Mr. Galt’s Sunday Night Martini Grille
Wednesday, April 4th, 2001
It was great to see some new people at this edition
of Mr. Galt’s Sunday Night Martini Grille, and I can only hope that
we continue to grow. I
had a blast last week, and this time around was no exception.
But first, a here’s
a little bit about tonight’s topic’s origins.
I had a horrible dream.
It is hard to describe it here, not because it was so traumatic
(it was, believe me) but because a lot of it is hazy.
Think about all the people out there who scream that the
sky is falling when they talk about technology, and then roll into
aspects of The Terminator movies, Orwell’s 1984, and
the clear, destructive effect the internet is having on our society.
If I hear one more person quote “All your base…” I swear
it’s going to be high-powered-rifle-in-a-bell-tower time for me
(again). Anyhow, all of that combined, along with images of Mr. Poppinfresh
wielding a katana (yes, he’s always in my nightmares, and he always
has a bladed weapon and is screaming nonsense about Canada's inevitable
world takeover) was enough to make me jump out of bed in a cold
sweat. “Eureka!” I
exclaimed. Although
I hadn’t deduced the concept of density, I had done something far
more important: I had figured out the topic of this week’s discussion.
So, without further ado, I give you “Of Majestic And
Such: When Does The
Line Between Games And Reality Become Blurred?”
To set the tone for our little rehash and analysis
of Sunday night, I thought I’d let Mr. Dennis Miller start us off.
This passage comes from his first collection of rants called,
cleverly, The Rants:
You know, our reliance on technology is making us soft. And if we’re not careful, it will only get worse.
Scientists estimate by the end of this century, via the
means of virtual reality, a man will be able to stimulate making
love to any woman he wants through his television set.
You know, folks, the day an unemployed ironworker can lie
in his BarcaLounger with a Foster’s in one hand and a channel-flicker
in the other and fuck Claudia Schiffer for $19.95, it’s gonna
make crack look like Sanka, all right.
And so, on with the show.
As always, the full log can be found here.
Well, what about Majestic?
What problems does it create?
Weltlich: But now we have the problem of a game
that has so much of your personal information stored in it.
Virtual Cash aspect set aside, this thing knows where you
live. But once the game is done, where does all
that info go? You
get enough spam in your inbox, now they have your telephone, fax
and god knows what else to work with.
Chiastic: It just seems like something that,
once you start it, there's no way you can continue to have a normal
life.
Drethelin: It depends on your definition of normal.
Weltlich: Crap, I haven't had a normal life
since I laid eyes on Starflight back in '87.
Clearly this is problematic.
First, we have our readers sharing their perspectives of
normal life. Weltich,
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say everyone reading feels your
pain. Second, you have
a game calling you. At 3am.
I, for one, am really looking forward to getting phone calls
in the middle of the night from a video game.
The better question, however, is when exactly does this game
end? Is there something
else behind it?
Chiastic: It seems like it would have to.
Mako: When it stops being profitable, sure.
Drethelin: Maybe it's all a conspiracy to
get everyone's info
Chiastic: Otherwise it would get really old
really fast
Mako: They're releasing blocks of new episodes
about every month.
Weltlich: Trust me, if they (big bad conspiracy goons)
want your info, they have much easier ways of getting it. But
if they (hackers) want your info, then well this could be a pot
of gold.
But, one has to argue, it’s still a game. Sure,
you choose to let it invade your life, but what permanent effect
could the game really have?
Chiastic: The first time the boss sees the damn
video game calling and faxing you, you might want to start looking
for a new job.
But let's say it doesn’t get you fired from your job. Conceivably, most people aren’t giving out their job numbers
for EA to call them during business hours.
It still sounds like an intriguing game, I mean I’m all for
it. It keeps changing,
monthy episodes and all…is there any drawback?
How could people get bored with a game this dynamic and interesting?
Chiastic: People will get sick of it real fast,
especially when it calls them during sex (Ed: Is that
really a problem for most of their target market? C'mon.
Sex with other people?)
But Majestic offers many opportunities for fun, as Drethelin so
aptly points out.
Drethelin: I think someone should join that
and give someone elses phone number and fax, etc. Then
that person starts getting strange calls and emails and stuff.
Completely off the topic - if any of you folks reading this out
there are planning on playing Majestic, and you think Drethelin
has a good idea, then email
me because I happen to have some info about Mr. Poppinfresh and
Mr. Rankinfile that I’d be willing to part with. (Ed:
So do we, like that time the lights went out, then you mistook Mr.
