevery attemptto categorize hisview of technologyas eitheroptimisticor pessimistic.Whethertheglass washalf-emptyor half-full,Heidegger wasinterestedinthesubstanceofitscontents.He wasasoftdeterminist,acceptingdestinywhilestudying differentways to absorb itsimpact.Wordprocessingis partof ourdestiny.Each epochhasitsloveaffair,itsgrandpassion,anenthusiasmthatgives itdistinction.Pyramids or cathedralsdo notdistinguishus,andshopping mallswillneverlast.Ours isnottheage offaithor reason buttheage of information.Madness, Platoremindsus,isambivalent; itcanbe divineor insane,inspiredor crack-pot.Lovers, inventors,andartistsare maniacs.So are com-puterenthusiasts.For infomaniacs, wordprocessingisnotmerely a tool.Language technology belongs tousmore essentiallythanany tool.When a technology touchesourlanguage, ittouchesuswherewelive.Thechiefinventorsof wordprocessingwereawareof this. Thesevisionarieswerenotmarketinga commer-cial product but seeking a revolution in the way we think.Theywantedto alterradicallytheway we interactwithlan-guage. In the1960s Douglas Engelbart wrote"TheAugmenta-tionof Man'sIntellectby Machine" as heputtogetherthefirst text-processinghardwareandsoftwareat theAugmenta-tionResearch Center(ARC). He balkedattheinflexibility ofthemeanswehave for handlingsymbols.If wecouldmanipu-latesymbolsin tandemwithcomputers,heargued, wecouldboostthoughtprocessesatleastasmuchashandwritingboostedthepowersof preliteratehumans.Engelbart wasinTheMetaphysicsofVirtualRealityfactnottrying to replacethemindwithartificialintelligence.Instead,heconceivedof thecomputerasasymbol manipula-torfor supercharging thought processesat thelanguage level.Computerscouldconstituteaworld network inwhichthethoughtsofcountlessindividualsmerge.Since Engelbart,manyothershaveintroducedsoftwaretoaffectourprose com-position,our wordchoices,andevenourlogical processes.Computernetworks canbe revolutionary. The1989pro-democracy uprisingsinChina weresupportedby computernetworksandfax machinesconnectingthousands of Chinesepeoplearoundtheworld. Computerbulletinboardscreatedapublicforumforfreeexpression.Government-suppressednewsstreamedintoChinafromoutside.InBeijing,calls forfreedomandreformcirculatedinTiananmenSquareon com-puterprintouts.Literature,too, changesas thewrittenwordmigrates toelectronic text. On computers,literaturepresentsanunlimitedcross-referencesystemforallsymbol creations.A textincludesfootnotesthatopenupontosymphonies,films,or mathemati-caldemonstrations.Browsing meanspush-buttonaccesstothetextof alltexts,or hypertext,asTedNelson calledit. Hyper-textanditsoffspringHyperCard are alreadyevolving non-linearwaysof reading.Bookslike Joyce's FinnegansWakedeserveanotherlook as hypertext.Hypertextheightensnon-linearandassociative styles.Background knowledgeandcom-mentarypopupatthetouchofabutton.Likefractalstructures,a textcanturnbackon itselflinguistically, andhypertextshowstheturns,thelinks,therecurringmotifs,andtheplayfulself-references.How willtraditionalbooksfare?When Heidegger lookedagain tenyearslaterin1967, hesawa risingcrestofinforma-tion that, hesuspected,mightsoonswallowhisown writings:"Maybehistoryandtraditionwill fit smoothlyintotheinfor-mationretrievalsystemswhichwillserveas a resourcefortheinevitableplanningneedsof a cyberneticallyorganizedman-kind.The questionis whetherthinking,too, willendinthebusinessof information processing."4He sawa growing obses-sion withdatawithouta concern forsignificance.Infomania89Writing is theprimary meanswe havefor puttingourthoughtsbeforeus,for openingmentalcontentstocriticismandanalysis.Using computersfor writing, weexperiencelan-guageaselectronicdata, andthemachinesreinforceinforma-tionover significance.Informationisa unitof knowledge thatbyitselfhasonlya trace of significance.Informationpresupposes asignificantcontextbutdoesnotdeliveror guarantee one.Because contextdoesnotcome builtin,information canbe handledandma-nipulated,storedandtransmitted, atcomputerspeeds.Wordprocessingmakesusinformation virtuosos, as thecomputerautomaticallytransforms all wewrite intoinformation code.Buthumanwe remain.Forus,significant language alwaysdependsonthefeltcontextof ourownlimitedexperience.We are biologically finite inwhatwecanattendtomean-ingfully.Whenwepayattentiontothesignificance of some-thing, we cannotproceedat thecomputer'sbreakneckpace.We havetoponder,reflect,contemplate.Infomaniaerodesourcapacityforsignificance. Withamind-set fixed oninformation, ourattentionspanshortens.Wecollectfragments.We becomementallypoorerinoverallmeaning.We get into thehabitof clingingto knowledgebitsandloseourfeelfor thewisdombehindknowledge.Intheinformationage, somepeopleevenbelievethatliteracyorcul-tureisa matterof havingtherightfactsatourfingertips.We expectaccess to everything NOW, instantly andsi-multaneously.Wesufferfromalogicof totalmanagementinwhicheverythingmustbe at ourdisposal.Eventuallyourmadnesswillcostus.Thereis a lawof diminishingreturns:themoreinformation accessed,thelesssignificanceispossi-ble.We mustnotloseourappreciationfor theexpressivepos-sibilitiesof ourlanguage intheserviceofthinking.Notes1.Stephen White,TheWrittenWord: AndAssociatedDigressionsConcernedwiththeWriterasCraftsman (New York: Harper&Row,1984),p.. 68.TheMetaphysicsofVirtualReality2.Gore Vidal,inNewYorkReviewofBooks,March 1984,p.20.3.Martin Heidegger, "HebelFriendof theHouse,"trans. BruceFoltzandMichaelHeim,inContemporaryGermanPhilosophy,ed.Darrel E. Christensen(University Park: PennsylvaniaStateUniversity Press, 1983), vol.3, p.95.4.Martin Heidegger, PrefacetoWegmarken (Frankfurt:Klostermann,1967),p.ii.