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Against a Dark Background: Changing trends in the perception and understanding of Virtual Spaces in the United States of America, 1966-2014.

14,963 words

Title Page[Against a dark background]

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Table of contents

1. Abstract, 42. Chapter 1: Introduction - State of Play, 53. Chapter 2: Methodology New Map, 144. Chapter 3: Changes in the Usage of the Word Virtual Academia, 165. Chapter 4: Implications for the History of Virtual Reality Patterns of Force, 416. Chapter 5: Evaluation Fallout, 507. Chapter 6: Conclusions Against a Dark Background, 538. Bibliography, 57

Contents[Against a dark background]

Abstract

Immersive virtual reality technologies are increasingly common in the developed world of 2014. However the technology has existed in one way, or another, for over 50 years. Studies have been undertaken in the past to trace the history of this technology, and elucidate its troubled path to popularity.

However the nature of the technology, as made up of many other entirely discrete technologies (displays, motion tracking, computing, computer graphics, haptic interfaces, and so on) means that conventional histories, particularly extant oral histories, often struggle to assess the range of factors affecting the technology. Virtual reality is hard to isolate as a technology, and therefore a new approach is needed to develop its history. This paper aims not to rewrite existing histories, but utilise new methodologies, inspired by those of corpus linguistics and the semantic history of discourse, to bring new light to the existing history. Access to online databases and digitised publications means high-volume samples of text are more feasible than ever: as such the study of changes in the usage of a key word across a broad range of academic and popular sources, enabled by computerised access, could yield historically valuable results.

Abstract[Against a dark background]

This paper shall use wide-ranging samples of academic and popular literature to examine the usage of the word virtual, creating a survey of academic, journalistic, and popular sources. Its change over time having been plotted, superposition on the existing history of virtual reality technology may be able to highlight or lend nuance to elements of the history of that technology. If the technique is successful, it may be applicable to many other technologies and concepts. It is hoped that this paper will illustrate that linguistic methods, and broad analysis of textual discourse over time, can inform understandings of the history of technologies, concepts, and philosophies, in this case setting the technological development of virtual reality against an entirely new background. Chapter 1: Introduction

State of PlayWhilst virtual reality and virtual space is, for many, a product of the computer age, this is far from the case.[footnoteRef:1] Virtual spaces have been created since antiquity in the imagination, in art, and in artifice. Pliny the Elder wrote about classical artists who painted virtual environments so convincing that people and animals were deceived.[footnoteRef:2] Since the second-and-first centuries BCE, wealthy homeowners built rooms designed to extend their apparent size through painted virtual spaces.[footnoteRef:3] These sale delle prospettive were one of many examples of pre-computer design of virtual spaces, and a desire to create spaces of virtual private paradise or subversive, taciturn oration.[footnoteRef:4] Virtual space, and the technology surrounding its modern iteration, therefore has an historical and cultural context beyond contemporary notions of computer simulation.[footnoteRef:5] [1: Grau, Oliver, Into the Belly of the Image: Historical Aspects of Virtual Reality, Leonardo, 32/5 (1999), 36571] [2: Bostock, John, The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. 35. 6, (London, 1855).] [3: Grau, 365.] [4: Hayum, Andre M., A New Dating for Sodomas Frescoes in the Villa Farnesina, The Art Bulletin, 48/2 (1966), 21517; and also Grau, 365-6.] [5: Grau, 365-6; and also Steuer, Jonathan, Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence, Journal of Communication, 42/4 (1992), 7393.]

Virtual reality (henceforth: VR) and virtual space as they are understood in 2014 are quite different from that of the early 20th century. Whilst this paper will be focussing mainly on VR, virtual space is, at times, closely linked to it and therefore unavoidable. The immersive, computer-generated environments of modern VS are not dependent on any one technological development, like the perspective arts of the past, but are instead a technology cluster, based on many: computer manufacture, programming, displays, interfaces, motion tracking, sound generation, and others.[footnoteRef:6] [6: Schroeder, Ralph, Possible Worlds: The Social Dynamic of Virtual Reality Technology (Boulder, Colo, 1996), 20; and also Biocca, Frank, Communication Within Virtual Reality: Creating a Space for Research, Journal of Communication, 42/4 (1992), 522; and also Biocca, Frank, Virtual Reality Technology: A Tutorial, Journal of Communication, 42/4 (1992), 2372.]

Explaining just what virtual reality is at this point seems vital, as there could understandably be a large amount of confusion over what virtual reality technology encompasses, means, and represents.

The modern (2012-2014) iteration of virtual reality is noteworthy as, for the first time in its fifty-year history, computerised virtual reality technology is broadly accepted as viable, important and valuable.[footnoteRef:7] Oculus Rift, an American VR headset currently in development, has been a champion for VR, accumulating $2.4 million in funding from crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter in 2012, then being purchased by online social network Facebook for $2 billion in March of 2014.[footnoteRef:8] The growing success of modern VR is due to several factors, which can be illustrated by a history of the technology. [7: Dujmovic, Jurica, Look at the Amazing Future of Virtual Reality Your Digital Self, MarketWatch [accessed 11 August 2014]; and also Arora, Asit, Loretta Y. M. Lau, Zaid Awad, Ara Darzi, Arvind Singh, and Neil Tolley, Virtual Reality Simulation Training in Otolaryngology, International Journal of Surgery, 12/2 (2014), 8794; and also Citrome, L., Ride em Cowboy! The Therapeutics of Virtual Reality Technology and Simulation, International Journal of Clinical Practice, 68/8 (2014), 931931; and also Heaven, Douglas, Virtual Reality Rises Again, New Scientist, 218/2922 (2013), 20.] [8: Heaven, 20; and also Rubin, Peter, The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality | Gadget Lab, WIRED, 2014 [accessed 11 August 2014].]

The first computerised VR environments were devised by Ivan Sutherland at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966 and, later, at Harvard University.[footnoteRef:9] While the Philco Corporation had conducted similar projects in the late 1950s with telepresence, Sutherland was the first to use computer-generated environments.[footnoteRef:10] Sutherlands earlier work was in computer graphics and in 1968 these were integrated into a headset, which immersed people in computer generated environments.[footnoteRef:11] His resulting Ultimate Display was the first graphical computer display to immerse people in its environment.[footnoteRef:12] Although limited in detail, the sensation of immersion was startling.[footnoteRef:13] Sutherlands dream was for users to interact with the environment, and be provided haptic (sensory) feedback.[footnoteRef:14] Sutherlands device was never adapted for marketing or public use, it was too bulky, and the computers required too rare and too expensive.[footnoteRef:15] It did however set the template for future developments of VR.[footnoteRef:16] [9: Sutherland, Ivan, The Ultimate Display Proceedings of the International Federation of Information Processing Congress, (1965), 506-8; and also Sutherland, Ivan, A Head-Mounted Three-Dimensional Display Proceedings of the Fall Joint Computer Conference 68, (1968), 757-64. ] [10: Kalawsky, Roy S., The Science of Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments: A Technical, Scientific and Engineering Reference on Virtual Environments (1993), 20-1, 346.] [11: Sutherland, A Head-Mounted Three-Dimensional Display, 757-8; and also Schroeder, 164.] [12: Schroeder, 17, 38-9; and also Sutherland, Ivan, A Head-Mounted Three-Dimensional Display, 757-8.] [13: Sutherland, Ivan, A Head-Mounted Three-Dimensional Display, 760-1; and also Schroeder 17-9, 38.] [14: Sutherland, Ivan, The Ultimate Display, 506.] [15: Schroeder 20-1.] [16: Ibid, 17-21.]

After The Ultimate Display however, development of VR displays slowed considerably.[footnoteRef:17] Outside of simulators for NASA and the USAF, no virtual spaces were developed from 1970 until the 1980s.[footnoteRef:18] The nature of early simulators made disorientation common and the resulting simulator sickness prompted a growth in medical and psychological papers on simulation.[footnoteRef:19] The cause of this sickness may be partly responsible for what Schroeder has referred to as a lull. [17: Ibid, 17-20.] [18: Ibid, 18, 22; and also Kalawsky, Roy S., The Science of Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments: A Technical, Scientific and Engineering Reference on Virtual Environments (1993) 27-32.] [19: Schroeder, 21; and also Reason, James T., Motion Sicknesssome Theoretical Considerations, International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 1/1 (1969), 2138, pp. 27-8; and also Clark, Brant, Some Recent Studies On The Perception Of Rotation, in Vestibular Function on Earth and in Space, ed. by J. Stahle (1970), 4354. [accessed 12 August 2014].]

Simulator Sickness was mainly due to lag between the user moving and the virtual space changing accordingly. Contemporary computers were too slow.[footnoteRef:20] Displays and motion sensors were prohibitively expensive at the time (i.e. above $1million to develop in 1975, $24 million in 2014[footnoteRef:21]). Schroeder, Kalawsky, Rheingold, and others see this lull as having a technological rather than sociological cause, predominantly in this regard they seem to be correct.[footnoteRef:22] [20: Biocca, Frank, and Mark R. Levy, Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality (Hillsdale, N.J, 1995) 99-100.] [21: US Inflation Calculator, US Inflation Calculator [accessed 12 August 2014].] [22: Schroeder, 33-4; and also Kalawsky, 277-290; and also Rheingold, Virtual Reality, 33-4, 133-44.]

