Michael Clune, professor of English, penned an opinion piece on what it’s like to use virtual reality—and the difference between seeing something through the eyes of someone else and seeing it from the user’s own perspective.
His article, titled “Virtual reality reminds users what it’s like to be themselves,” was published in The Atlantic.
To make his point, Clune describes an his experience viewing a film called Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness at Sundance Film Festival. The movie is intended to show the viewer what it’s like to be blind, but Clune explains that he finished with more questions than answers.
It’s the gap between reality and a piece of art (whether a painting, film, book or other medium) that allows one to see something through the perspective of someone else, Clune wrote. Instead of seeing an experience through someone else’s eyes, he explained, one can only see it from his or her own perspective while being totally immersed in the situation via virtual reality.