[Author's translation]1O11InfomaniaThis page intentionally left blank LOGIC AND INTUITIONHowdoes thinking atthecomputerdifferfromthinking withpaperandpencilor thinking at thetypewriter? The computerdoesn'tmerely placeanothertoolatyour fingertips. It buildsa wholenewenvironment,aninformation environmentinwhichthemindbreathesadifferentatmosphere. Thecomput-ing atmosphere belongs toaninformation-rich worldwhichsoon becomes aninformation-polluted world.First,the files youcreate grow rapidly, forminganelec-troniclibrary of letters,papers, andotherdocuments.Throughon-lineconnections, yousavepiecesfromthework of col-leaguesandfriends,notesaboutfutureprojects, andleftoversfromdatabasesearches.Addsome serendipitousitemstodiskstoragemaybe theGettysburg Address,theConstitution,ortheKing James Bibleand youfindyourselfsoon outgrowingyourdisk-storage capacity.CD-Roms thenspinoutencyclope-dias,theOxfordEnglish Dictionary, ortheentirecorpus ofancientGreek literature. As theloadof information stressesyourmentalcapacity,you sensethatyou'vecomedownwithinfomania.Becausethecomputerhelpedgenerate all this informa-tion, you naturally hopethatthecomputerwillinturnhelpmopupthemess.The computercan indeedhack a neatpath-waythroughthedenseinformation jungle. Computer datasearchesfindreferences, phrases,or ideasinaninstant,inthenanosecondsittakesthemicroprocessorto go throughhuge amountsof data.A wordprocessorordatabasetakes akeyphraseandinaflashsnapsa pieceof information into21213view.Sothereyouare,liftedbythecomputeroutofthemorassgenerated bycomputers. You cansearchthrough thou-sandsof periodicalsinminutes, withoutever having to knowanythingabout silicon microchips, high-level code, or sortingalgorithms.All youneedis someelementarysearchlogic thatyoucanlearninaboutanhour.Todaymostcomputersearchesuseelementary Boolean logic.WhatisBoolean logic? AlfredGlossbrennerinHowtoLookItUp OnlinedescribesBoolean logic intermssimpleenoughfor mostcomputer users:"AND meansa recordmusthavebothtermsinit.OR meansitcanhaveeitherterm. NOTmeansit cannothavethespecifiedterm." Glossbrennerchidesthosewhobelabor thecomplexitiesof Boolean logicandbe-wildertheuser: "Yousometimes get theimpressionthattheauthorswouldbedrummedoutof themanual-writersunioniftheydidn'tincludecomplicateddiscussionof searchlogiclacedwithplentyof Venn diagramsthose intersecting, vari-ouslyshadedcircles youlearnedaboutinsophomore geome-try.Forgetit!"1Butalas, whatGlossbrenner wantsustoforgetwillsoonenoughslipintooblivionas technology enfoldsusinits webofassumptions.Frequent reading andwriting oncomputerswillsoonallowuslittledistancefromthetoolsthattrapourlanguage.They will fit likeskin.The conditionsunderwhichwework willgrow indiscernible,invisibleto all butthekeen-esteye. Presenteverywherelike eyeglasseson theendof ournoses,computers willhidethedistortiontheyintroduce,thevividcolors they overshadow, thehiddenvistastheyocclude.Like microscopes,computers extendour vision vastly,butunlikemicroscopes,computers processourentiresymboliclife,reflectingthecontentsof thehumanpsyche.Booleansearchlogic andothercomputerstrategieswillsoonenoughbecome secondnature for literate people,somethingtheytakeforgranted.Whatpeople take for granted wasoncesomethingstar-tlingandunprecedented.A felttransitionlikethepresentalertsus to thechange,andso we haveanopportunitytopon-dertheinitialshiftsinthelifeof thepsyche.We canask, HowdoesBoolean searchlogic affectourthoughtprocessesandTheMetaphysicsofVirtualRealitymentallife?What dark side of infomania is hidingbehindthose"intersecting,variouslyshadedcirclesyou learnedaboutinsophomoregeometry"?Thesignificance of Boolean searchlogicdeservesfarmore thana sidebarinhow-tomanuals.Boolean logic,dis-playedgraphically by thecirclesof theVenn diagrams,consti-tutesa centralachievementof modernlogic. Modern logic,whichmakes thecomputerpossible,got itsfootingintheworkof GottfriedLeibniz (1646-1716), whosediscoverieslaidthefoundations of computersystemsandtheinformation age.So whenwe inspectBoolean logicfor itssideeffects,weare14lookingat theimplicitheartof theworldweinhabit.Booleanlogic functions as a metaphor for thecomputer age, since it15showshowwetypicallyinterrogatetheworldof information.Humanshave always interrogated theworldina varietyofways, andeachwayrevealsa distinctapproachtolife:Soc-ratespushedfor personaldefinitions; Descartes andGalileotaughtscientiststo pose questionswithempiricalhypotheses;McLuhan teasedour awarenesswithhisenigmaticslogans;Heideggerdrew ona scholarly historyof reality; andWittgen-steinworriedover oddlocutions.Thetypeof questionweask,philosophersagree, shapesthepossibleanswerswe get. Thewayinwhichwesearchlimitswhatwefindinoursearching.Todaywe interrogate theworldthrough thecomputerinterface,wheremanyof ourquestionsbeginwith Booleanterms.The Boolean searchthenguides thesubconsciouspro-cessesby whichwe characteristicallymodel theworld.Oncewe noticehowcomputersstructureour mentalenvironment,wecanreflecton thesubconsciousagenciesthataffectourmentallife,andweare thenina positiontograsp boththepotentialandtheperil.So let'sreturnagain to thosesimpleVenndiagramsfromsophomoregeometry andtothe Booleanlogiconwhichtheyare based.George Boole(1815-1864)discoveredthebranchof math-ematicsknownassymboliclogic.Boole's "algebraof logic"usesformulasto symbolizelogical relations.Theformulasinalgebraicsymbols candescribe thegeneralrelationshipsamong groups of thingsthathave certain properties. Givenaquestionabout howone group relatesto another, BooleLogicand Intuitioncouldmanipulatetheequationsandquicklyproduceananswer.First,hisalgebraclassifiesthings,andthen thealge-braicsymbolsexpressany relationshipamong thethingsthathave beenclassifiedasif wewereshufflingthingsinthenesteddrawersof a Chinesepuzzlebox.Take two referentialterms,suchasbrownandcows:allobjectsthatare brown=B; allobjectsthatarecows=C.Analgebraic formulacan representtherelationshipbetweenthesetwotermsas aproductof mutualinclusion;"Allbrowncows"=BC. For morecomplexformulas,addalogicalNOT( C) aswellasanAND(BC andC B).Onceyouknowthat(BC andC B)=F(whereFmeansanyanimalthat"livesonthefarm"),youcanconcludethatBC=F oralsothatanycow,nomatterwhatcolor,liveson thefarm.You canbuilduptermsthatrepresenta wholeseriesof increasinglycomplexrelationships,andthenyoucanposeandcalculateanyimpli-cationfromthatseries.You canevenmakesymbolicformulasrepresenta verylongchainof deductivereasoningsothatthelogicalformof eachpartof theargument risestothesur-facefor reviewandcriticism,making itpossibletoscananargumentasif itwerea mathematicalproblem.Historically,Boole'slogic wasthefirstsystemforcalcu-latingclassmembership,for rapidlydeterminingwhetherornotsomethingfallsintooneoranothercategoryorclass ofthings.BeforeBoole, logicwasastudyof statementsaboutthingsreferredtodirectlyandintuitivelyathand.AfterBoole,logicbecame asystemof puresymbols.Pre-Boolean logicfo-cusedon theway thatdirectstatementsor assertionsconnectandholdtogether. A setof statementsthathangstogethercanbe a validdeductivepattern.Validityis theway thatconclu-sionsconnectwiththeirsupportingreasonsor premises.ThetraditionalstudyofJogicharkedback toAristotle,whofirstnoticedpatternsinthe