The next significant development in VR came in the 1980s. It was in 1987 that the term virtual reality was first popularly coined by a pioneer of VR, Jaron Lanier.[footnoteRef:23] At this point, virtual appeared more frequently in academic and journalistic literature. The work of Lanier with VPL research, as well as others at the time, shifted VR toward domestic spheres, exciting broader public awareness.[footnoteRef:24] Technological improvements in computer science and technology, as well as in displays, motion tracking, and programming helped drive this move.[footnoteRef:25] While technological development was clearly a prime mover, there may have been other factors at work also: the spread of the phrase virtual reality beyond purely technological spheres of influence was also significant. [23: Trials Of A Cyber Celebrity, BusinessWeek:, 21 February 1993 [accessed 12 August 2014].] [24: Schroeder, 24-5; and also Van Dam, Andries, Computer Software for Graphics, Scientific American, 251/September (1984), 14659.] [25: Kalawsky, 20-2; and also Schroeder, 22-5; and also Dertouzos, Michael, The Multiprocessor Revolution: Harnessing Computers Together, MIT Technology Review, 89/2 (1986), 4457.]

Until the mid-90s virtual technologies (i.e. those generating or displaying virtual spaces, including video games) boomed.[footnoteRef:26] Immersive headsets and suits were available for enterprise and business, and through the 90s VR became cheaper and cheaper, arguably culminating in the Nintendo Virtual Boy in 1995 (figure 1.1); a VR headset sold across America at a reasonable price ($150, or around $280 in 2014[footnoteRef:27]). [26: Schroeder, 22-43; and also Edwards, Paul, From Impact to Social Process: Computers in Society and Culture in Jasanoff, Sheila (ed.) Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (1995)270,73,84.] [27: US Inflation Calculator, US Inflation Calculator [accessed 12 August 2014].]

The device was a commercial failure however. Panned as ineffectual and disappointing, the optimism surrounding VR seemingly turned on its head. The technology still hadnt caught up with the theory, or the expectation.[footnoteRef:28] This failure of realisation led arguably to a second lull; after 1995-6 interest in virtual reality technologies died away considerably.[footnoteRef:29] [28: Narcisse, Evan, Top 10 Failed Gaming Consoles, Time [accessed 12 August 2014]; and also Parkin, Simon, A History of Videogame Hardware: Nintendos Virtual Boy | Features, Edge Online [accessed 12 August 2014]; and also Iwata, Satoru, How the 3DS Was Made, Iwata Asks, 1 vol i.] [29: History of Virtual Reality Where Did It All Begin? [accessed 12 August 2014]; and also A Brief History of Video Game Virtual Reality, and Why This Time Will Be Different, Prima Games [accessed 12 August 2014]; And also Julia King, Aaron E. Walsh; An Early Interest in Virtual Reality Blossomed into a Passion for Education Environments That Can Engage Students through Interactive Visualization., ComputerWorld, 24 August 2009, section NEWS [accessed 12 August 2014].]

Its at this point that the predominant historical literature ends. But considerable changes continued to take place. Beyond VR work on (more general) virtual spaces continued, in computer graphics and the World Wide Web among others, at an increasingly rapid pace from the mid-90s onward.[footnoteRef:30] Virtual was increasingly associated with these kinds of spaces over VR, following the growth of another 80s term cyberspace. Non-immersive experience on a screen increasingly became virtual experience, as VR moved out of vogue and virtual semantically loses meaning at this time, as the usage and intended meaning diversified and dispersed.[footnoteRef:31] [30: Schroeder, 152-3; and also Berners-Lee, Tim, History of the Web, World Wide Web Foundation [accessed 12 August 2014]; and also Pallen, Mark, The World Wide Web, BMJ: British Medical Journal, 311/7019 (1995), 155256.] [31: Cf. Ullmann, Stephen, The Principles of Semantics (1951), 204-5 for this pattern of semantic loss.] Figure 1.1: A Nintendo Virtual Boy headset with controller, with kind permission of Evan Amos.

This second lull was roughly the length of the first, from 1996 until 2012.[footnoteRef:32] Limited developments in specialist fields such as flight simulation and medical training continued, but were rare and expensive. Until the announcement of the Oculus Rift Kickstarter project, VR was considered by most a gimmick, distant aspiration, or science-fiction trope.[footnoteRef:33] [32: Schroeder, 22; and also Rubin The Inside Story; and also A Realer Virtual World, Forbes [accessed 12 August 2014].] [33: Ibid; and also Orland, Kyle, Virtual Reality That Doesnt Suck: My Time inside Half-Life 2, Ars Technica, 2012 [accessed 30 August 2014].]

Oculus Rift differed from extant VR kits because it overcame many longstanding problems with VR; public testing showed that it not only boasted no lag (latency) but could display simulations so detailed that the user could believe what they were seeing. The cause was primarily technological; Moores law (that the transistor count in computers doubles every two years) holds true, domestic computer power in 2012 was orders of magnitude greater than in 1995. Similarly programming languages, graphics engines, displays, and accelerometers were more sophisticated, powerful and affordable.

A kind of VR singularity was achieved in 2012, truly immersive spaces could be experienced when they couldnt in 2011.[footnoteRef:34] Virtual society and virtual activism, seen here in the form of the Kickstarter crowdfunding website, also played a role, securing over $2.4 million for developing a product which had only been tested by a few.[footnoteRef:35] [34: Rubin, The Inside Story.] [35: Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game, Kickstarter [accessed 12 August 2014].]

This highlights both public appetite for VR, and the importance of online populations in the success of technologies: virtual technology can beget virtual technology.

Oculus Rift remains in development in 2014.[footnoteRef:36] Development kits are widespread in America for military, medical, psychotherapeutic, sociological, and gaming uses, among others.[footnoteRef:37] Facebook hopes to use Oculus Rift to create immersive virtual societies of the type imagined by Lanier, Gibson, and others. Samsung announced its own VR headset, Samsung Gear VR, integrating Oculus Rift technology with mobile phones and tablets for web-based VR experiences including games, films, photo galleries, and web calls.[footnoteRef:38] Sony has also announced a VR kit, Project Morpheus; Microsoft is also working on a similar device.[footnoteRef:39] 2014 is seeing considerable public interest in VR and, unlike in the 1980s, VR is less likely to be seen as a disappointment.[footnoteRef:40] [36: UPDATE 3-Facebook to Buy Virtual Reality Goggles Maker for $2 Bln, Reuters, 26 March 2014 [accessed 12 August 2014].] [37: Zuckerberg, Mark, 10101319050523971, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10101319050523971; and also Five Incredible Ways Oculus Rift Will Go beyond Gaming, TechRadar [accessed 12 August 2014].] [38: Kuchera, Ben, Samsung Gear VR Gives Us Hints at What to Expect from Retail Oculus Rift, Polygon, 2014 [accessed 3 September 2014]; and also Ben, Kuchera, Samsung and Oculus Offer First Details on Cellphone-Powered VR Headset, the Gear VR, Polygon, 2014 [accessed 3 September 2014].] [39: Yoshida, Shuhei, Introducing: Project Morpheus, PlayStation.Blog.Europe [accessed 12 August 2014]; and also Microsoft Interested in Using Eye-Tracking VR Headset for Xbox One, TechRadar. [accessed 12 August 2014].] [40: Rubin, The Inside Story; and also Rhodes, L., Virtual Reality Like The Oculus Rift Will Be A Technological Triumph And A Commercial Failure, Business Insider [accessed 12 August 2014].]

The works of Ralph Schroeder and Howard Rheingold are arguably the most significant in the current history of virtual space.[footnoteRef:41] Their work in the early 1990s provides useful context and content up to 1996. Since then, besides occasional niche studies,[footnoteRef:42] there has been a dearth of work on the history of VR. Consequently it is hoped that this study may assist future scholarship through the provision of a new methodology and data. [41: Schroeder, Possible Worlds, and Rheingold, Howard, Virtual Reality: The Revolutionary Technology of Computer-Generated Artificial Worlds--And How.., Reprinted edition (New York, N.Y., 1992).] [42: Wiederhold, Brenda K., and Mark D. Wiederhold, A Brief History of Virtual Reality Technology, in Virtual Reality Therapy for Anxiety Disorders: Advances in Evaluation and Treatment (Washington, DC, US, 2005), 1127; and also Ellis, Jason W., Cultural History of Virtual Reality, Science Fiction Studies, 39/2 (2012), 33941.]

The causes for the swell and attenuation of VR technologies are not fully understood. A hardware-based explanation covers major factors in the history of the technology, it does not take into account the wider dynamics of the technologys history and development. The aim of this paper therefore is to add sociological context and content to the history of of VR technology and virtual space. The distributed nature of the technology means that a new methodology is required to build a history of it away from conventional material-cultural and oral histories.

The timeline of computerised virtual space, from the 1960s to the present day, means that oral histories are both a possibility and a considerable temptation, considering the distributed nature of the technology. However, the niche nature of the technology means that there are few experts, and many of them are so close to the technology, and in some cases to the now considerable market forces, that avoiding risk of bias would be difficult.[footnoteRef:43] Understandings of how the technologies of virtual space have changed, as well as the background of social and cultural perceptions against which the technology rests, are hard to access traditionally. [43: McCracken, Harry, A Talk with Computer Graphics Pioneer Ivan Sutherland, Time [accessed 11 September 2014]; and also Trials Of A Cyber Celebrity, BusinessWeek.]

