[ Short Description ]
[ Grades ]

Short Description:

Content.

In most cases we have strong and unambiguous intuitions about what things are real, and what things are not. Tom Cruise is real, Ethan Hunt (the charatcer Cruise plays in the Mission Impossible films) is not. Hawaii is real, Coruscant (the capital city/planet in the Star Wars films) is not. But what makes the difference? Why is it that Hawaii counts as real but Coruscant does not? We will explore this question through a fascinating set of cases that are neither clearly real nor clearly not real -- the realms in massively multiplayer online games, such as Everquest and Second Life. In these games there is a persistent realm that one gains access to via the internet. Many other people, and perhaps computer-controller NPCs (non-player characters) will be present as well. One can buy property, visit other people and their homes or locations. For example, Harvard University has a presence on Second Life. (See a fascinating brief story here from The Economist.) Many MMOs have published exchange rates between the games currency and US dollars.

We will use the examples provied by these 'game' worlds in order to try to get a handle on what counts as real, or at least to tease apart the various considerations involved in whether or not, and to what degree and in what respects, something can be real.

Structure.

The seminar will meet for 2 four-hour sessions. During the first four-hour session (Saturday Feb 10, 1-5 pm) we will do two things. First, we will discuss various conceptions of reality, and try to make some progress on figuring out what it is that makes some things real. Second, we will spend some time discussing the various kinds of video games, their differences, and perhaps even illustrate some with examples.

There will be an assignment before the second session, which will be to create an an account on the MMO Second Life, (it is free) and explore it. There may be a more specific assignment, such as visiting specific locations or meeting with specific people. While this will be the one requirement that all participants must complete, there may be additional things that some participants might do, such as creating a Halo 2 party or something like that.

During the second four-hour session (Saturday, Feb. 24, 1-5 pm) we will then revisit the questions that were raised during the first four hour session. Though now that discussion can be more informed by our joint experiences in the 'game' realms.

 

Text and other materials.

There is no text. Any materials needed will be provided during the first session. If you plan to take this seminar, I highly recommend that you get a Second Life account as soon as possible, and make sure that you can use and access it, and that you know how to visit different locations. This will be a course requirement, and if you wait until mid-February, there may be some unforeseen problem that you won't have time to resolve.

Grades

All freshman seminars are P/NP. In order to get a P, you must attend both 4-hour sessions, participate in the discussion, and complete the one assignment (see above).