way weassemblestatementsintoargu-ments.Aristotle calledtheassemblageof statementssyllo-gisms,fromtheGreekfor apatternof reasoning.Aristotlehimselfusedsymbolssparingly inhislogic,andwhenhedidusesymbols,theyservedmerelytopointoutlanguage pat-terns.Aristotle'ssymbolsorganizedwhatwasalreadygivenindirectstatements.WithBoolean logic, onthecontrary, di-TheMetaphysi csofVi rtualReal i tyrectstatementshave valueonlyas instancesof therelation-shipsamong abstractsymbols.Direct language becomesonlyonepossibleinstanceof algebraicmathematics,onepossibleapplicationof mathematicallogic.Booleinvertedthetraditionalrelationshipbetweendirectandsymboliclanguages.He conceivedof languageasasystemofsymbols andbelieved that hissymbols couldabsorballlog-icallycorrectlanguage.By invertingstatementandsymbol,Boole'smathematicallogiccouldswallowtraditionallogic andcapturedirectstatementsina webof symbolicpatterns.Logi-calargument becamea branchof calculation.16Thetermsymbolic Jogic first appearedin1881ina bookby thattitle. The book'sauthor,John Venn, introducedthe17first graphicdisplayof Boole's formulas.VenncontinuedBoole'splantoabsorb thedirectstatementsof languageintoa generalsystemof abstractalgebra. Withmathematicsas abasis,Venn couldsolvecertainlogicaldifficultiesthathadperplexedtraditionalAristotelianlogicians.Withmathemati-cal precision,modernlogiccouldpresentlinguisticargumentsandlogical relationshipswithina totalsystem,aformalorga-nizationhaving its ownaxiomsandtheorems.Systemiccon-sistencybecamemoreimportantthan thedirectreferencetothingsaddressedinourexperience.Notealreadyonetelltalesignof infomania:thepriorityofsystem. Whensystemprecedesrelevance,theway becomesclearfor theprimacyof information.For it to becomemanipu-lableandtransmissibleasinformation, knowledgemust firstbe reducedtohomogenizedunits.With theinfluxof homoge-nizedbitsof information,thesenseof overallsignificancedwindles.Thissubtleemptyingof meaning appearsintheVenndiagrams thatgraphicallydisplayBoolean logic.The visualdisplaythat John Venn createdbeginswithemptycircles.VennnotedhowBoolean logic treatsterms,likebrown andcows,strictlyas algebraicvariablesandnotasuniversaltermsreferringtoactuallyexistingthings.InBoole'slogic, terms functionlikecompartmentsordrawersthatmay or may notcontainanyactualmembers.Boole's logiccanuseterms thatareempty, theclassof unicorns,for exam-ple.A termwithnoactuallyexistingmembersis a nullset, anLogicand Intuitionempty compartment. As modernlogicianssay, theterms oflogicdonot inthemselvescarryexistentialimport. Thetermsrevealrelationshipsamong themselves,buttheyremainun-connectedtoexistenceor tothedirectreferencesof firsthandexperience.(Mathematics alsosharesthisexistential vacuum:2+2=4 remainsmathematically true whetheror notfourthingsactually exist anywhere.)Booleanlogicuses termsonlytoshow relationshipsof inclusionor exclusionamong theterms.It showswhetheror notonedrawer fits intoanotherandignores thequestionof whetherthere is anything inthedrawers.TheBoolean vocabulary usesabstractcounters, to-kensdevoidof allbutsystemic meaning.OnVenn diagrams, then,we beginwithemptycirclesto mapstatements thatcontainuniversalterms.We canmapthe statement "All thecows are brown" by drawing twoover-lappingcircles:one representingcowsandtheother, brownthings.Shadein(exclude) thearea thatrepresentscowsandthatdoesnotoverlap thearea representing"brownthings,"andyouhave a graphic mapof thestatement"All thecowsare brown."Themapremainsaccurate regardlessof whetheror notanycowsactually exist; youcouldequally wellhavedrawna mapof theunicornsthatare white.Adda thirdcircleto represent spotted things, andyou can map"No browncowsarespotted"or "Allbrown cowsare spotted,"andsoon.Whatdoesthisprocedurereally map? According toBool-ean logic, nocowsor brown thingsor spottedthingsneedactuallyexist. All we have mappedis therelationshipbetweensetsorclasses.Thesetscouldrefertocustardsor quarks orsquarecircles.Initsintrinsicremotenessfromdirecthumanexperience,Booleansearchlogic showsanother partof theinfomania syn-drome: a gaininpowerat thepriceof ourdirectinvolvementwiththings.The Boolean searchaffectsour relationshipto lan-guage andthoughtby placing us at a newremovefromsubjectmatter,bydirecting usawayfromthetextureof whatweareexploring.To addparticular statementstoourmap, like"Somespottedcowsare brown,"we needto introducemore symbols.Wecan mapstatementsabout particularthingsonthe dia-TheMetaphysicsofVirtual Realitygrams bystipulatinganotherconventionalsymbol,oftenastar,anasterisk,or someothermark.Statementsthatimplythata particularmember of a class actuallyexistsmustbespecificallymarkedas such;otherwise,thegeneral termlabelsapotentiallyemptycompartment.From theoutset, then,Bool-eanlogicassumesthatas a rule,westandat a removefromdirectstatementsaboutparticularthingsin whichweexistingbeingsare actually, personallyinvolved.Thisshiftinthemeaningof logical termshasdrasticconsequencesforlogic itselfandforlogic asaformalstudy.TraditionalAristotelianlogic presupposedanactualsubject,18idealor real,to whichlogicaltermsor wordsrefer.Traditionallogic also presupposedthatlogical thinking is, likesponta-19neousthought andspeech,intimatelyinvolvedwitha realsubjectmatter.Mathematicallogic gainedtheupperhand bysevering its significance fromtheconditionsunderwhichwemakedirect statements.Today, logicianslikeWillard VanOrman Quinecan argue thata concreteanduniqueindividualthing(to whichwereferassuch) hasnomore reality than"tobethevalueof a variable,"at leastwhenweconsiderthings"fromalogical pointof view."Themodernlogicalpointof viewbegins withthesystem, notwithconcretecon-tent.It operatesinadomain of pureformalityandabstractdetachment. Themodernlogical pointof viewproceedsfromanintricatenetof abstract relationshaving noinherentcon-nectionto thethingswe directly perceiveandexperience.We cancontrastthisaloofabstractionwiththetraditionallogic thatstillswam intheelementof directexperience.Tra-ditionallogic began withdirectstatements,insofaras its logi-callanguagepresupposedasnecessarytheexistentialinterpretationof statements. Whenwestatesomethinginev-erydaylanguage, weattribute something tosomething;weattribute thecolor mauve to thewall, thequality of mercytoa creditor. We speakof whatisbeforeus,andwespeakinthecontextof otherpeoplewhomay alsohave accesstowhatweare talking about. We commonly assumetheexis-tenceor