VR is based on a ridiculous misunderstanding.

Initially posted on twiter here, on October 2022

I created the Google Cardboard almost ten years ago but quit VR soon after to focus on Machine Learning.

VR is based on a ridiculous misunderstanding. Let me explain why in this short post.

Presence & immersion

The VR promise is to bring “a sense of presence” to computing.

But the “sense of presence,” seeing things as if they were there, adds little value beyond the wahoo effect it generates.

The misunderstanding is between "immersion" and a "sense of presence."

Imersion doesn’t required VR or neural implants

Listening to a good story is immersion. Our brains' capacity to immerse ourselves in someone else idea is a superpower that allows us to co-create.

Reading a book is real immersion. When immersed in a book, our senses are disconnected from our bodies, and we no longer feel our direct environment. Reading a book is decoding black symbols on a white page. Our brains decode these abstract symbols, creating a virtual world inside our brains. There is no need for brain implants; we can already read the “Matrix”.

We are immersed when we are focused on our inner thoughts, controlled by some external signals.

VR is a lie

VR takes the problem the wrong way. It tries to immerse us by fooling our sensory system. VR is lying to our bodies. That’s why most VR experiences are unpleasant after a couple of minutes.

Our perceptions fade away when we are immersed. For instance, while reading a book in the tube. On the other end, VR uses our body's senses as the medium, distracting us from the story, the message, and the real thing we want to be immersed in.

Ironically, VR is a bad medium because the only immersion that matters is the immersion of our minds.