Gender, Humanity and Weird In Second Life
Friday, December 05, 2008 | 
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Ari Blackthorne™
Is there such a thing as 'overdosing" on Second Life?We're going to find out soon enough. "one graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, is pushing the limits of what it means to be human by exploring the intersections of biotechnology, art and virtual-reality in an immersive, durational performance titled "Becoming Dragon."
Imagine spending 365 consecutive hours in-world and on top of that, all rigged-up so it's all you see - true virtual reality. You speak and it's translated digitally. You move and motion capture systems translate your body movement into your avatar in SL.
It's a big experiment. But I'm not sure what the real outcome will and how the experience itself will be influence (heavily, I think) by the technology that is being used to help the experience feel "natural". Rather an oxymoron, I do believe.
"In what is believed to be a first in Second Life history, Cardenas' movements will be mimed by way of a Vicon motion-capture system, which allows her avatar's movements to correspond with her own in real-time. In essence, Cardenas will 'become' the dragon, moving and even speaking as her avatar by way of a Pure Data patch called 'Lila' that modulates her voice."
So the end targeted purpose of this experiment isn't very clear to me. But you know how these universities aree always looking for projects and bizarre ways to ask for, and spend so they can ask for more and spend tax-payer money.
Following her durational performance, Cardenas plans to explore and experiment with biotechnologies — tissue cultures, implants and prosthetic devices — as well as "body hacking" or functional body modification.
For her own part, Cardenas is already undergoing a number of transformations as part of her hormone-replacement therapy ( HRT ), an experience that has led her to question the extent to which neurochemical processes determine our personal realities.
I would tag this one "Socially Bizarre", but I never thought I'd need such a category.
courtesy of Media Newswire
Categories:
Socially Mundane
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