atleasttheexistentialrelevanceof whatweare talk-ing about. Modernsymboliclogic, on thecontrary, mimicsmodern mathematics,whichhasno interestin theactuallyLogicand Intuitionexisting world,noteventheworldof directstatements.Inthis sense, modern logicoperates at a removefromourevery-dayinvolvementwiththings.Butwhypickon modernBooleanlogic?Don'talllogicsbring abstractionandalienation?Even thewordswe use toposeany questiontestifyto a gap betweenusandthewordlesssubjectweare thinkingor talking about.Anylogic candis-tanceus. We sometimes runacrossa personarguing withim-peccablelogicforaconclusioncontrarytoourowngutfeelings,andweoftenfeeloverwhelmed,andforciblyso, bythesheer power of theargumentitself.Logiccanmovelikeajuggernautadriftfromanypersonalengagement withitssub-jectmatter.Someonewitha great deallessexperience,forexample,canmake usfeelcompelledtoacceptaconclusionweknow instinctively tobe wrong. We feelthelogicalcoer-cioneven thoughwe may havemuchmorefamiliarity withthematter underdiscussion.Arguing withsomeone likeSoc-ratesor WilliamF. Buckleycan be disconcerting. We sensealineof thoughtpushinginexorablythroughthetopic,per-haps evenin spite of thetopic. Logic, like mathematics,oper-atesoutside theintuitivewisdomof experienceandcommonsense.Hence themathematicalidiotsavant. Like math,logiccan hoverabove particularfactsandcircumstances,linkingchainsof statements trailingfromsomephantomfirstpremise.Wecanbeperfectlylogicalyetfloat completelyadriftfromreality.By itsvery nature, logic operateswithabstractions.Butmodern logicoperates with a greaterdegree of abstraction thandoes Aristotelianlogic, placingusata furtherremovefromexperience andfromfeltinsight.WhencollegestudentsstudythoseVenn diagramsfrom"sophomoregeometry," theyfeelthepainof thatdisengagedlogic.When they first learn tosymbolize statementsandargu-mentsinsymboliclogic, they.mustpassthroughalengthyandpainfulprocessof converting theirEnglishlanguageintoabstractsymbols.So far removeddoesthislogicstandfromthedirecteverydayuse of languagethat thetextbookreferstotheprocessof convertingarguments intosymbolsas"transla-tion." Beforeanalyzingtheir thoughts logically,studentsmustTheMetaphysi csofVi rtualReal i tytranslatethemto fit thesystemof modern logic.Statementsin direct English must first undergo a seachange.Thepainfultranslationintosymbols signalsacuteinfo-mania.But whenlogic works on thecomputer, this painturnsintoconvenience.When thecomputerautomaticallyandinvis-iblyconvertsinputintoalgebraic bytes, theuseris shieldedfromthetranslationinto modernlogic. Insteadof thehumanmindpuzzling over howlanguage fits thesystem, the com-puterdoes the fitting; ittransformsouralphabetintomanipul-abledigits.As a medium, thecomputerrelievesusof theexertion20neededto pourour thoughts intoan algebraic mold. Theshiftfromintuitivecontentto bit-sizeinformation proceedsinvisi-21blyandsmoothly. On themachine level, thecomputer's mi-croswitchesin the centralprocessing unitorganize everythingthroughacircuitbasedonsymboliclogic,andBooleansearchessimplyapplythatsamelogictotextprocessing.Hardly noticingthisspiderlike,nondirectlogic, we standatanewremove fromconcretelyembeddedlanguage. The com-puterabsorbs ourlanguage so we cansquirt symbols atlight-ningspeedsor scan thewholerange of humanthoughtwithBooleansearches.Because thecomputer, not thestudent,doesthetranslating, theshifttakesplacesubtly. Thecomputer sys-temslidesusfroma directawarenessof thingsto thedetachedworldof logical distance.By encodinglanguage asdata, thecomputeralready modifiesthelanguage weuseintomathe-matizedASCII(American StandardCode forInformationInter-change). We can thenoperatewiththecertitudeof Booleanformulas.Thelogical distance we gainoffersalltheallureofcontrolandpower without thepainof having totranslatebackandforthfromoureveryday approach tothethingsweexperience.Butso whatif computer power removes usfromdirectintuitivelanguage? So whatif Boolean logic injectsgreaterexistentialdistancefrompracticalcontexts than any previouslogic? Don'tourother texttoolsalso operateata removefromdirectcontext-embedded language? Isn'tanymedium, bydefi-nition,amediation? If theBoolean searchoperates ata greatLogicand Intuitionremovefromdirectoraldiscourse,don'talso penandpaper,notto mentionrubbererasersandLinotypetypesettingma-chines?Nonlinguistictools,likeerasers,doindeedinserta dis-tancebetweenourselvesandourcontext-embeddedmothertongue. And, yes, using a rubbereraserdoesaffectusin sub-tle,psychologicalways. Teachersunderstandthatgetting astudentto useanerasermarksa significant stepon theroadtogood writing.A self-critical attitudedistinguishesgoodfrombadwriting,andpickingupanerasermeansthatweare be-ginning toevaluateourownwordsandthoughts.ButusingBoolean searchlogic onacomputermarks agiantstepinthehumanspecies'srelationshipto thoughtandlanguage. Justastheinventionof thewaxtabletmadeagiantstrideinwriting habits,forevermarginalizingchiseledstones,so too Boolean searchlogic marks thenewpsychicframeworkofelectronictextwovenaroundusbycomputers.Withelec-tronictextwespeedalonga superhighwayintheworldof in-formation,andBoolean searchlogicshiftsourmentallifeintoahigh gear.TheBoolean searchshowsthecharacteristicwaythatweputquestionstotheworldof information. Whenweposeaquestionto theBoolean world,weusekeywords, buzzwords,andthoughtbitstoscanthevast storeof knowledge. Keepinganabstract, cyberneticdistancefromthesourcesof knowl-edge,wesetuptinyfunnelstocapture theonrushof data.Thefunnelssiftoutthe"hits"triggeredbyourkeywords.Throughminutelogical apertures,weobserve theworldmuchlike arobotrapidlysurveying thesurfaceof things.We coveranenormousamountof materialinanincrediblyshort time,butwhatwe see comes throughnarrow thoughtchannels.Becausetheyoperatewithpotentiallyempty circles,theBooleansearchtermspropelusat breakneckpace throughtheknowledge tunnel.Thecomputersupportsourrapid sur-veyof knowledge inthemodeof scanning,andthroughthecomputer'stoolsweadaptto thismodeof knowing.Thescan-ningmodeinfiltratesallourothermodesof knowing.Thebyte,thebreezy bit, andtheverbal/visual hittake theplaceofheavier substance.TheMetaphysi csofVi rtualReal i tyOfcourse,thecomputerizedreaderdoesn'tplucksearchtermsoutof pureair. Thefunnelswefashionoftenresultfromacarefullyhonedsearchstrategy. InHow toLookItUpOn-line, Glossbrenneradvises thereader:Meditate.Seriously. You maynotbea