Experiencing VR
If you have ever used a VR headset, you know that the experience is amazing. You see a whole world around you that is completely different from your real physical surrounding. Your real body may be standing in a small room, but in the VR world you may be standing somewhere in nature, seeing trees, mountains, waterfalls.
In some VR games, when you look down you can see “your” body, but it’s the body of your avatar in the game, and you can operate this avatar by moving your hands.
In the future, as VR technology develops, it will be increasingly difficult to tell the difference between what you see in a VR world and the real world. It will not only have sight and sound, but also smells, tastes, and touch.
The Ultimate VR Experience
Today some people enjoy playing a horror computer game, in which they are being chased by a murderer. Although they do experience some stress, they know throughout the game that it’s just a game, and nothing bad can happen to to their real body. In fact, even if the murderer catches them and stabs them, they feel a kind of fun thrill.
In the future, VR technology might develop which could transmit waves into your brain, causing you to experience memories, thoughts, and feelings. Some people might choose to play a horror game on VR, except that the VR headset will cause them to temporarily forget who they really are, and to experience feelings of real terror and anxiety, and even pain and suffering if the murderer catches them and stabs them.
When the game ends, they will regain their normal consciousness and sense of self, and will be so relieved to remember they are actually safe, and this was just a game. They will remember that they deliberately chose to play this game so that they could “experience how it feels” to be in a life-threatening situation, without actually compromising their body.