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3
Artificial reality
People ask me, 'What's so good about artificial reality?' and I say,
'What's so good about reality?'
Myron Krueger, quoted in New York, August 6, 1990 (Haggerty,
1991)
3.1
Imagining reality
A model or picture of something is said to be impressive if it appears 'real', if it
looks like the original is imagined to be. Artificial implies not natural. Artificial
reality is a manufactured version of the original, created through imaginative
skill to show more about reality than is directly visible.
If we were to paint things just as we saw them, then our purpose would be
merely to store their likeness. Instead we wish to investigate their being. To bring
out more than the mere surface details of reality we must create images, artefacts,
which might not look directly like we initially imagine reality, but which tell us
far more about it and what lies beneath it.
Chemical models of molecules are a pioneering example. Not only do
they represent great magnifications of reality to a size we can see but, more
importantly, they distort, simplify and elaborate the object, to enhance our
understanding. The atoms making up the molecule are drawn as planets, brought
close together and linked with rods to imply connection. Unnecessary detail is
omitted and different elements are colour coded to aid interpretation. Highly
complex molecular modelling was part of the forefront of 1980s visualization,
high up then on the scientific computing agenda.
Transforming reality is an ancient occupation. From charting the Heavens to
depicting anatomy, we represent things not as they are but as we think they should
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