.. . fascinating. The various levels are particularly intriguing as one thinks about the various ways one could incorporate them in an experience, and the whole question of 'real.'
.. . thought provoking and original.
...nearly every page is brimming with challenging philosophical ideas. ...Zhai has many creative and important insights.
Get Real has the potential to become a landmark in both philosophy and virtual reality. The clearly written text progresses systematically through one hard issue after another. Whether or not one agrees with all of the conclusions, this is a book to be studied and then restudied.
Get Real takes a smart, lucid, joyful look at invented realities that just may be more real than any of us dares to believe. Get Real takes a smart, lucid, joyful look at invented realities that just may be more real than any of us dares to believe.
Lately, this reviewer has become skeptical about books that take a philosophical view of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Get Real is a refreshing change, from an author with credentials in both philosophy and engineering. In six very concise and well-written chapters he performs a philosophical exploration of the world of virtual reality.. .. Zhai has developed a book that is sure to be well received in both the philosophical and computing communities.
The book appeals to both the intellect and the imagination and is a worthwhile one.
Get Realis a philosophical tour de force, an astonishing and articulate work that is as challenging as it is engaging.
The book is a philosophical joyride supported by solid scholarship. . .The author combines analysis with insight into things that matter. .. First-rate. .. written with clarity, verve, and insight.
Lately, this reviewer has become skeptical about books that take a philosophical view of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Get Real is a refreshing change, from an author with credentials in both philosophy and engineering. In six very concise and well-written chapters he performs a philosophical exploration of the world of virtual reality.. .. Zhai has developed a book that is sure to be well received in both the philosophical and computing communities.
Lately, this reviewer has become skeptical about books that take a philosophical view of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Get Real is a refreshing change, from an author with credentials in both philosophy and engineering. In six very concise and well-written chapters he performs a philosophical exploration of the world of virtual reality. . . . Zhai has developed a book that is sure to be well received in both the philosophical and computing communities.
Get Realis a philosophical tour de force, an astonishing and articulate work that is as challenging as it is engaging.
Get Real has the potential to become a landmark in both philosophy and virtual reality. The clearly written text progresses systematically through one hard issue after another. Whether or not one agrees with all of the conclusions, this is a book to be studied and then restudied.
...nearly every page is brimming with challenging philosophical ideas. ...Zhai has many creative and important insights.
Anyone rapt with the lure of high technology and the quickly evolving advances in virtual reality will meld instantly with this book. Zhai (philosophy and engineering, Muhlenberg Coll.) takes a languid look at the electronic revolution, wondering whether, for example, virtual reality is a kind of "opium for the masses," rendering us all comfortably numb, or a rich, magnetic, and meaningful entity. Of particular interest here are Zhai's ramblings on "Meaning, Ideality and Humanitude, The Oneness of Consciousness and Brain and Quantum Mechanics, and Interpersonal-Telepresence." A smart, lucid, joyful look at invented realities that just may be more real than any of us dares to believe. For academic libraries.Geoff Rotunno, "Tri-Mix" Magazine, Goleta, CA
Explores the philosophical ramificataions of virtual reality (VR). Zhai (philosophy, Muhlenberg College) argues that whatever reasons we have for justifying the materiality of the actual world are equally valid for justifying the materiality of the virtual world once we are immersed in it. From this premise, he examines the causal and the digital within the virtual realm, the fallacy of unity projection, the meaning of life and VR, and VR and the destiny of humankind. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