Ninjawarriorpreparingforbattle, butit's nota badanalogy. If yourideinlike a cow-boywithsix-guns blazing, firing off searchtermsas they comeintoyour head, you'll stirupa lotof dust,expendalotof am-munition,andbe presentedwithaheftybillbut verylittlerelevantinformation whenyou'redone.. . . Think aboutthetopic beforehand. Let yourmindrunfreeandflowintothe22subject.What do you knowandwhatcanyouextrapolateaboutthe subject?2WhatGlossbrennercallsmeditationactuallyworks toservecalculation.What hedescribesis no more thana deepbreathbeforetakingtheplunge.Meditationofthiskindonlysharpensanalreadydeterminedwilltofindsomethingdefi-nite.The usermeditatesinordertoconstructa narrowerandmoreefficientthought tunnel.But evenif webuildourtun-nelscarefully,westillremainessentiallytunneldwellers.Thewordmeditate cameoriginally fromtheLatin medi-tari,meaning"tobe inthemidstof, to hoverin between."The meditationthatGlossbrennerprescribesprudentadviceas far as itgoeshelps theuserzero inmorecloselyona tar-get.It is thefill-upbeforeadrive on thefreeway,nottheno-tionto hike in thecountryside.Ifweinfacttakeinspirationfromtheninjawarrior,weshouldrecallKitaro Nishida's teachingsabout"thelogic ofnothingness"(mu noronri). The ninjawarrior emptieshismindbeforebattlepreciselybyabandoning allspecifics,byrelaxing hisattentionso thatthewindowsof awarenessopentofreshperceptions.Genuine meditationrefreshesouroriginalpotentialto move inanydirection.Our highestmindremainsalertbutflexible,firmbutformlessinshort,omnidirectional.Meditation truly expandsthepsycheandopensit to thedeli-cate whisperingsofintuition.A Taoistsageoncewrotethat"thinkingis merelyonewayof musing."Tightly controlledthoughtremainsbutaLogicand Intuition23trickleinthedailystreamof thoughtsflowingthroughthepsyche.Mostof thetime, thebackground mindmuseswithasoftundercurrent thatquietlysortsthingsout, gently puttingthingstogetherandtaking themapart.We doourbestthinkingwhensittingbeforethefireplaceona crispwinternightorlyingon thegrasson a balmy springday.That'swhenourmindsare mostfullyengaged, whenwearemusing.Computer-guidedquestionssharpenthinkingat theinter-face,butsharpnessis notall. A more relaxedandnaturalstateofmind, according toSiu, aTaoist,increasesmentalopennessandallowsthingstoemergeunplannedandunexpected.Ratherthansharpenthedeterminedwill,we mustpreserveastateof no-mindinwhichourattentionmovesfreeoftheconstrictedaimsof consciousness.Themusingmindoperateson a planemore sensitiveandmorecomplex than thatof con-sciouslycontrolledthought.Musingis notwildinthesenseofwantonbutwildinthesenseof flowing,unforced,andun-boundedlyfruitful.Thinkingitselfhappensonlywhenwesuspendtheinnermusingsof themindlongenoughtofavoramomentary precision,andeventhenthinking belongstomusingasa subsetof ourcreativemind.NowcontrasttheBoolean scanwitha meditativeperusalthroughtraditionalbooks. The book browsermovesthroughsymbolsinthemodeof musing. Books doinfacthavealinearstructurethatunfoldssequentially,page by page, chapterbychapter, butseldomdo readerssticktoreadinginthisway.Whenwelook somethingupinbooks, weoftenfindourselvesbrowsinginways thatstirfreshdiscoveries,oftenturningupsomething moreimportant thanthediscoverywehadorigi-nallyhopedtomake.Someof ourbest readingisbrowsing.The book browserwelcomessurprise,serendipity,newterrain,freshconnectionswheretheangleof thought suddenlyshifts.The browsermeditatesevery momentwhileunderway, mus-ing along a gentle, wandering paththroughhaphazardstacksofmaterial. Thebrowserforgoesimmediateaimsinordertoridegently above consciouspurposes,inorderto merge withanunexpectedcontentinthepages. The browserfeelswilder-nessbeckonfromafar.TheBooleanreader,on thecontrary, knows inadvanceTheMetaphysicsofVi rtualRealitywhere theexits are, theon-ramps, andthewell-markedreststops.Processing textsthrough theBooleansearchenhancesthepowerof conscious,rationalcontrol.Suchrationalityisnotthecontemplative, meditative meanderalonga line ofthinking, thatthesearchthrough books can be. Thepathwayofthought,nottomentionthelogic of thought,disappearsundera Boolean arrangement offreeways.TheBoolean search treats textsasdata. When yousearchadatabase, you browse throughrecentmaterial,oftencoveringnomore thanthelasttenyears. Cutting off thepastinthiswaystreamlinesthesearch.Buta musingcutoff fromhistori-24cal roots losesthefertileexposuretofalsestarts,abandonedpathways,and unheard-of avenues. An exclusivefocuson the25recentpastcurtailsourmentalmusings,anda narrow aware-nesssacrificestheintuitivemind.Booleansearchlogicaffectsourmentalvision just aslong hoursat thecomputerscreenaffectoureyesight.In arelaxedstate,oureyes accepttheworldpassivelyas a specta-cle of discovery. Only whenwestraintoseedooureyeslosethesurpriseof perceptions.Constantstraininginducesa sen-sorymyopia inwhichwe needtostraininordertosee betterwhatwewishtosee. We losemuchof ourperipheralvisionwhenwe useour eyeswillfully.Likewise withthemind's eye.A relaxed andeasy thoughtenjoysintuitiveturns,andthink-ing at its bestmusesover humansymbols. Booleansearchlogiccutsoff theperipheralvisionof themind'seye.Thecomputerinterfacecan act like theartificiallensthathelpsuspersistin our preconceptions.Boolean logiccanuncon-sciouslyentrenchusinour strainingways, hurtingusas muchmentally as thecarpal tunnelsyndrome hurtsusphysically.We may see more andsee itmore sharply,buttheclaritywillnotholdtherichdepthofnaturalvision.Theworldofthoughtwesee willbeflattenedbyanabstractremoteness,andthemind'seye, through itsstraining,willsee a thin,flat-tenedworld withless lightandbrightness.Butnoticehowwedoinfactalwaysusesomeholisticguesswork,even whenweare trying our besttoshutoff themind'speripheralvision.Our Boolean searchescouldneverbeginwithoutvague hunchesandhalf-seensurmises.We needLogicand Intuitionhunchesandinklingstostartwith.Unfortunately, the Booleansearchplacesourhunchesintheserviceof askeletallogicfarremovedfromthedirectoperationsof language.Ifcomputersaidoursearchingminds, wemustnotaban-donthebooksduringourleisuretime.Theserendipitoussearchthroughbooksis necessaryfor knowledgeandlearning.Browsingoftenevokesdaydreamsandunsuspectedconnec-tions;analogiesandpertinentfindshappenamongthestacksofphysicallyaccessiblepages.AlthoughnotasefficientastheBoolean search, library browsing enrichesusinunpredict-ableways. Looking for somethingina book library frequentlyleadstodiscoveriesthatoverturn thequestionsweoriginallycameto