Notions for an alternate point of access to the history of VR rose from the work of historian Raymond Williams, who studied discourse and linguistic change to examine historical concepts through words.[footnoteRef:44] Journalistic, popular, and academic sources could be identified by database keyword search; in this case, for the word virtual, though other words and phrases could be used. This approach, influenced by corpus linguistics, would seek to examine changing discourse concerning virtuality over the period that computerised virtual spaces have taken shape.[footnoteRef:45] Changing patterns of use could highlight technological and sociological trends in the history of virtual space, which may be invisible to more traditional histories. [44: Williams, Raymond, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (1983).] [45: Maverick, George V., Review of Computational Analysis of Present-Day American English by Henry Kuera; W. Nelson Francis, International Journal of American Linguistics, 35/1 (1969), 7175; and also Quirk, Randolph, Towards a Description of English Usage, Transactions of the Philological Society, 59/1 (1960), 4061.]

This paper will chart the historical development of a technology from 1966 to the present day through discourse concerning it and its social and technological periphery. Developing a linguistic and social-scientific history of virtual spaces and their cultural context will add nuance to existing historical understandings of the technologies, especially VR, and help establish a history of the technology from the mid-1990s to the present day. As such the project will seek to investigate two research questions:

1) How does the perceived meaning and significance of the word virtual change over time in America from 1966 to 2014, and for whom? 2) Can changes in the meaning of the word lend nuance to, or aid revision of, understanding of the history of virtual spaces, particularly virtual reality technology, and, if so, in what ways?

America was chosen for two reasons. Firstly, America is the site of most virtual reality research and development; it gained the most public momentum, and was most marketable there in the late 80s-early 90s. Secondly, America sees the greatest combined academic and journalistic output in the English speaking world and, as such, provides the richest source base for this kind of study.[footnoteRef:46] [46: Royal Society, Knowledge, Networks and Nations: Global Scientific Collaboration in the 21st Century, Knowledge, Networks and Nations (London, 28 March 2011), 17.]

Through investigation of these two questions it is hoped that greater understandings of the multiple factors affecting the history of the technologies comprising computerised virtual reality will be made possible.

State of Play[Against a dark background]

Chapter 2: Methodology

New MapThis study traces changes in usage of virtual in a variety of contexts, drawing on the methodologies of etymology and linguistics, particularly of corpus linguistics and historians Williams and Stern.[footnoteRef:47] Random samples of sources were taken at five-year intervals, with exceptions for landmark events visible from extant histories. For each interval, 500 academic publications were sampled. Of those, the subject of the publication and intended meaning of virtual was recorded. Detailed readings of some sources were undertaken at key points or in instances of ambiguity of meaning. [47: Williams, Keywords, 11-26; and also Stern, Gustaf, Meaning and Change of Meaning with Special Reference to the English Language, (Greenwood, 1975), pp. 1-4.]

For optimal coverage, a Google search algorithm was used to sample a wide range of online databases, as Googles range of site indexes is unparalleled. Third-party search algorithms, and those written for this project generate random searches of digitised publications by year. Similarly Google indexes grey literature (advertisements, unpublished theses, online manifestos, etc.). Literature on the deep net (i.e. hosted on the internet but not the World Wide Web) was not sampled, due to access issues.

In 5 year intervals, samples will be taken. Each sample will comprise 5 blocks of 100 articles taken across the entire range of search results for that year. The articles were grouped by block and subject, then averaged, providing an indicator of approximate distribution. Publications straddling multiple subjects were grouped by journal subject. Any subject appearing fewer than five times out of 500 will not be counted. Results are compared in bar-charts over the history of VR.

Online archive websites including newspapers.com, archive.org, and lexisnexis.com provided journalistic sources in the absence of a synoptic search engine. These databases stack search results according to relevance, so sampling took place across their entire range to reduce bias. Dormant online publications were accessed using archive.orgs wayback machine.[footnoteRef:48] [48: Internet Archive WayBack Machine, archive.org, [accessed 9 September 2014].]

The changing trends in usage revealed by these samples were overlaid upon historically understood technological change, particularly in computer graphics, displays, VR and space. The greater history of technology may be informed by the understandings this study made possible.[footnoteRef:49] [49: LeVine, Philip, and Ron Scollon, Discourse and Technology: Multimodal Discourse Analysis (2004) Heracleous, L., and M. Barrett, Organizational Change As Discourse: Communicative Actions And Deep Structures In The Context Of Information Technology Implementation., Academy of Management Journal, 44/4 (2001), 75578.]

New Map[Against a dark background]

Chapter 3: Changes in the Usage of the Word Virtual

academiaVirtual in the sense of unreal seems to first appear in English in the mid-15th century CE in Pecocks Reule of Crysten Religioun, where it refers to an imagined physicality.[footnoteRef:50] Through to the eighteenth century, virtual mostly pertained to the implications of scripture or extra-terrestrial realms in an Abrahamic context.[footnoteRef:51] Specialist uses also existed in engineering (virtual pressure heads), in physics, and others.[footnoteRef:52] The physics (specifically optical) notion of virtuality, a synthetic image created by lenses and filters, is the closest precursor to computerised virtual space.[footnoteRef:53] [50: Virtual, Adj. and N., OED Online [accessed 14 August 2014]; and also Pecock, Reginald, The Reule of Crysten Religioun, 1443 (London, 1927), 60.] [51: Asloan, John, The Asloan manuscript: a miscellany in prose and verse, c.1525 (Edinburgh; London, 1923) I. 68; and also Taylor, Jeremy, The Real Presence and Spirituall of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament Proved against the Doctrine of Transubstantiation. By Jer. Taylor, D.D. (London, 1654), 21; and also Appleton, James, A Collection of Discourses on the Various Duties of Religion, as Taught by the Catholic Church; ... By the Rev. Mr. Appleton, ... (Dublin, 1790), 120. ] [52: Smeaton, J, An Experimental Enquiry Concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to Turn Mills, and Other Machines, Depending on a Circular Motion. By Mr. J. Smeaton, F. R. S., Philosophical Transactions, 51 (1759), 100174.] [53: Stephen Parkinson, A Treatise on Optics (1884) [accessed 9 September 2014]]

Beyond the 18th century, virtual as unreal became common, and moved away from theology and into broader notions of imagination.[footnoteRef:54] Virtual became associated with an imagined, often idealised, object, event, or space. In many ways, this still applies in 2014. [54: Warner, Philip, Sieges of the Middle Ages. (London, 1968), 57; and also Barratt, Alfred, Physical Metempiric [ed. by D. Barratt]. (1883), 47-50.]

In the late 1950s, virtual was adopted by computer science as a specialist term for hardware that gains new functions through software, such as Virtual Memory.[footnoteRef:55] By 1966, virtual was established in computer science, as were notions of computerised virtual space. Concurrently, virtual became more common throughout academia, especially in physics, where it pertained to hypothetical particles.[footnoteRef:56] Until 1970, virtual remained predominantly in computer science articles, both in growing numbers, approximately 3000 papers involving virtual hardware or virtual particles in 1965 and 3700 in 1967, growth continued into the 70s (figure 3.1). [55: Cocke, John, and Harwood G. Kolsky, The Virtual Memory in the STRETCH Computer, in Papers Presented at the December 1-3, 1959, Eastern Joint IRE-AIEE-ACM Computer Conference, IRE-AIEE-ACM 59 (Eastern) (New York, NY, USA, 1959), 1-42, pp. 1-4. ] [56: Beres, W. P., Virtual Transitions to the Continuum in O16, Physical Review Letters, 17/23 (1966), 118084.]

Regarding subject divisions, computer science was a niche study of American academics. Disciplines with higher publication rates, especially medicine, were well represented at this time (figure 3.2). The meaning of virtual varied across subjects. Away from computing and physics, virtual was used for the sake of supposition, for instance: they are in a position of virtual serfdom.[footnoteRef:57] The bulk of medical publications concerned virtual screening, meaning computerised molecule comparison. Publications concerning computerised notions of virtuality totalled around 200 in 1966, with 30 in computer science, 160 in physics, and 10 in engineering. [57: Wlck, Wolfgang, From German Publications, International Journal of American Linguistics, 31/3 (1965), 245.]

Distribution and usage of virtual by subject changed from there on, with simulation in silico (generated by a computer) being a growth area. Outside of physics and computer science virtual as computerised simulation was rare.

The number and range of sources using virtual grew through the 1970s, and variations in usage diversified. Computer science publications grew in number rapidly, as did the proportion of them using virtual, as virtual memory was a proven technology by 1969.[footnoteRef:58] The work of Sutherland at Utah and of others in the 70s drove advances in computer graphics, diversifying and broadening access to virtual spaces.[footnoteRef:59] Computer technology as a whole similarly became more advanced, reflected in the contemporary growth of literature (figure 3.3). In the majority of computer science publications at this time, virtual was intended to describe either virtual hardware or virtual space. Virtual hardware was increasingly commonplace and by the 90s became standard.[footnoteRef:60] [58: Sayre, D., Is Automatic folding of Programs Efficient Enough to Displace Manual?, Communications of the ACM, 12/12 (1969), 65660.] [59: Schroeder, 52, 164; and also Burton, Robert, Ivan Sutherland, AM Turing Awards (2013) [accessed 21 August 2014].] [60: Denning, Peter, Before Memory Was Virtual, in In the Beginning: Recollections of Software Pioneers, by Robert Glass (1997), 25071.]

