学进去

The metaverse (元宇宙) has been a hot topic of conversation recently. The word “Metaverse” comes from a science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992. It refers to a 3D virtual reality (虚拟世界). In this world, we have digital versions of ourselves which are called avatars. The best way to visit the metaverse is through VR headsets.

Visiting the metaverse is like playing a game World of Warcraft (魔兽世界), where we can choose our own avatars. In the metaverse we can do almost everything such as getting together with friends, learning and playing. The value to our lives could be big.

In the metaverse learning process becomes much easier and more interesting. Wearing a VR headset is different from watching a movie. The difference is what scientists call “embodied cognition.” That is, we learn by doing instead of watching, reading or listening. For a lot of the most important learning events in our lives, we actually do something—we walk somewhere or feel something. Similarly, in the metaverse we learn by having such an experience.

James is a professional basketball player in America. He is on a two-week training program in the metaverse. Every day after he wakes up, he puts on his VR headset to go over his plays and practice in the metaverse. It’s like he’s actually on the sports field. But he is just in his living room, getting practice. “In this way, I improve my basketball skills faster.” says James.

Can you imagine how metaverse technologies help people deal with environmental problems in our real world? One example is a scientific test on the island of Ischia, in Italy. Carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) is destroying its ocean plants and animals. In the real world, we can’t bring people all over the world to Ischia to show how worse the situation is. To solve this problem, we produce a seven-minute Ischia journey in the metaverse. Now with VR headsets on, we bring Ischia to people. People see for themselves, study on environmental changes and learn to predict what all the oceans on the earth will be like in the future.

Maria is a volunteer to experience the metaverse. After spending 24 hours “living” in the metaverse, she felt very tired. Her eyes and head hurt a lot the moment she took off the VR headset. For her, such a “virtual” experience is less meaningful than a “real” one.

In fact, the metaverse is a tool, like any other media (媒介) such as Wechat, TikTok and Bilibili. It will surely make a difference to how we receive information, which is a big jump in the history of media. ________. Wherever we are, in the real world or in the metaverse, we will continue to be the same humans. To be or not to be, that’s not a question for the metaverse. It’s already on the way.

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