ask.Booklibrariesholdunsystematic,unfilteredcollectionsofhumanvoicesandthoughts. Libraries arerepositoriesnotso muchof information asof theintuitionsof countlessau-thors.The books inlibrariesremainphysicalremindersof theindividualvoicesof theauthors, whooftenspeaktousinwaysthatshockanddisturb, inways thatbreakthroughourassumptionsandpreconceptions,inwaysthatcalmanddeepen.Thewordmuseum derivesfromtheGreek wordfortheMuses,goddessesof dream, spontaneouscreativity,andgenialleisure.Libraries may be, in thisstrictsense,thelastmuseumsof thestoredlanguage, thelastoutpostsofpredigitalintuition.Today librariesare becoming information centersratherthanplacesfor musing. TheLos AngelesCountyPublic Li-brary,theworld'slargest circulatinglibrary, receivesmore re-questsfor information thanrequestsfor books.In 1989, oneuniversityinCalifornia openedthe first library withoutbooks,abuilding for searchingelectronictexts.Books stillremainaprimarysource,buttheyare rapidly becomingmeresourcesofinformation. A largevolumeof book salesdoesn'tneces-sarilyprovethatthebook, withitsspecialpsychicframework,enduresas such.Many books today gainattentionas nonbookflinked to cinema, television, or audiorecordings.Searchingthrough bookswasalwaysmore romancethanbusyness,moreruminationthaninformation. Information isby nature timebound.Supportedby technologicalsystems,TheMetaphysicsofVirtualReal i tyinformationdependsonrevisionandupdating.When booksbecomemeresourcesof information, theylosetheatmosphereofcontemplativeleisureandtimelessenjoyment. Oldbooksthenseemirrelevant,as theynolongerpertainto currentneeds.Oneof thenewbreedof informationpublishersepito-mizesthisattitudeina pithywarning:"Anybookmorethantwoyearsoldisof questionablevalue. Books more thanfourorfiveyearsoldareamenace.OUTOFDATE=DAN-GEROUS."3As book librariesturnintomuseumsof alphabeticlife,weshouldreclaimtheiroriginalmeaning.Museumsareplacesforplay, for playing withthemusesthatattractus,for dreams,intuitions,andenthusiasms.Information plugsusintotheworldof computerizedproductivity, buttheopenspace ofbooks balancesourcomputer logicwiththegracesofintuition.Notes1.AlfredGlossbrenner,HowtoLookItUp Online (New York:St.Martin's Press, 1987), p.109.2.Ibid.,p.116.3.DanielRemerandStephen Elias, LegalCare for YourSoftware(Berkeley,Calif.:NoloPress,1987), p.ii.LogicandIntuition2627This page intentionally left blank HYPERTEXT HEAVENasWhatis hypertext?AskSam mighthelp.AskSamisa textual29database,a program for manipulatingwrittenmaterials.TheprogramalsoprovideshypertextonIBM-compatible com-puters.TheAskSam reference manualdefinesnearlyeveryaspectof theprogram. Whenitcomestohypertext,however,themanualmumbles:"Afacility."On-linehelpscreenswithintheprogram are more forthcoming: hypertextis"a fa-cilityby whichall textonscreenbecomesapoint-and-shootmenufor commands."Hardly crystalclear.Translated,thehelpscreenmeansthatyoucan placethecursoron anywordor phraseandcallupall theothercontextscontainingthatsameword orphrase.AskSamdoesspeedy searches,athree-hundred-pagebookin twenty seconds. A goodwordprocessor can nearlymatchthatspeed.Thehypertextsearchisdifferentbecauseitis nodal,or relational.Anyphraseor groupof phrasesina textualdatabasecan be matchedor comparedwithevery-thingelsein thedatabase.The userneednotstopwitha sin-glesearch.Putthecursorover twowords, anda screenwillshoweverycontextinwhichthosewordsappear,evenif thecontextsoccur at oppositeendsof thetext.Move thecursortoanotherinterestingphraseinthesecontexts,andmorescreenswillcomeup,displayingothercontexts withsamephrase,andso on. Each wordor phraseis a key tootherrefer-encestoitself.At anytime youcanviewa backtrack list orhistorythattraces all thereferencesyoufollowed.Hypertextisa mode of interacting withtexts,notaspecifictoolfor a3singlepurpose.You canrealizewhathypertextisorcan beonlyby sittingdownwithit for halfanhour.Oncecaughtintheinteractivenature of thething,youcanbegintoimagineanimmenserange of possibleapplications.In1987, Apple Computer broughtoutthefirsthypertextcommercially availableoncomputers. HyperCard on the Mac-intosh holds files ("stacks") that resemble electronic indexcards.Unlike indexcards,however,thestacksarerelational,or automatically cross-referenced withoneanother.Becausethestacksare electronicallylinked, theyallowinstantcross-referencing.Stackslinkeverythingina textor inawholegroupof texts. Textsthenbecomea hypertextinwhichevery-thinginthetextrelatesto everything elseinthetext.Inotherwords,hypertextis a dynamic referencing systeminwhichalltexts are interrelated.Hypertextis nolessthanelectronicin-tertextuality, thetextof all texts,asupertext.Thetermhypertextreferstotheexistenceof anun-noticedor additionaldimension.In board gamesandinmath-ematicalphysics, thetermhypermeans"anotherdimension."Hyperchessrefersto chessplayedona board withmorethantwodimensions.Not onlyare thechesspiecesthreedimen-sional, buttherulesof play recognize theexistenceofthethirddimension.In mathematicalphysics,hyperspacemeans"spacewithmorethanthreedimensions."Ifthethree-dimensional Euclidean spaceof theuniverseis curved backonitself,it becomesa limitedbutunending hypersphere.Whenwritten wordsandphraseshaveanextradimension,theyare likecrystals withinfinitefacets.You canturnoveranexpressionandviewitfromanynumberof angles,eachangle being anothertwistof thesame text. Words andphrasesappearjuxtaposed orsuperimposed. Thesenseof asequentialliteratureof distinct, physically separatetexts gives waytoacontinuous textuality. Insteadof a linear,page-by-page, line-by-line, book-by-book approach, theuserconnectsinformationinanintuitive, associativemanner. Hypertext fostersa literacythatis promptedby jumps of intuitionandassociation.The intuitive jump inhypertextislike themovementofspaceshipsinfuturisticfiction.Whenthisfictionaltravelexceeds thespeedof light, it becomes a jump through hyper-TheMetaphysi csofVirtualReal i tyspace.At suchspeedsitisimpossible to tracethediscretepointsof thedistancetraveled. Inoneof hissciencefictionnovels,The NakedSun, Isaac Asimov depicts movementinhyperspacelike this:There wasa queermomentary sensationof being turnedinsideout. It lastedaninstantandBaleyknewitwasa jump,thatoddly incomprehensible, almost mystical, momentary transitionthroughhyperspace that transferreda shipandallitcontainedfromonepointinspacetoanother,light years away. Anotherlapse of timeandanother