As publication numbers increased, usage and distribution of the word virtual diversified. By the mid-1970s computing literature was a major area, though beyond that simulation of the imagination and supposition were persistent uses across a wide range of disciplines. Contemporaneously virtual information moved from epistemology into computer and information science as computerised data grew in relevance.[footnoteRef:61] Usage in physics similarly continued to grow.[footnoteRef:62] Discussion of Virtual Particles seems contemporaneous with the development of virtual memory, and seems to become popular in the 70s alongside the growth of virtuality in computing.[footnoteRef:63] [61: Folinus, Jeffery J., Stuart E. Madnick, and Howard B. Schutzman, Virtual Information in Data-Base Systems, ACM SIGMOD Record, 6/2 (1974), 115.] [62: Technology, National Research Council (U S. ) Conference on Glossary of Terms in Nuclear Science and, A Glossary of Terms in Nuclear Science and Technology: A Series of Nine Sections (1953), 61; and also Andres, K., J. E. Graebner, and H. R. Ott, 4f-Virtual-Bound-State Formation in CeAl3 at Low Temperatures, Physical Review Letters, 35/26 (1975), 177982.] [63: Denning, 251-2.]

Within computer science, virtual was diversifying further. Whilst virtual hardware remained prevalent, virtual for some began to denote computerisation; virtual time and virtual space (as in a virtual work space) are two examples first seen in the mid-1970s.[footnoteRef:64] In engineering, virtual work became a common term in the mid-1970s to denote the principle of minimal action in studying mechanical systems, an evolution of Aristotles simplicity hypothesis and Occams razor, as did virtual water, meaning the theoretical movement of water in a national or global industrial system.[footnoteRef:65] [64: Denning, Peter J., and Kevin C. Kahn, A Study of Program Locality and Lifetime Functions, ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review, 9/5 (1975), 20716; and also Koenigsberg, Lawrence, Jon A. Meads, John Shaw, Ned Thanhouser, and Steven Vollum, A Graphics Operating System, ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 9/1 (1975), 4248; and also Boi, L., and R. Martin, Simulation of the Demand Paging CII SIRIS 8 System: Principles and Experiments Overview (presented at the 3rd symposium on simulation of computer systems, 1975), 25760 [accessed 26 August 2014].] [65: Yourgrau, Wolfgang, Variational Principles in Dynamics and Quantum Theory (1979), 4; and also Lanczos, Cornelius, The Variational Principles of Mechanics (1970), 132; and also Mrz, Z., and G. I. N. Rozvany, Optimal Design of Structures with Variable Support Conditions, Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, 15/1 (1975), 85101.]

The 70s saw considerable change in the usage of virtual, the rate of which continued through the 80s (see figures 3.4-6), with physics remaining the prominent subject area, but within it virtual increasingly denoting computer simulation. Similarly engineering took on this context in addition to its existing specialist and colloquial uses of virtual.

The discipline of computer science expanded considerably by 1980 (the reasons for which shall be discussed in chapter 4). The scope of publications also increased as discussions of computing applications in other disciplines became more common.[footnoteRef:66] Computerised work and information science became increasingly widespread as computers moved into the workplace en masse.[footnoteRef:67] Terms such as virtual information and virtual existence appear more regularly from the 1980s.[footnoteRef:68] [66: See Hennemuth, R. C., J. E. Palmer, and B. E. Brown, A Statistical Description of Recruitment in Eighteen Selected Fish Stocks, J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci, 1 (1980), 10111; and also Moellering, Harold, Real Maps, Virtual Maps and Interactive Cartography, in Spatial Statistics and Models, ed. by Gary L. Gaile and Cort J. Willmott, Theory and Decision Library, 40 (1984), 10932 [accessed 1 September 2014] for examples.] [67: Dill, John C., and Frank W. Bliss, Computer Graphics - Assessment Of State-Of-The-Art - Part 1: An Overview of Cadence - A Computer Graphics System at General Motors, Part 2: An Overview of the Ford Computer Graphics System (Warrendale, PA, 1 February 1980) [accessed 27 August 2014]; and also Dodds Jr., Robert H., and L. A. Lopez, A Generalized Software System for Non-Linear Analysis, Advances in Engineering Software (1978), 2/4 (1980), 16168; and also Ellis, Clarence A., and Gary J. Nutt, Office Information Systems and Computer Science, ACM Comput. Surv., 12/1 (1980), 2760.] [68: Folinus et. al. 1-2; and also Krakauer, Lawrence Abram, Virtual Information in the INFOPLEX Database Computer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1980) [accessed 27 August 2014].]

Concurrently, discussions of Sutherlands vision for immersion appeared. Immersive virtual spaces were described as useful for computer aided design, and education.[footnoteRef:69] It is also in the early 80s that virtual reality becomes more widespread, though it signifies an imagined rather than computerised reality, and highlights growth of virtual as a buzzword, used by many for noveltys sake.[footnoteRef:70] Notions of computer-generated spaces as being virtual were on the cusp of broader academic awareness in 1980. [69: Walker, D. J., R. W. Verona, and J. H. Brindle, Helmet Mounted Display System for Attack Helicopters, Displays, 2/3 (1980), 12930; and also Benton, Stephen A., Survey Of Holographic Stereograms, 1983, Proceedings of SPIE 0367, 1519 [accessed 1 September 2014]; and also Rabinovitch, Gerard, The Real And Its Holographic Double, 1980, Proceedings of SPIE 0212, 6464 [accessed 26 August 2014].] [70: Levinson, Marjorie, The Book of Thel by William Blake: A Critical Reading, ELH, 47/2 (1980), 287.]

1980 saw increased computer simulation in acoustics, sociology, economics, and geology among others. Virtual sounds, populations and currencies could inform understandings of the real world for the American public.[footnoteRef:71] It also saw growth in articles concerning computer holography, graphics, and interaction for the first time since Sutherland.[footnoteRef:72] Notions of computerised sensory input were increasingly common. Reasons for this adoption of computerisation shall be examined in the following chapter. [71: See Pulkki, Ville, Virtual Sound Source Positioning Using Vector Base Amplitude Panning, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 45/6 (1997), 45666; and also Porter, Elaine Gertrude, Social-Psychological and Communication Factors in Discontinuance of Birth Control Use in the Dominican Republic., 1980 [accessed 27 August 2014]; and also Thornton, R., Technology, Government, And The Future Of The Automobile Industry, 1980 [accessed 27 August 2014] for examples.] [72: Sanford, Robert J., Photoelastic holographyA Modern Tool for Stress Analysis, Experimental Mechanics, 20/12 (1980), 42736; and also Tamura, Poohsan N., Stereophonic Recording And Reconstruction Methods To Generate Real And Virtual Images, 1980, Proceedings of SPIE 0215, 14453 [accessed 27 August 2014]; and also Bazargan, Kaveh, Review Of Colour Holography, 1983, Proceedings of SPIE 1118 [accessed 1 September 2014].]

The 1980s saw considerable change in usage of virtual in academia. Total publications rose significantly from 1980 to 1985, including considerable growth in engineering and niche areas like mathematics. In engineering, virtual was mostly used in virtual work or computer simulation. In mathematics, virtual was mostly linked to rapid growth in computer-aided theory. 1982 sees nascent virtual workspaces with virtual offices in academia, and the benefits of computerised virtual space are increasingly understood academically and commercially.[footnoteRef:73] [73: Markaff, John, Virtual Office Can Be Almost Anywhere You Want It To, InfoWorld, 4/27, 12 July 1982, 3233; and also Licker, Paul, The Computer Programmer as the Model of the Worker in the Automated Office, in The Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Computer Personnel on Research Conference (1983), 3438 [accessed 28 August 2014]; and also Licker, Paul S., Information Careers in the Office of the Future, ACM SIGCPR Computer Personnel, 9/3 (1983), 610.]

The breadth of subjects discussing virtuality in the 1980s renders many statistically invisible. Whilst figures 3.5 and 3.6 might suggest otherwise, the number of disciplines in which virtual appears in publication increases drastically between 1980 and 1990, while a small group of disciplines dominate the field, with less popular disciplines becoming invisible in samples. The total number of publications increased rapidly through the 1980s and beyond (see figure 3.7). By the mid-80s virtual has, for many, a dual meaning: a discipline-specific principle (virtual particles, virtual work etc.), or synthetic space, both in and ex-silico. A paradigm shift for many regarding virtual comes in 1988. Jaron Lanier, having spent years working on immersive VR equipment, used virtual reality for the products of his company, VPL.[footnoteRef:74] Whilst the term was not new, the connotation was, and it drew broad attention. The term stuck, resulting in an explosion in literature on VR, virtual worlds, and space. This was accompanied by a growing usage of virtual in academia and popular literature as meaning something computerised. While this was visible in the early 80s, it grew rapidly from the late 80s into the 90s.[footnoteRef:75] [74: Kevin, Kelly, An Interview with Jaron Lanier, Whole Earth Review, Fall, 1988, 10819; and also Heilbrun, Adam, A Vintage Virtual Reality Interview, Jaron Lanier (1986), [Accessed 28 August 2014].] [75: Wyshynski, Susan, and Vincent John Vincent, Chapter 6 - Full-Body Unencumbered Immersion in Virtual Worlds: (The Vivid Approach and the Mandala VR System), in Virtual Reality, ed. by ALAN WEXELBLAT (1993), 12344 [accessed 1 September 2014]; and also Bricken, William, Virtual Reality: Directions of Growth, Notes from the SIGGRAPH, 90 (1990), 9091.]

