Virtual Reality: Exploring the Brave New Technologies of Artificial Experience and Interactive.

Reingold, coauthor of Cognitive Connection , contends that VR technology will replace artificial intelligence as computing's cybernetic frontier. Current reports from Japanese and French VR labs call up ghosts of the development of the VCR and PC: technologies blazed by American inventiveness but paved to commercial success by countries with coherent industrial policies. Reingold's attempt to impart, in sentences of almost 100 words, a VR vision of his experiences in the ``cybernetic sandbox'' will mean little to readers unfamiliar with the programming problems of VR. Neologisms like ``metaplay'' and ``teledildontics'' (sex in a bed of VR) seem like carny-barker teasers, trivializing potential VR applications in engineering, medicine and education. A more linear approach to the topic might have better fit Reingold's purposes. (July)