Jump, stillanotherlapse, still anotherJump.130Like thefictionalhyperspace, hypertext unsettlesthe31logicaltracking of themind.In both, ourlinearperceptionlosestrack of theseriesof discerniblemovements.A hypertextconnectsthingsat thespeedof aflashof intuition.Theinter-actionwithhypertext resemblesmovement beyondthespeedoflight. Just as computeroutliningweakensthefixedhier-archyof traditionalscriptandprintoutlines,so hypertext sup-portstheintuitiveleapover thetraditionalstep-by-step logicalchain.The jump, notthestep,is thecharacteristicmovementinhypertext.When first reading hypertexts, certainworks of literaturecome immediatelytomind, inparticular James Joyce's Fin-negansWake, whosestyleisaforetasteof hypertext. Fin-negansWake spinsnetsof allusionstouching myriad otherbooksandoftenalludestootherpartsof itself. Its complexself-referencesandallusionshavedauntedandfrustratedmany a reader: few books outside theBible callfor so muchbackgroundknowledgeandso muchoutsidecommentary.Thesecondaryliteratureon theFinnegansWake is enormous,withglossariesof punsandneologismsandetymologies ofthemany foreignandconcoctedwords.More important, thisbookembodiesthestructuralshapeof hypertext.It is theneplusultraof nonlinearandassociationalstyle,a messof hid-denlinksanda tangle of recurringmotifs.Joyce workedonFinnegansWake for overseventeenyears, ina nonlinearfash-ionnotunlike theway a persontypicallyusesa wordpro-cessor. The book was notcreatedwitha beginning,then aHypertextHeavenmiddle,andfinallya conclusion.Rather, Joyce producedsec-tionsas themusesmovedhim.Sometimes hewroteonly asinglelarge wordacrossthepageincrayon(he wasnearlyblindat thetime]. Yet everythinginFinnegansWake dovetailslikea wovenpattern, turning back onitselflinguisticallylikeawaveof fractalstructures.WhenGerritSchroederandTimMurphybegancomputerizing Joyce'sgrandlinguisticdreamatUCLAin1987,they realizedthatthehermeneuticstructureofthenovelmatcheshypertext.Thetwoweremeantforeachother.A grandandpuzzlingworkof thetwentiethcenturyseemsto breakoutof itsbookformattofinda secondlifeoncomputers. As thecenturypassesaway, FinnegansWake pres-agesa reincarnationof humansymbols.Forsomestudentsof literature,hypertextoffersapracti-cal test for thetheories aboutliterature. One theoryoflitera-ture,for example, proposestheviewthatevery writtentextisaspin-offof someotheralready-presented aspectsof culturallife.Nobookinventsthelanguageoridiomituses.Thestrongestadvocatesof this theoryof intertextualityevenarguethatall theimages thata reader receivesinreadinga bookderiveexclusivelyfromotherpreverbal culturalactivities. Atextthereforeisanaggregate of other texts,especiallyifweallowtexts to include theaudioand video arts. Hypertextgivesusa wayof experimenting withthistheory,perhapseven helpingprove ordisprove it.One professor turnedhisclassroomintoa laboratory totestthethesis,Using GuidehypertextonMacintoshcom-puters,hehadhisstudentsworkwith texts by Dryden, Pepys,Milton,andSpratt,all writtenin1667.Thestudentsusedtheircomputers todeterminewhethereachof thetextscouldbeconnected, by wordor by concept, with anyof theothers.Theconditionsof theexperimentlimitedthecertaintyof there-sults, butsomestudentswereapparently able tofindnotionsin the texts thatcouldnot be tracedback to any other texts.Thesenotionswereperhapsoriginalandfreeofiiitertextualinfluences.Onestudent,for instance,foundreferences toopenmarriageinDryden's playSecretLove. No otherworksoftheperiodcontainsucha notion,evenwhencheckedagainsttheTheMetaphysicsofVirtualRealitybooksinthelibrary. Hypertext thusoffersways of testingthe-oriesof language andlooking at themanew.Withits jumps andits linkedallusions, hypertext firstemergedas an idea inthe1960s.The termappearedinthespeculationsof TedNelson. Struggling towritea philosophybook, theyoung Nelson ranintotrouble when trying to orga-nizehiswriting intheformof a conventionalbook. Inanin-terviewinApril 1988,Nelson recalls:I'vealways beena generalist. I got intocomputers because Ihadtrouble writing my books on philosophy.I had a complete32philosophicalsystemattheage of twenty-three. When I saycomplete, I mean it was comprehensive in thesenseof being33well-articulatedandtiedtogether. It wasstilllacking, butIknew I wasontosomething, andI hadterribletrouble organiz-ing it.But I knew thatorganizing ideaswasa hard problem.Manypeople confronted withbig manuscript situationssay,"itmust be me,"or "thematerialisn'tthere." Neither of thesewas thecase.So theproblemwas a hardproblem,andthat'swhatgot me intocomputers. I took a computercourse andsaidWow! Thisis theway to organize reading andwritinginthefuture!2Idefinehypertextas nonsequentialwriting withfreeusermovement. It hasnothingtodo withcomputerslogically;ithas to do withcomputers pragmatically, just theway largenumbers andlarge bookkeeping schemeshavenothing to dowith computers logically but, rather, pragmatically.Nelsonoriginallyplannedhisphilosophyas a linearsys-tem, something fit for a book. He wasstruggling tosqueezeacompletesystemintothebook format.One assumptionhenaturallymadewas thata philosophyis, or shouldbe, system-atic.The assumptionthatphilosophyshouldbesystematicis a recentone. It became widespreadonlyin thelast threehundredyearsor so, whichas basicassumptionsgois thedaybeforeyesterday.Thesystematicformatwonfavorwiththeriseof rationalismintheseventeenthandeighteenthcen-turies.Spinozawrotehisethicsas a systemofgeometricalHypertextHeavenproof.Kantlaidouthiscritiqueslikeblueprintsfor architec-ture,andFichteandSchellingfollowedsuit.Hegel fit all es-sentialtruthsintoasmallencyclopedia.Eachofthesephilosopherstriedtopresenta totalthoughtsysteminwhichhespelledoutthewholetruthso explicitlythatthemainprin-ciplesof thesystemruleoverevery singlepart.Theytriedtoarticulate things totally.Philosophywasnotalwaysboundtosystemsinthissense.Beforetheseventeenthcentury, thinkersdidnotstriveforthatkindoftotalsystem.Consideronephilosopher-theologianwhooftencomestomindasanexampleof a pre-modernsystematicthinker.ThomasAquinas wrotesummariesofhisteachings,theSummaTheologica.Oncloserinspection,however,hisapproachto asystemthroughsummariesisnotverysystematicinthemodernsense.ThesysteminAquinas'swritingsissubordinate tootherconcerns.In hisSumma, heposesandanswersquestions;hecitesandinterpretsancienttexts;herecountsatlengthopposingviewsandargues withthem;andheraisesobjections to