1990 was a key turning point in the history of VR, with more publications using virtual being about virtual reality or computer science than physics (see figure 3.6), totalling almost three times the number of physics publications.

As usage increased, meaning expanded (figure 3.8), and became increasingly blurred in popular media. By 1990, virtual reality and virtual worlds were established in public and academic awareness. Contemporary literature reflects this, with perceived applications of VR ranging across education, manufacturing, commerce, entertainment, sex, and war.[footnoteRef:76] [76: See Blanchard, Chuck, Scott Burgess, Young Harvill, Jaron Lanier, Ann Lasko, Mark Oberman, and others, Reality Built for Two: A Virtual Reality Tool, in Proceedings of the 1990 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, I3D 90 (New York, NY, USA, 1990), 3536 [accessed 28 August 2014]; and also Bricken, William, Learning in Virtual Reality. ERIC Viewpoints, 1990 [accessed 28 August 2014]; and also Pentland, Alex, Computational Complexity Versus Virtual Worlds, in Proceedings of the 1990 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, I3D 90 (New York, NY, USA, 1990), 18592 [accessed 28 August 2014]; and also Bricken Learning, 9091; and also Mercurio, Philip J., Thomas Erickson, D. Diaper, D. Gilmore, G. Cockton, and B. Shackel, Interactive Scientific Visualization: An Assessment of a Virtual Reality System., in INTERACT, 1990, 74145 [accessed 1 September 2014] for examples.]

Virtual became increasingly popular through the 1990s (figures 3.9 -10). Circa 1995-96 overall publication numbers increased drastically, and virtual became considerably more visible (figure 3.9-12). Usage of virtual as meaning computer enabled, including simulations and online, became far more common, as did virtual space in any computerised medium. Causes for this growth will be discussed in chapter 4. Similarly meanings of virtual developed. Self-publication and web-journals led to increases in publishing in, among other areas, VR research. By 2000, considerable literature concerning the technology, social ramifications and potential uses of virtual reality and virtual space was available.[footnoteRef:77] Concurrently, virtual became established as a popular byword for anything accessible online: virtual chat rooms, hangouts, libraries, and shops were all commonplace.[footnoteRef:78] [77: See Shivakumar, K. N., P. W. Tan, and J. C. Newman Jr, A Virtual Crack-Closure Technique for Calculating Stress Intensity Factors for Cracked Three Dimensional Bodies, International Journal of Fracture, 36/3 (1988), R43R50; and also Herz, J.C. C., Surfing on the Internet: A Netheads Adventures on-Line, 1st edn (Boston, MA, USA, 1995); and also Satava, Richard M., Medical Applications of Virtual Reality, Journal of Medical Systems, 19/3 (1995), 27580; and also Wiederhold, Brenda K., Virtual Reality in the 1990s: What Did We Learn?, CyberPsychology & Behavior, 3/3 (2000), 31114 for examples.] [78: See OMalley, Michael, Building Effective Course Sites: Some Thoughts on Design for Academic Work, Inventio, 2 (2000), 111; and also Orick, Jan T., The Virtual Library: Changing Roles and Ethical Challenges for Librarians, The International Information & Library Review, 32/3-4 (2000), 31324; and also. Yetkiner, I. Hakan, and Csilla Horvth, Macroeconomic Implications of Virtual Shopping: A Theoretical Approach, Managing Internet and Intranet Technologies in Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities, 2000, 104 for examples.]

In the run up to 2000, literature increasingly discussed the sociological, psychological and physiological ramifications of the use of virtual space, particularly with regards to internet addiction, and the use of VR in training and psychological rehabilitation.[footnoteRef:79] Specialist uses of virtual became so relatively sparse as to almost disappear, even though their absolute numbers grew. Virtual as supposition (e.g. virtually destitute) persisted throughout literature, as did virtual hardware and virtual particles, but form a small minority compared to computerised virtuality in the 21st century. [79: Constable, Nicole, Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and Mail Order Marriages (2003); and also Brook, James, and Iain A. Boal, Resisting the Virtual Life: The Culture and Politics of Information (1995) [accessed 28 August 2014]; and also Fernback, Jan, and Brad Thompson, Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? (1995) [accessed 28 August 2014].]

By 2000 however emphasis seemed to shift away from VR and toward virtual space, especially online. A prevalent topic was interpersonal exchange of data, primarily via the internet and World Wide Web (figures 3.11-12), particularly the contributive virtual spaces of DiNuccis Web 2.0.[footnoteRef:80] Possible causes for this shift shall be discussed in the following chapter. [80: DiNucci, Darcy, Fragmented Future, Print, 53/4, August 1999, 32, 22122.]

In these two figures the distribution of usages of virtual changes from 1995 to 2000. In 1995 the majority of uses of virtual within the broader subject of virtual reality/virtual space pertain to immersive virtual reality, by 2000, the majority pertain to computerised virtual space.

Around 2000 VR was increasingly re-named as Immersive Virtual Reality (or IVR) highlighting a disconnect between it and more easily accessible virtual spaces.[footnoteRef:81] An unusual trend is revealed at this point however, whilst overall publication numbers increased, the proportion of those concerning virtual reality decreased from around 58% of publications in 1995 to around 26% in 2000. Within the growth in virtual literature there is a real-terms decline VR publishing. [81: Pugnetti, Luigi, Laura Mendozzi, Achille Motta, Annamaria Cattaneo, Elena Barbieri, and Aaron Brancotti, Evaluation and Retraining of Adults Cognitive Impairments: Which Role for Virtual Reality Technology?, Computers in Biology and Medicine, 25/2 (1995), 21327; and also Hiltz, Starr Roxanne, Teaching in a Virtual Classroom, International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1/2 (1995), 18598.]

Use of virtual however continued to alter across academia as a whole. Within the meteoric growth of publications at this time, computer science and virtual space studies still form the largest categories, but increasingly overlap with social science, engineering, medicine, chemistry, and others, as virtual technologies became commonplace (figures 3.13-14).

Research on VR and virtual space continued to decline proportionally throughout the 2000s. Concurrently, virtual increasingly denoted computerised processes such as; internet-based heritage, law and policing, trading, and training. These all used virtual space rather than IVR.[footnoteRef:82] Unsurprisingly therefore, publications concerning IVR decreased from 2000-10 while overall publications, and broader internet studies, incorporating virtual law, education, and life, grew (figure 3.15). [82: See Carr, Karen, and Rupert England, Simulated and Virtual Realities: Elements of Perception (Kentucky, 1995), 98; and also Psotka, Joseph, Immersive Training Systems: Virtual Reality and Education and Training, Instructional Science, 23/5-6 (1995), 40531; and also Stone, R., and T. Ojika, Virtual Heritage: What Next?, IEEE MultiMedia, 7/2 (2000), 7374; and also Greenhalgh, C., and S. Benford, MASSIVE: A Distributed Virtual Reality System Incorporating Spatial Trading, in , Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems, 1995, 1995, 2734; and also Byassee, William S., Jurisdiction of Cyberspace: Applying Real World Precedent to the Virtual Community, Wake Forest Law Review, 30 (1995), 197, for examples. ]

By 2010, virtual spaces were widely used in academic research and practice, particularly medicine, engineering, social science, chemistry, ecology, and archaeology.[footnoteRef:83] Virtual reconstruction, simulation, and education permeated disciplines, all using virtual environments. Medicine also employed IVR considerably in training, rehabilitation, and pre-surgery warmups.[footnoteRef:84] Virtual changed in meaning for many over the previous decade, meaning computerised for the bulk of American academics. Similarly simulation now held predominantly computer-generation connotations over imagination. [83: See Bawaya, Michael, Virtual Archaeologists Recreate Parts of Ancient Worlds, Science, 327/5962 (2010), 14041; and also Sequeira, Lus Miguel, and Leonel Caseiro Morgado, Virtual Archaeology in Second Life and Opensimulator, Journal For Virtual Worlds Research, 6/1 (2013) [accessed 29 August 2014]; and also Barreau, Jean-Baptiste, Ronan Gaugne, Yann Bernard, Gatan Le Cloirec, and Valrie Gouranton, Virtual Reality Tools for the West Digital Conservatory of Archaeological Heritage, in Conference on Virtual Reality, 2014, 14 [accessed 1 September 2014]; and also Zurell, Damaris, Uta Berger, Juliano S. Cabral, Florian Jeltsch, Christine N. Meynard, Tamara Mnkemller, and others, The Virtual Ecologist Approach: Simulating Data and Observers, Oikos, 119/4 (2010), 62235; and also Meroney, Robert N., and Russ Derickson, Virtual Reality In Wind Engineering: The Windy World Within The Computer, Journal of Wind and Engineering, 11/2 (2014), 1126 for examples.] [84: See Golomb, Meredith R., Brenna C. McDonald, Stuart J. Warden, Janell Yonkman, Andrew J. Saykin, Bridget Shirley, and others, In-Home Virtual Reality Videogame Telerehabilitation in Adolescents With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 91/1 (2010), 18.e1; and also Snider, Laurie, Annette Majnemer, and Vasiliki Darsaklis, Virtual Reality as a Therapeutic Modality for Children with Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 13/2 (2010), 12028; and also Lerner, Michelle A., Mikias Ayalew, William J. Peine, and Chandru P. Sundaram, Does Training on a Virtual Reality Robotic Simulator Improve Performance on the Da Vinci Surgical System?, Journal of Endourology, 24/3 (2010), 46772; and also Calatayud, Dan, Sonal Arora, Rajesh Aggarwal, Irina Kruglikova, Svend Schulze, Peter Funch-Jensen, and others, Warm-up in a Virtual Reality Environment Improves Performance in the Operating Room:, Annals of Surgery, 251/6 (2010), 118185 for examples.]

