Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy

Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy

Author: David J. Chalmers

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2022-01-25

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 0393635813

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A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already. Along the way, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there’s an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed by Chalmers’ mind-bending analysis. Studded with illustrations that bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a major statement that will shape discussion of philosophy, science, and technology for years to come.


Real VR – Immersive Digital Reality

Real VR – Immersive Digital Reality

Author: Marcus Magnor

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-03-10

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 3030418162

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With the advent of consumer-market Virtual Reality (VR) technology, the next revolution in visual entertainment is already on the horizon: real VR will enable us to experience live-action movies, sports broadcasts, concert videos, etc. in true visual (and aural) immersion. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the algorithms and methods that make it possible to immerse into real-world recordings. It brings together the expertise of internationally renowned experts from academia and industry who present the state of the art in this fascinating, interdisciplinary new research field. Written by and for scientists, engineers, and practitioners, this book is the definitive reference for anyone interested in finding out about how to import the real world into head-mounted displays.


Virtual Reality and Light Field Immersive Video Technologies for Real-World Applications

Virtual Reality and Light Field Immersive Video Technologies for Real-World Applications

Author: Gauthier Lafruit

Publisher: IET

Published: 2021-12-22

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 1785615785

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Inspired by MPEG-I and JPEG-PLENO standardization activities, this book is for readers who want to understand 3D representations and multi-camera video processing for novel immersive media applications. The authors address new challenges that arise beyond compression-only, such as depth acquisition and 3D rendering.


Echoes of Other Worlds: Sound in Virtual Reality

Echoes of Other Worlds: Sound in Virtual Reality

Author: Tom A. Garner

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-09-01

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 3319657089

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This book explores the nature and importance of sound in virtual reality (VR). Approaching the subject from a holistic perspective, the book delivers an emergent framework of VR sound. This framework brings together numerous elements that collectively determine the nature of sound in VR; from various aspects of VR technology, to the physiological and psychological complexities of the user, to the wider technological, historical and sociocultural issues. Garner asks, amongst other things: what is the meaning of sound? How have fictional visions of VR shaped our expectations for present technology? How can VR sound hope to evoke the desired responses for such an infinitely heterogeneous user base? This book if for those with an interest in sound and VR, who wish to learn more about the great complexities of the subject and discover the contemporary issues from which future VR will surely advance.


Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do

Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do

Author: Jeremy Bailenson

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 0393253708

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“If you want to understand the most immersive new communications medium to come along since cinema… I’d suggest starting with Mr. Bailenson’s [book].” —Wall Street Journal Virtual reality is able to effectively blur the line between reality and illusion, granting us access to any experience imaginable. These experiences, ones that the brain is convinced are real, will soon be available everywhere. In Experience on Demand, Jeremy Bailenson draws upon two decades spent researching the psychological effects of VR to help readers understand its upsides and possible downsides. He offers expert guidelines for interacting with VR, and describes the profound ways this technology can be put to use to hone our performance, help us recover from trauma, improve our learning, and even enhance our empathic and imaginative capacities so that we treat others and ourselves better.


The VR Book

The VR Book

Author: Jason Jerald

Publisher: Morgan & Claypool

Published: 2015-09-01

Total Pages: 637

ISBN-13: 1970001135

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This is a strong foundation of human-centric virtual reality design for anyone and everyone involved in creating VR experiences. Without a clear understanding of the human side of virtual reality (VR), the experience will always fail. The VR Book bridges this gap by focusing on human-centered design. Creating compelling VR applications is an incredibly complex challenge. When done well, these experiences can be brilliant and pleasurable, but when done badly, they can result in frustration and sickness. Whereas limitations of technology can cause bad VR execution, problems are oftentimes caused by a lack of understanding human perception, interaction, design principles, and real users. This book focuses on the human elements of VR, such as how users perceive and intuitively interact with various forms of reality, causes of VR sickness, creating useful and pleasing content, and how to design and iterate upon effective VR applications. This book is not just for VR designers, it is for managers, programmers, artists, psychologists, engineers, students, educators, and user experience professionals. It is for the entire VR team, as everyone contributing should understand at least the basics of the many aspects of VR design. The industry is rapidly evolving, and The VR Book stresses the importance of building prototypes, gathering feedback, and using adjustable processes to efficiently iterate towards success. It contains extensive details on the most important aspects of VR, more than 600 applicable guidelines, and over 300 additional references.


Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality

Author: Howard Rheingold

Publisher:

Published: 1992-08-15

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13:

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Breaking the reality barrier ; the reality-industrial complex ; virtual reality and the future.


Clinical Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Author: Stefan G. Hofmann

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-10-23

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 1118959884

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The first book to offer a truly global perspective on the theory and practice of clinical psychology While clinical psychology is practiced the world over, up to now there has been no text devoted to examining it within a global context. The first book of its kind, Clinical Psychology: A Global Perspective brings together contributions from clinicians and scholars around the world to share their insights and observations on the theory and practice of clinical psychology. Due partly to language barriers and entrenched cultural biases, there is little cultural cross-pollination within the field of clinical psychology. In fact, most of the popular texts were written for English-speaking European and Anglo-American audiences and translated for other countries. As a result, most psychologists are unaware of how their profession is conceptualized and practiced in different regions, or how their own practices can be enriched by knowledge of the theories and modalities predominant among colleagues in other parts of the world. This book represents an important first step toward rectifying that state of affairs. Explores key differences and similarities in how clinical psychology is conceptualized and practiced with children, adolescents and adults across different countries and cultures Addresses essential research methods, clinical interviews, psychometric testing, neuropsychological assessments, and dominant treatment modalities Follows a consistent format with each chapter focusing on a specific area of the practice of clinical psychology while integrating cultural issues within the discussion Includes coverage of how to adapt one’s practice to the differing cultures of individual clients, and how to work in multidisciplinary teams within a global context Clinical Psychology: A Global Perspective is a valuable resource for students, trainees, and practicing psychologists, especially those who work with ethnic minority groups or with interpreters. It is also a must-read for practitioners who are considering working internationally.


Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality

Author: Alan Wexelblat

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2014-05-10

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1483220559

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Virtual Reality: Applications and Explorations provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of virtual reality and artificial reality. This book discusses the potential applications of virtual reality. Organized into three parts encompassing 10 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the traditional computer science activities ad discusses how hard problems in computer science can be addressed with virtual reality ideas and technology. This text then explores some applications of virtual reality technology that could potentially touch almost every purposeful activity that humans undertake in a technological civilization. Other chapters consider the use of virtual reality to manage and present to users information that cannot otherwise be comprehended. This book discusses as well the use of artificial worlds in both computer art and virtual reality. The final chapter deals with how the ideas of virtual reality and artificial reality can be of use to anyone who has to manage a business or organization. This book is a valuable resource for computer scientists.