“It’s hard to say what, if anything, Linden Lab can do to make Second Life appeal to a general audience,” wrote Eric Krangel, who used to report on Second Life as Eric Reuters. “The very things that most appeal to Second Life’s hardcore enthusiasts are either boring or creepy for most people” (from Google Unplugs Lively as Hype Fades Over Virtual Worlds).Well. I have no doubt that Second Life can be boring and creepy for most people. Among SL's dull activities, Mr. Krangel lists "trying to sell virtual clothes, experimenting with new genders or species and chatting with strangers."
OK. Fine.
On the other hand, what's so great about real life? You're going to put "experimenting with new genders or species" in SL next to "drinking coffee" and "going for a walk" in RL and find RL more interesting?
Since SL involves interacting with and talking to actual other people, this has gotta be read as major evidence for the inherent interestingness of the material world. Like, the sheer fact of something having material existence makes it more interesting somehow.
I don't know what this means for the concept of "heaven," but it's clearly nothing good.
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