Virtual worlds: no interface to design

Bricken, M. 1991. Virtual worlds: no interface to design. In Cyberspace: First Steps, M. Benedikt, Ed. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 363-382.

I very much agree with this statement: “Creating a World: giving form to intention, manifesting a dream, visualizing the unseen… this is a job for the gods, is it not? We are only human, but as we develop this technology and build worlds for individual and social use, we assume certain responsibilities” (378).

Ditto this one: “There is no doubt that cyberspace and virtual world technology are empowering; but exactly who is being empowered? This is, in part, a design decision” (378). But what I’m more interested in is the way in which certain IDEAS and CONCEPTS and WORLDVIEWS are empowered above others. These, too, are design decisions; and we need to make these decisions responsibly.

Finally, Bricken’s chapter has suggested to me a methodology that is appropriate to this project: “Adopting what in Zen is referred to as beginner’s mind means approaching cyberspace without preconception, resisting the temptation to explain this new technology in terms of previous technology” (380). If I’m going to make spiritual technology, I should perhaps begin from this spiritual place of Zen beginner’s mind.