Concurrently, virtual was adopted widely by internet studies, incorporating anything experienced through computer (not necessarily online), and almost all disciplines had some form of virtual practice, increasing the diffusion of virtual in literature.[footnoteRef:85] [85: Consalvo, Mia, and Charles Ess, The Handbook of Internet Studies (2011); and also Page, Diana, and Richard G. Platt, Virtual Teams: Meeting the Next Challenge for Experiential Education, Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, 27/0 (2014) [accessed 29 August 2014].]

From 2005-10, usage referring to IVR entered a sharp decline (from over 90,000 articles to over 30,000). Virtual hardware remained a common usage in computer science. Predominantly during the 2000s, virtual referred to some form of computerised simulation, but not an immersive experience. Following 2010, growth continued, but IVR research continued to decline. Virtual was rarely used in the context of Sutherlands vision, instead captioning anything computerised. Usage often pertained to virtual environments like videogames and virtual spaces like Second Life and Facebook, continuing existing trends.[footnoteRef:86] [86: See Baltar, Fabiola, and Ignasi Brunet, Social Research 2.0: Virtual Snowball Sampling Method Using Facebook, Internet Research, 22/1 (2012), 5774; and also Back, Mitja D., Juliane M. Stopfer, Simine Vazire, Sam Gaddis, Stefan C. Schmukle, Boris Egloff, and others, Facebook Profiles Reflect Actual Personality, Not Self-Idealization, Psychological Science, 2010 [accessed 29 August 2014]; and also Wiecha, John, Robin Heyden, Elliot Sternthal, and Mario Merialdi, Learning in a Virtual World: Experience With Using Second Life for Medical Education, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12/1 (2010) [accessed 29 August 2014]; and also Honey, Michelle, Kelley Connor, Max Veltman, David Bodily, and Scott Diener, Teaching with Second Life: Hemorrhage Management as an Example of a Process for Developing Simulations for Multiuser Virtual Environments, Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 8/3 (2012), e79e85; and also Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein, Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media, Business Horizons, 53/1 (2010), 5968; and also McMahan, R.P., D.A Bowman, D.J. Zielinski, and R.B. Brady, Evaluating Display Fidelity and Interaction Fidelity in a Virtual Reality Game, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 18/4 (2012), 62633; and also Hamari, Juho, and Vili Lehdonvirta, Game Design as Marketing: How Game Mechanics Create Demand for Virtual Goods, International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 5/1 (2010), 1429 for examples. ]

Usage trends changed in around 2012-13 when publishing on IVR increased (figure 3.16). IVR was increasingly discussed across many disciplines with a wide range of intended uses. For the first time since the early 90s IVR is visible in market analysis.[footnoteRef:87] From 2012-14, trends continued changing, usage retaining much of its 2000s, computerised meaning, but also regaining many connotations with simulated worlds, sensory replacement and immersion (figures 3.17-18). [87: Guttentag, Daniel A., Virtual Reality: Applications and Implications for Tourism, Tourism Management, 31/5 (2010), 63751; and also Pearlman, David M., and Nicholas A. Gates, Hosting Business Meetings and Special Events in Virtual Worlds: A Fad or the Future?, Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, 11/4 (2010), 24765.]

From late 2012, publications discussing wide-ranging uses of IVR have become more widespread across many disciplines, especially, as in the 2000s, medicine during what is, for many, IVRs golden age.[footnoteRef:88] [88: Cerf, Vinton G., Virtual Reality Redux, Communications of the ACM, 57/1 (2014), 77; and also Psotka, Joseph, Educational Games and Virtual Reality as Disruptive Technologies, 2013 [accessed 29 August 2014]; and also Laver, Kate, Stacey George, Susie Thomas, Judith E. Deutsch, and Maria Crotty, Virtual Reality for Stroke Rehabilitation, Stroke, 43/2 (2012), e20e21.]

From 2013-14, much of this literature is tied to Oculus Rift.[footnoteRef:89] Usage by 2014 is mostly divided between IVR, virtual environments (such as websites), and Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). Specialist uses persist (figure 3.18), but form decreasing proportions of the broader corpus. [89: See Bolas, M., P. Hoberman, Thai Phan, P. Luckey, J. Iliff, N. Burba, and others, Open Virtual Reality, in 2013 IEEE Virtual Reality (VR), 2013, 18384; and also Young, Mary K., Graham B. Gaylor, Scott M. Andrus, and Bobby Bodenheimer, A Comparison of Two Cost-Differentiated Virtual Reality Systems for Perception and Action Tasks, in Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Applied Perception, SAP 14 (New York, NY, USA, 2014), 8390 [accessed 29 August 2014]; and also Desai, Parth Rajesh, Pooja Nikhil Desai, Komal Deepak Ajmera, and Khushbu Mehta, A Review Paper on Oculus Rift-A Virtual Reality Headset, arXiv:1408.1173 [cs], 2014 [accessed 29 August 2014]; and also Hoffman, Hunter G., Walter J. Meyer, Maribel Ramirez, Linda Roberts, Eric J. Seibel, Barbara Atzori, and others, Feasibility of Articulated Arm Mounted Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Goggles for Adjunctive Pain Control During Occupational Therapy in Pediatric Burn Patients, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17/6 (2014), 397401; and also Byagowi, Ahmad, Saloni Singhal, Michael Lambeta, Cassandra Aldaba, and Zahra Moussavi, Design of a Naturalistic Navigational Virtual Reality Using Oculus Rift, Journal of Medical Devices, 2014 [accessed 1 September 2014] for examples.]

By 2013, virtual reclaimed much of its 1980s uses, and 2013-14 sees a wide body of literature on virtual technology, including IVR. Whilst virtual did not lose any of its 90s and 2000s usage for computerised and web enabled spaces, it also pertains again to a kind of technology attempted before but never successfully realised. The academic attitude to IVR in 2013-14 is arguably akin to that toward a completely new technology. For the first time since the 80s, IVR is broadly understood to be feasibly applicable in 2013-14. The persistence of uses of virtual to denote online and computerised spaces however provides a context to virtuality missing in the 80s. This time there is a well-established body of virtual worlds and environments already in existence. IVR, therefore, may be seen as an extension of those worlds, a new point of access, or a new means of experiencing extant virtual space. IVR in 2013 and beyond is no longer just a tool for experiencing computer-generated spaces. It is a tool for entering, interacting with, and experiencing the plethora of extant virtual worlds.

Academia[Against a dark background]

The public eye

Journalistic coverage of virtual technologies is sparse across the early history of VR. The overwhelming usage of virtual until the present day is the vernacular virtual as supposition. The first mention of virtual hardware seemingly comes in the Nashua Telegraph in 1970, which is when the RCA 3 and 7, early computers with virtual hardware, were introduced to the consumer market.[footnoteRef:90] [90: Sayre, 56-60; and also Commercial Computers Introduced, Nashua Telegraph (16 September 1970), 14. ]

A fuller technical explanation of the workings of virtual memory came two years later, in the Albuquerque Journal among others, as IBM introduced virtual memory to its main range of commercial machines.[footnoteRef:91] This usage was clearly new, always appearing in inverted commas. The term became increasingly popular, and it appeared in more and more news sources and advertisements. [91: IBM Memory on Big Computer Could Bite Small Firms Income, Albuquerque Journal (3 August 1972), 59.]

Usage of virtual in the context of a virtual reality persists far into colloquial antiquity, appearing in newspapers since at least 1888.[footnoteRef:92] There it meant supposed reality, or reality in practice, rather than synthetic or imaginary space. [92: Auspicious for Galveston, The Galveston Daily News (10 September 1888), section The Daily News, 11.]

The first usage of virtual to mean computerised virtual reality appears in 1988, the year after Laniers coining of the phrase. It was mentioned briefly as an area of expertise held by Doctor Brenda Laurel, a pioneer in virtual reality theory and gender equality in game development.[footnoteRef:93] [93: Beato, G, Girl Games, Wired, 5/04, April 1997, 2123; and also Bloom, Stephen, Nerds, Santa Cruz Sentinel (28 February 1988), section D, D1, D6.]

