Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution [Hardcover]

Jim Blascovich (Author), Jeremy Bailenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2011

How do The Matrix, Avatar, and Tron reveal the future of existence? can our brains recognize where "reality" ends and "virtual" begins? What would it mean to live eternally in a digital universe? Where will technology lead us in five, fifty, and five hundred years?

Two innovative scientists explore the mystery and reality of the virtual and examine the profound potential of emerging digital technologies

Welcome to the future . . .

The coming explosion of immersive digital technology, combined with recent progress in unlocking how the mind works, will soon revolutionize our lives in ways only science fiction has imagined. In Infinite Reality, Jeremy Bailenson (Stanford University) and Jim Blascovich (University of California, Santa Barbara)—two of virtual reality's pioneering authorities whose pathbreaking research has mapped how our brain behaves in digital worlds—take us on a mind-bending journey through the virtual universe.

Infinite Reality explores what emerging computer technologies and their radical applications will mean for the future of human life and society. Along the way, Bailenson and Blascovich examine the timeless philosophical questions of the self and "reality" that arise through the digital experience; explain how virtual reality's latest and future forms—including immersive video games and social-networking sites—will soon be seamlessly integrated into our lives; show the many surprising practical applications of virtual reality, from education and medicine to sex and warfare; and probe further-off possibilities like "total personality downloads" that would allow your great-great-grandchildren to have a conversation with "you" a century or more after your death.

Equally fascinating, farsighted, and profound, Infinite Reality is an essential guide to our virtual future, where the experience of being human will be deeply transformed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Infinite Reality sends chills down the spine.” (MICHAEL S. GAZZANIGA, director of the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara )

“An exhilarating book ... Blascovich and Bailenson are ideally situated to write this guide to the new world ... Infinite Reality a must-read for anyone who wants to prepare for the coming revolution.” (Los Angeles Times )

“Read this book if you want to understand the future.” (JARON LANIER, author of You Are Not a Gadget )

“Brilliant, farsighted, and fascinating, Infinite Reality is an essential guide to our futures.” (PHILIP ZIMBARDO, professor emeritus of psychology, Stanford University, and author of The Lucifer Effect )

About the Author

Jim Blascovich is the director and co-founder of the Research Center for Virtual Environments at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is Distinguished Professor of Psychology. Professor Blascovich has served as the president of international scientific societies, including the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, and he has been invited to lecture on social neuroscience and virtual reality topics worldwide.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061809500
• ISBN-13: 978-0061809507
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A transformative read, April 6, 2011

By 

Jeff Hancock - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution (Hardcover)

This is the kind of book that blows your mind on a regular basis. The studies that Bailenson and Blascovich design and report on are difficult to stop thinking about. These authors look at technology as a way to understand who we are and who we will become, answering key philosophical and psychological questions along the way.

They have described their approach as Transformative Social Interaction, and if anything, this is an understatement. These researchers use the virtual world as a testbed to examine psychological issues in ways that simply were not possible before. And rather than this being reported to you through the lens of a journalist, this comes straight from the pioneers in the field.

And while its easy to imagine this kind of heady stuff being dense and difficult to read, or full of techie jargon, your imagination would be wrong. The book is a delight to read, with humor and insight and intellectual curiosity mixed in equal doses.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the human condition, in how technology is transforming our future, or in reading some of the most cutting-edge, fascinating psychology out there.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the future, and it's fascinating, April 5, 2011

By 

HalEH - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution (Hardcover)

Infinite Reality is a fantastic read. Blascovich and Bailenson write about virtual reality, cutting-edge technology, and how we as humans will be affected by both in the upcoming years. If you're an early adopter, you can't afford not to read this book. And, even if you don't consider yourself "tech-y", it's still a super book to pick up. It's a page-turner - I wanted to figure out what was going to happen next, and how all of the various technologies and interventions that are mentioned in the book will affect me in the years to come. IR is an easy read, it's fascinating, and it will certainly be talked about for a while...it offers a glimpse into the future that can't be missed.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read, April 5, 2011

By 

Joris - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds, and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution (Hardcover)

Now that the boundaries between virtual and real worlds are fading, it is good moment to review the science behind the new reality that shapes so much of our everyday life. Infinite reality gives a great overview of the science behind the new world in which we are engaging more and more. The authors cover a large number of interesting insights that have been investigated over the last decade. I think this book is not only a must read for futurists and science lovers, but for anyone interested to learn how virtual interactions are influencing our behavior, social relations, health, and well-being.