"...Is it really real...?

Posted on Monday, April 2, 2007

Lukevibert.jpg

This quote from a song by Luke Vibert (which became my mantra while writing my thesis back in 2000) came back to me when reading below quote from Henry Jenkins from Peter Ludlow in an interview with Henry Jenkins talking about Second Life (via Trevor F. Smith):

The more interesting question is why people keep repeating ""only a game"" so much. If you google ""only a game"" and "Second Life" together, you get nearly 12,000 hits. It is like a mantra that people keep repeating to keep some thought or idea at bay - and I think the dangerous idea that Second Life shoves in your face every day is this: our wealth is virtual, our property is transient, and our social lives are mediated by technology, nomadic, and often fleeting. I think that when people keep saying "it''s only a game" they are really saying "the rest of my world isn''t like this: my wealth is tangible and permanent, my friendships are unmediated and also permanent." Saying "it''s only a game" is like saying "this isn''t how things really are, this is just a bad dream." People need to pinch themselves, because this ain''t no dream. This is reality; deal with it.
More where this came from at an interview with Peter Ludlow.

2 Comments:

Peter Ludlow said...

>reading below quote from Henry Jenkins talking about Second Life

Hey, don't blame Henry for that quote. I said that; He's just the question asker.

Sweet quote from Luke Vibert, btw.

Ah, you are right (obviously, cause you said it). Thanks for pointing that out. Its a good point, I especially like the 'deal with it' part ;)

Leave a comment




The future is process, not a destination
Bruce Sterling

Everything is ultimately becoming information technology
Ray Kurzweil

Data is the Intel inside
Tim O'Reilly

There is only one machine and the web is its OS
Kevin Kelly

The medium is the message
Marshall McLuhan









Newer Post | Older Post | Home