Books and film concerning virtual space also developed in the 80s. Whilst Gibsons Neuromancer had been the first novel to publicise the notion (but not the name) of virtual reality and of networked virtual spaces like the internet in 1984, he wasnt the first to conceive of a networked virtual environment. That was, arguably, Eye in the Sky, by Dick in the 1950s.[footnoteRef:94] The early 80s did however see several films exploring concepts of simulation and virtual space, at a time when home computing and the internet began registering in American cultural consciousness. Lisbergers Tron, Badhams War Games, and Cronenbergs Videodrome all dealt with virtual existence and virtual space.[footnoteRef:95] [94: Hapgood, Frank, Simnet, Wired, 5/04, April 1997, 811; and also Gibson, William, Neuromancer (London, 1986); and also Dick, Philip K., Eye in the Sky (New York, 1957).] [95: Badham, John, WarGames, 1983; and also Lisberger, Steven, TRON, 1982; and also Cronenberg, David, Videodrome, 1983.]

Growing internet use, coupled with Laniers virtual reality in the late 80s and Trenchs documentary Cyberpunk in 1991 (featuring both Gibson and Lanier), drove notions of IVR into the American Weltanschauung, particularly film.[footnoteRef:96] The first film to clearly discuss VR was Leonards The Lawnmower Man, in 1992, followed in 95 by Longos Johnny Mnemonic.[footnoteRef:97] [96: Trench, Marianne, Cyberpunk, 1991.] [97: Leonard, Brett, The Lawnmower Man, 1992.]

Following Laniers popularisation of virtual reality, journalistic mentions became more common. In 1996 the Indiana Gazette ran a small piece explaining what virtual reality means, because people talk about [it].[footnoteRef:98] Virtual reality was identified as a technology using computer generation to replace the real world with something realistic or unrealistic. [98: NIE Q&A, The Indiana Gazette (4 February 1996), section Leisure, E6.]

However the mid-90s also see a significant change in attitude towards IVR. IVR games and theatres had tried to push into the American market, but were let down by the high contrast between performance and public optimism, which itself had been fuelled by marketing hype, advertising, and popular news sensationalism. Failure (overwhelmingly in the case of the Nintendo Virtual Boy) to meet these expectations in turn fuelled pessimism about the future of IVR technology, increasingly considered in many popular sources to be a pipe dream towards 2000.

In those years, magazine and newspaper coverage continued, though more slowly than in the early-to-mid-90s. Films including the Wachowskis The Matrix and Cronenbergs eXistenZ in 1999 stimulated popular discussion of VR, though in these, IVR is subversive, not empowering (perhaps due to the contemporary growth in online fraud, identity theft, and internet addiction).[footnoteRef:99] Usage of virtual reality in late 90s and early 21st century journalism and magazines increasingly pertains to science fiction, film and video games, not IVR itself, a technology broadly considered impractical or impossible. [99: Wachowski, Andy, and Wachowski, Lana, The Matrix, 1999; and also Cronenberg, David, eXistenZ, 1999.]

As VR moved toward science fiction and away from real-world use, virtual spaces (particularly on the World Wide Web) were moving into the popular sphere. Books concerning internet safety, or explaining what the internet was, became more popular.[footnoteRef:100] With these, virtual in popular media linked increasingly closely with online spaces and computerised activities.[footnoteRef:101] [100: See Reese, Jean, Internet Books for Educators, Parents, and Students (1999); and also Gralla, Preston, How the Internet Works (1998); and also Young, Kimberly S., Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction--and a Winning Strategy for Recovery (1998); and also Raatma, Lucia, Safety on the Internet (1999) for examples.] [101: Beliefnet.com Seeks an Interfaith Niche amid the Internet Maze, The Daily Herald (1 January 2000), section 5, 3; and also Buck, Graham, Virtual Surgery May Become a Reality, The Daily Herald (1 January 2000), section 5, 1; and also Calucci Is on Bloomsburg Universitys Deans List, Standard-Speaker (8 January 2000), 20; and also W, Cyberspace, the Health Frontier, The Salina Journal (12 January 2003), section USA WEEKEND, 8.]

IVR continued in popular journalism, particularly in specialist applications and futurology.[footnoteRef:102] Whilst there was hope for IVRs future, its present remained unfeasible. Since 2012 newspaper, magazine, and online journalism concerning the advantages and potential benefits of contemporary IVR has grown.[footnoteRef:103] Specialist uses are almost invisible. Until late 2012 - early 2013 most sources discussing IVR derided it as a gimmick or pipe dream, but this has decreased since then.[footnoteRef:104] Optimism concerning IVR seemed to return. [102: Rippey, Gail, Schools Compete with Innovative Science and Computer Projects, Tyrone Daily Herald (14 March 2000), 8; and also Holm Warda, Valerie, Up, up and Away, Ukiah Daily Journal (9 January 2000), section A-5, A5.] [103: See Kuchera, 2014; and also Wingfield, Nick, Oculus Rift Headset Aims for Affordable Virtual Reality, The New York Times, 18 February 2013, section Technology [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also Hands on: Oculus Rift Review, TechRadar [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also Stark, Chelsea, Watch Surgery on the Oculus Rift, But Maybe Do It After Lunch, Mashable, 2014 [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also Schroeder, Stan, Report: Facebook Wants to Bring Oculus Rift to Hollywood, Mashable, 2014 [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also I Flew Like a Bird Using Oculus Rift, Gizmodo [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also I Wore the New Oculus Rift and I Never Want to Look at Real Life Again, Gizmodo [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also Heaven, 20; for examples.] [104: The Prophet of Virtual Reality, Kotaku [accessed 30 August 2014]; and also Wingfield, Oculus Rift Headset; and also Orland, Virtual Reality That Doesnt Suck.]

Usage in popular journalism seems slower to change, and more general in scope than in academia. The popularity of virtual as VR waxed and waned with product releases and the market research of Hollywood. In 2014, virtual in the context of IVR seemed to be in its second ascendancy, as IVR once again seems credible.

The Public Eye[Against a dark background]

Chapter 4: Implications for the History of Virtual Reality

Patterns of forceVariations in public attitude, and the influence they have on the consumption of IVR technology are revealed through this semantic study of virtual. A divergence from the broadly accepted history of the technology can be seen through this study and explained below.

Semantic changes in the usage of key words therefore, including changes in distribution and association as well as cognitive meaning, can be seen to bear a close and, in academic contexts, rapid correlation to the development of technologies or concepts with which that word can be associated. Technological innovations in recent years have allowed a prototype IVR device to function far better than any of its predecessors, and the impending technological reality of IVR is reflected in the usage of virtual, much as it was during the aspirational technological reality of the late 1980s and early 90s. As will be seen below, discourse concerning virtual can be seen to reflect and add nuance to elements of the history of VR technology.

The mid-to-late-1960s saw little academic literature using virtual. It was mainly connected to the virtual particles of physics, and only occasionally to virtual hardware in computers. Virtual therefore held several meanings, including virtual hardware, but not virtual environments. The reason for this can be seen in the history of the technology, as IVR wasnt marketable at this time. Computers and software were too rudimentary and too expensive, spatially and monetarily. Usage of virtual at the time can therefore be seen to mirror the technological state of IVR; nascent and impractical, barely meriting mention. Minimal usage matches minimal technology, and IVRs early stunted growth.

In 1966, virtual wasnt even directly associated with Sutherlands notion of what would later become virtual reality. Associations with virtual hardware however can be associated with technological development in computer science, suggesting a correlative (potentially causative) link between word usage and technological development.

A computer with four times the power of one in 1966 could be built by 1970.[footnoteRef:105] This rate of development continued, as such, computer science literature grew through the 1970s. Literature on simulated spaces and virtual experience remained minor. This dearth of literature follows Schroeders lull in IVR development: following The Ultimate Display the technology remained undeveloped as Sutherland moved on to computer graphics, and remained that way until the 80s.[footnoteRef:106] Much like Schroeders lull, this pause was caused predominantly by technological limitations, as IVR was far from the contemporary Zeitgeist. [105: Moore, Gordon, E., Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits, Electronics, April, 19 April 1965, 11417.] [106: Schroeder, 20. ]

The 1970s saw marked changes in the use of virtual, becoming more common within computer science, which in turn saw publication numbers grow. By the mid-70s a large range of disciplines were using virtual for specialist terms. The growth of publications concerning virtual hardware at the time may have driven this change.[footnoteRef:107] In 1977 the first personal computer with graphics, the Apple II, was introduced. Whilst expensive at $1,298 ($5,103 in 2014), it helped domesticate computer graphics, and thus notions of virtual space.[footnoteRef:108] [107: Kurzweil, Ray, The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence (2000); and also Kurzweil, Ray, The Law of Accelerating Returns, 2001 [accessed 4 September 2014]; and also Smart, John M., The Transcension Hypothesis: Sufficiently Advanced Civilizations Invariably Leave Our Universe, and Implications for METI and SETI, Acta Astronautica, 78 (2012), 5568.] [108: Orange Micro, Introducing The Grappler: The Only Interface That Makes Computer Graphics as Easy as Apple Pie, Byte, 06/08, August 1981, 141; and also Wozniak, Stephen, The Apple-II, Byte, 02/05, May 1977, 3446; and also Apple, Introducing Apple II, Byte, 02/06, June 1977, 1516.]

