Bridging the ‘Reality Gap’
How communication technologies bring us closer to reality
I define the Reality Gap as the massive void between isolation and reality. On one end of the spectrum is complete isolation and no communication with people you care about. On the opposite end is highly desirable face-to-face communication in the real world.
Every communication technology — from the telegram and the telephone, to email and the Internet — attempts to do one thing: bridge the Reality Gap. Technology gets us a bit closer to reality, but will never replace reality.
As history shows, society rapidly adopts any technology that helps us bridge the Reality Gap. When you’re on the other side of the planet from your loved ones, isolation kicks in unless technology provides you a means of communication. Centuries ago, that would have been via an expensive messenger delivering your handwritten note by foot or horse. More recently, that would be a convenient phone call or an email. To get closer to what reality provides us, we have better alternatives like videochat.
Communication technology advances in three ways: latency, fidelity, or convenience
Telegrams were far superior to horseback messengers and mailed letters due to a rapid reduction in latency. Messages could be delivered in hours instead of days or weeks.
The telephone leapfrogged text-based communication by enabling geographically separated individuals to hear each other. Videochat similarly trumped phone calls and SMS by allowing people to see each other. These are massive improvements in fidelity, bringing people a bit closer to reality.
Cellphones and smartphone apps allowed people to be always reachable, unlike landlines or emails on a desktop computer — an improvement in latency. But they’re also massively convenient forms of communication compared to traveling to a post office to mail a letter. Despite having videochat technology on our smartphones, text-based communication is frequently preferred due to it’s convenience over a video call, trading fidelity for convenience.
Reality is unbeatable
In most cases, reality is the preferred scenario and is unbeatable. Videochat will never be superior to actually meeting in person. Chatting on the phone is not as pleasing as a conversation in person.
Many misunderstand virtual reality, wondering how it will replace human interaction or basketball games. Virtual reality will never replace reality, but can provide us with experiences that are otherwise impossible or hard to attain. Like other communication technologies, virtual reality can improve reality with convenience and fidelity.
Attending a live basketball game in-person can be inconvenient due to distance and price. This is why watching sports on a TV is so compelling: it’s cheaper and easier than the highly preferable but inconvenient real-world alternative. Watching a livestream of a basketball game in VR provides similar convenience but with a massive leap in fidelity over a 2D TV screen. With a VR livestream, you feel like you’re sitting in the actual stadium, courtside right next to the action, bringing us ever closer to reality.
Due to ISIS, traveling to Syria is dangerous and life-threatening, an extreme form of inconvenience. One can instantly experience life in war-torn Syria and empathize with refugees trying to escape war with the award-winning VR video, “Clouds over Sidra”.
When reality is completely impossible, the digital & virtual alternatives can be far superior. Until we invent time travel, it is impossible to take a vacation in Ancient Rome. A virtual reality tour of Ancient Rome, however, enables an experience that far surpasses reality.
Similarly, if traveling around the world is impossible due to economic or physical limitations, the virtual alternative can be far more convenient than reality.
When reality is impossible, we invent communication tools to bridge the gap. Any technology that gets us closer to reality will be rapidly adopted by society. To truly understand communication technology, think about whether it improves latency, convenience, or fidelity. For a different perspective on virtual reality, think about how it can bridge the reality gap.
On a final note, while it seems like we have reached “peak latency” for communication technology, brain computer interfaces may be the next leap forward. Smartphone chat apps feel instant, but instead of spending many seconds typing messages, we may one day communicate in milliseconds. This sounds like science fiction — read Ramez Naam’s Nexus books — but researchers have made promising progress.