hisownviews. Inshort,Aquinascreatesadialogue withhisculture, nota closedsys-tem.In thisway, thebookformatof theSummaisincidental.Theboundvolumesarecollections.Theychannelacontinu-ing discussion,andtheyreproducethestyleof anoraldisser-tationoraspokendefense.Sothedominantformatforphilosophicalthinkingwas notalways thebook. Withthearrivalof popularprintedbooks,thedemandfor thesingle-mindedsystemarose. Philosophyasa closedsystemwas fitforbooks.WhenNelsonconnectedhisphilosophybook withcom-puters, hedidnot realize thatinmaking thisconnectionhewasunderminingthebookhe thoughthewas tryingtowrite.Hemadethemodernassumptionthatphilosophyshouldpro-ceedsystematically.At first Nelsonimagineda textsprinkledwithdynamicfootnotes,or whathecalledlinks.Heconceivedoftheselinksasnomorethanfootnotes organizedbycom-puter,as simplyelectronicreferences.Thefootnoteswouldenfoldsubordinatepartsof thesystemaswellas therefer-encestootherbooks. At first Nelsondidnotthinkof thefoot-notesas jumps. Rather heconceivedof a literaturelinkedbyTheMetaphysi csofVirtualReal i tyfootnotesthat wouldmake anynumberof secondary textsavailable withelectronicspeed.A bookwouldthenhave linkswiththeothertexts to whichit explicitlyreferred.Whenactivated, theelectroniclink bringsreferencemate-rialimmediately to thescreen.Computers dothefootwork.Thereference can be aparagraph, anarticle, or anentire book.Itcaneven be,Nelsonlaterrealized, a film ora photographoranaudio recording. A returnkey bringstheuserback tothepointintheoriginaltextwhere thelinkflagappears.The hypertextlinkturnsoutinfactto bemuch morethana reference tool. The linkindicates the implicitpresenceofothertextsandtheability toreachtheminstantly. It impliesthejump.With thejump, all textsare virtually coresident.3!5Thewholenotionof a primary anda secondarytext,of origi-nalsandtheirreferences, collapses.In magnetic codethereare nooriginals, noprimary, independentlyexistingdocu-ments.All textsare virtually presentandavailablefor immedi-ateaccess.Theoriginal textismerely thetextaccessedatthemoment,thecurrentcenterof focus.Computerized linkseven-tuallypushedNelson tospeakof hypertextas"electronicpub-lishinginanever-growinginterconnectedwhole."3Thenotionofisolatedverbalinformationcollapses,too.Thestoredwrit-ingis once again wedtoimages, as hadbeenthecasewithil-luminatedmanuscriptsandorientalcalligraphy.Thistime,thestoredimagesareanimatedandattachedtorecordedsound.Asthecomputers'memory banksgrow andas thecom-municationsatellitescarry thedata,hypertextis growing to-warda comprehensivenetwork. Two decadespassedbeforethesoftwareandthehardwarecouldsupportNelson'svisionevento a limitedextent.For twentyyears, theavailablehard-warecouldputnofleshonthenotionof hypertext.Itre-maineda fantastic vision.But Nelson heldontoit,insistingallalong thatcomputersoftwareandhardwareremainmerelypragmaticconsiderations.The crucialthing,hemaintained,is thenewdesignfor literature.Textdesignoutweighstheim-perativesof hardwareandsoftware.Computersserveastrictlypragmaticroleinsofarastheyhelpcreatenewdesignsforreading andwriting.The importantthingis theconsciouscre-HypertextHeaven34ationof aformatfor texts. Besidescalculatorsandintelligencesimulators,computersare workstationsfor more flexible waysofdesigningtexts.Computer hardware isimportant only be-causeit helpsusrealizea more flexible literacy.Using anolderterminology, you mightsay thatcomputersareefficientcauses infulfillinga final cause: themutationof text.Yet Nelsonhadnotgonedeeplyenoughinto thehiddencoreof computers.Thehistoricaloriginof thecomputershowsthatit was more than aninstrumenttoservean arbitrary pur-pose.Theoriginalcomputeralready containedthesparkof hy-pertextas anidea.Only nowdoesthetruthof thisideadawnon us. And thistruthis not a recentinvention.Underneaththecomputer'scalculatingpower liesaninnercore sprungfromaseedplantedtwocenturies ago.By staying withthe primacyoftextdesign, Nelson unknowinglypreservedthecore,theinnerteJos,thehalf-forgottenoriginof computers. Thatinitialgerm for thebirthof computers started withtherationalistphilosophersof theseventeenthcenturywhowerepassionateintheireffortstodesigna worldlanguage.The notionof a worldlanguage aroseintheearly modernperiod.GottfriedLeibniz (1646-1716)foundedmodernlogicas thescienceof symbols. With hisrationalism,Leibniz placedhisstampon themodernmind-set. His work presagedhyper-text, thetotaltext,intertextuality,thetextof all texts. ButLeibniz'swork containedtheconceptof hypertextonlysemi-nally. Although he constructed computer prototypes,Leibnizwas able to buildmachinessuitableonlyfor numericcalcula-tion.Not evenat thistime couldLeibniz'smachinesdodeduc-tiveproofswithhisbinary computationallogic. OnlycenturieslaterafterBoole, Venn, Russell, Whitehead,Shannon,andotherscouldsymboliclogic handle bothdeductiveproofsandelectroniccircuits.Later, John von Neumann coulduseLeibnizean binarynumberstodevelopdigitalcomputers. ButwhatLeibnizlackedin hardware,he madeupfor inspecula-tiveimagination.Leibniz'sspeculationsrevolved aroundlanguage. Onthepracticalside, he was a courtier,a diplomat,andan ecu-menicaltheologian.He strove tounifytheEuropean world.His idealismbroughthimto believethatby focusingontheTheMetaphysicsofVirtualRealitynewphysicalsciences, thenationalstates of Europe coulduniteundera sharedproject.Inanage of religious warsandgrowingnation-states, Leibniz imagineda worldfederationbasedoncommonlinguisticsymbols. He advocatedauniver-salsystemof symbols forallthesciences,hoping thata ratio-nalscientificlanguagemightsmooththewaytowardinternationalcooperation.Leibniz believedall problems to be,inprinciple,soluble.The first stepis tocreatea universalmediuminwhichtocommunicate.With a universallanguage, youcantranslateallhumannotions intothesame basicsetof symbols. A uni-36versalcharacterset(characteristicauniversaJis)canabsorbeverysignificantstatementor pieceof reasoningintoa logical37calculus,a systemfor proving things trueorfalseoratleastforshowingthemto be consistentor inconsistent.Throughasharedlanguage, manydiscordantways of thinkingcanexistundera singleroof.Oncedisagreementsinattitudeor beliefare translatedintomatching symbols, they can yieldtologicaloperations. Problems thatearlierseemedinsolublecanstandona common ground. In this belief,Leibniz wastosome ex-tentcontinuing a premodernScholastictradition. Thatmedi-eval tradition believedthathumanthinking(in