Lemming for a roll of toilet paper and wouldn't leave the bathroom)
Not that I’d want you to use their personal information
and phone and fax numbers with Majestic.
I never said that! Look at the disclaimer, I said this was completely off the
topic. Er…back to the discussion at hand.
The one thing that is for certain, however, is
that the anonymity of the internet is a reality.
While the internet is considered by many to be a sort of
“virtual” reality, the fact is that it has invaded the lives of
all of those who use it. Look
at you. I mean just look at yourself.
You are using the internet to read this!
Sure, it seems harmless, but that anonymity can take on a
life of it’s own. That’s
our next point of departure down this twisted path of semi-coherent
discussion.
Mr_Galt: There's a Harvard-educated prof at
MIT who is arguing that the internet is important developmentally,
as in for teens to develop relationship skills etc. and all that
sort of thing. Isnt' that the job of "real life," or
is the internet equated with real life now?
Lemming: The internet is part of my life...
I assume its a major part of most of yours...
Chiastic: To be honest galt, I don't think the
internet can teach people social skills.
Weltlich: Well, we are sitting here talking at
one another right now.
Chiastic: Yes, but it's not the same as all of
us being in the same room.
Drethelin: Yah, it's more convenient.
Mr_Galt: The anonymity the internet offers may
be great, but give me a person to person discussion any
day.
Yes, I hate to break the news to you, but I actually DO like people.
I enjoy face-to-face discussions, long walks on the beach.
I’m a scorpio and I’m looking for a woman who….
Weltlich: As far as I know, you guys could be
an electrical phenomenon, not people.
Chiastic: Which is a good point, Wet. There
are computer programs that "chat" with people.
Mr_Galt: Look at sbot in #lummies. Many times,
I've seen people who don't know any better think that is a real
person
And, if I do say so myself, sbot is a bright little bot.
Just the other day, he explained,
Corp is like Lum's, but with talent and stuph
I mean, considering it acts human and has such impeccable taste,
well I suppose I’d be confused as well!
This is just another example of the crossover from gaming
and the internet into what we consider to be real life.
We argued about culture being created by the internet, and
we even got a bit philosophical.
I was tempted, at times, to start quoting Kant’s discussion
of ethics, and his antinomy of freedom, but I thought better of
it. No one appreciates
dead German philosophers these days.
What I guess it really comes down to, however, is that none
of this is “real” because it doesn’t have the consequences of real
life.
Chiastic: Except that there are still no real
consequences for your online actions. The worse thing that
can happen to me here is that i get banned
*** Mr_Galt sets mode: +b *!****Chiastic’s IP*********
*** Chiastic was kicked by Mr_Galt (Yah, no shit)
Mr_Galt: =)
Mako: heh
*** Mr_Galt sets mode: -b *!****Chiastic’s IP*********
Chiastic: heh. You do realize that i'm supposed to be logging
this right? ;-p
Drethelin: I was logging it just in case.
Sadly, my friends, there was so much material here that I could
never attempt to do it justice and still hope to hold your attention
spans. Perhaps if you all were
smarter... But this is truly food for thought, and something
that is bound to come up in our future discussions here at the good
old Martini Grille. I
hope to see all of you at future discussions, and please, don’t
be shy about sending me topics and suggestions.
You can even be mean and nasty about it.
I won’t cry. I
stopped crying after I got used to the “morning lashings” that we
get to enjoy here at this fine Corporation we all work for.
Right now I just want to hear from you.
No really, right NOW. I’ll
make it easy, just click here,
and rattle off whatever comes to your mind; hopefully about this
edition of the Martini Grille, but whatever comes to your mind will
do. I sense that you need practice at thinking anyway.
And so, I leave you as we started, with a bit of Dennis Miller
to lighten up your day.
America, we’re at a fork in the road.
To the left, you’ve got books.
And to the right, the never-ending horizon of the new technology.
I myself am taking a hard left, because if they talk you
into hangin’ that Rico, the new technology is only gonna make
it worse. Now they
tell you it’s gonna make it better, but if you notice, the voice
they tell you that in is always a computer-generated one and it’s
digitally synthesized too.
That means less work for us, less striving, less brainwork,
more stupid and eventually the King will be the one who just doesn’t
shit himself.
See you next week!
Mr. Galt
is proof that not even God gets it right every time.
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