The American Department of Defence, continuing development of computerised flight simulators, was the source of most IVR research at this time. Simulator sickness was extremely common in the 60s-70s, prompting considerable medical literature. However, simulators were semantically different to Sutherlands display and later VR, and notwithstanding remained a small minority.

Whilst physics remained the dominant subject, the spread of computer technology led to rapid growth of computer science literature. Early internet use, and the spread of homebrew software and discussion, helped establish notions of computer graphics as gateways to increasingly complex virtual environments. This in turn drove usage of virtual in relation to computerised space and immersive virtual environments.

The growth of virtual in academic usage hides a plateau in IVR research, corresponding to the slowing of VR research in Schroeders lull, and revealed through changes in the usage of virtual away from immersive environment contexts. Growth in usage of virtual within computer science suggests correlation between the development of computer technology and incidence of virtual in computer science literature. Changes in discourse reflect the history of the technology.[footnoteRef:109] [109: Rheingold, 1992; and also Schroeder, 1996. ]

Into the 1980s, usage of virtual concerning digital space, including the internet and computer simulation became more common. This is seen in books and film as well as magazines and journals, and follows technological developments in the same area. Computers at the time were increasingly fast and affordable, similarly developments in screen technology allowed smaller and brighter screens to be manufactured at lower cost. Simultaneous innovations in motion tracking and computer programming allowed new developments in IVR technology.[footnoteRef:110] The advancement of the component technologies of IVR not only drove research, but discourse, and this can be seen through the usage of virtual at the time shifting towards virtual environments and computer-generation.[footnoteRef:111] [110: Schroeder, 20; and also Biocca, Communication Within Virtual Reality; and also Biocca Virtual Reality Technology.] [111: Rogers, Everett M., Diffusion of Innovations, 4th Edition (2010), 14-5]

Multiple factors contributed to considerable growth of research into virtual worlds in the early 80s, and this is mirrored in increased usage in academic and popular media. Usage of virtual was simultaneously increasingly tied into computerisation and this is mirrored in the history of the technology. Rapid expansion of the computer game design industry contributed heavily to IVR research, as many experts came from a games background, particularly from Atari.[footnoteRef:112] Military research made the most of advancements in other technological sectors, and in 1983 the first networked virtual space was created in the form of SIMNET.[footnoteRef:113] This allowed participation and interaction in a computerised, immersive virtual environment, and could be set against the dark background of growing cultural awareness of sinister generated worlds marked in the popular media of Gibsons Neuromancer and Cronenbergs Videodrome, both in the following year.[footnoteRef:114] [112: Schroeder, 23. ] [113: Hapgood, Simnet; and also Miller, D.C., and J.A Thorpe, SIMNET: The Advent of Simulator Networking, Proceedings of the IEEE, 83/8 (1995), 111423.] [114: Schroeder, 22-3; and also Gibson, William, Neuromancer (London, 1986); and alsoCronenberg, David, Videodrome, 1983.]

Growth of usage of virtual in popular media (largely with connotations of empowerment, entertainment, and escapism), especially the developing usage of virtual to mean computerised simulation at this time, is especially revealing, as it highlights a cultural awareness of the possibility of technologies like IVR. At the same time, there was a growth of usage of virtual in academic contexts. A wide variety of new terms using virtual were being used to describe old and new concepts alike in a wide range of disciplines, but similarly the 1980s also saw the first growth to statistically significant numbers of publications dealing with virtual worlds and the potential of IVR itself. It is in the late 1980s and early 1990s that this study begins to highlight deviations from the broadly accepted and visible history of IVR technology.

Usage of virtual follows not only technological development in IVR, but its place in greater cultural awareness in America at this time, and the rapid growth and multiplication of IVR companies, particularly in Silicon Valley.[footnoteRef:115] Jaron Laniers VPL Research was one of many companies which, by the late 1980s, had functioning IVR sets on the market. Laniers coining of the term virtual reality to denote this kind of technology led to a boom in usage of virtual in both academic and popular contexts. Usage of the word virtual as expression of virtual reality grew rapidly in the late 80s and early 90s, and this can be seen to follow attempts to popularise and commercialise IVR. Something clear from both popular and academic writing at the time is the great optimism with which most people viewed VR. Whilst this optimism is perceived as a continually growing and reinforcing element in the ascendency of IVR technology seen in the work of Schroeder and others, there can also be seen a growing disillusion with the technology from the 1990s onwards. Increasing numbers of popular and academic sources discussed the shortfalls of virtual reality technology, particularly the persistence of lag and the visual incongruity between computer simulation and the real world. The poor quality of graphics at the time led some users of VR to experience what Masahiro Mori called The Uncanny Valley (a term originally from the realm of robotics) meaning a sensation where things seem familiar, but are still obviously synthetic. It is a sensation which some IVR users found disturbing to the point of instinctual revulsion.[footnoteRef:116] These flaws in the face of high public expectations seemed to damage the credibility of the technology as they failed to be met time and again. IVRs growing unpopularity is both revealed and given context by the changing distribution and usage of virtual at this time. [115: Schroeder, 23.] [116: Mori, M., K.F. MacDorman, and N. Kageki, The Uncanny Valley [From the Field], IEEE Robotics Automation Magazine, 19/2 (2012), 98100.; and also Moore, Roger K., A Bayesian Explanation of the Uncanny Valley Effect and Related Psychological Phenomena, Nature, 2 (2012) [accessed 10 September 2014]]

Publication on IVR slowed as overall publications continued to grow rapidly in the second half of the 1990s. The rapid, unparalleled overall growth in academic publications seems closely tied to the fast spread of internet access in 1994 and 1995 by the development of the World Wide Web. The cause of the tapering off of publications specifically concerning IVR seems tied to the growing popular disillusion with the technology. This seems primarily to have developed as IVR failed to meet popular expectations. It resulted in an increasingly visible sense within academia that applications of IVR may be more limited than originally thought in the late 1980s.

In a few years, the future of IVR seems to go from golden, to a mixture of doubt, desperate hope, uncertainty, and frustration.[footnoteRef:117] The prevailing issue of simulator sickness being the most damaging as, for most, it prohibited prolonged use of IVR expected in the manner of, for instance, a television programme or a video game. This shift in attitude towards IVR as a possible future technology rather than one of the present is not visible in earlier histories, but is reflected in the shutdown of numerous IVR companies in the early 90s, not least of which Laniers VPL Research, as well as in the changes in usage of virtual, both academic and popular. [117: See Fisher, Lawrence, Pilots: Simulator Sickness Worries Military, The San Bernadino County Sun (20 February 1989), section A, 1, 12; and also Mavor, Anne, Living in a Virtual World, Indiana Gazette (26 December 1994), 2; and also New Technology Moves Clemson into 21st Century, The Index-Journal (13 February 1994), section 5, 5C; and also Fowlkes, Jennifer E., Robert S. Kennedy, Lawrence J. Hettinger, and Deborah L. Harm, Changes in the Dark Focus of Accommodation Associated with Simulator Sickness, Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 64/7 (1993), 61218; and also Kennedy, Robert S., Norman E. Lane, Michael G. Lilienthal, Kevin S. Berbaum, and Lawrence J. Hettinger, Profile Analysis of Simulator Sickness Symptoms: Application to Virtual Environment Systems, Presence: Teleoper. Virtual Environ., 1/3 (1992), 295301; and also Kolasinski, Eugenia M., Simulator Sickness in Virtual Environments., May 1995; and also Kennedy, Robert S., Norman E. Lane, Kevin S. Berbaum, and Michael G. Lilienthal, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire: An Enhanced Method for Quantifying Simulator Sickness, The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 3/3 (1993), 20320 for examples.]

The first attempt to domesticate IVR came against this background of pessimism with regards to IVR, in the form of Nintendos 1995 Virtual Boy games console. The lack of optimism surrounding it at the time can be seen in the popular response to it in America. It was universally panned for its unconvincing graphics and selection of games. The Virtual Boy didnt cause simulator sickness for most as, unlike most headsets, it had to be mounted onto a flat surface and didnt move. It was still rejected by the public though, not on account of technological bottlenecks (particularly latency and simulator sickness) but on account of a lack of appetite for the technology from a public increasingly convinced that IVR was a pipe dream.[footnoteRef:118] Its rapid removal from shelves in less than a year marked the end of mass-market IVR. Shortly following that, academic and popular discussions in IVR slowed even further, the tone becoming less and less aspirational and more disappointed in popular media. Publications attenuated to predominantly niche applications and business journalism, leaving it a gimmicky technology for those of a nerdy persuasion.[footnoteRef:119] This popular perception of IVR as a technology that recurrently failed to live up to its expectations contributed towards the decline in public appetite for IVR devices and promises in the early-to-mid-90s, and is an element almost completely ignored in existing histories, which remain overwhelmingly optimistic as late as 1996. [118: Orland, Kyle, Virtual Reality That Doesnt Suck; and also Rubin, The Inside Story; and also The Prophet of Virtual Reality, Kotaku.] [119: Bloom, Nerds.]

Usage of virtual shifted again in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and this can be seen to reflect the technological history of VR. In academic writing, virtual as referring to IVR continued to be represented in literature, but increasingly in highly specialised contexts, such as medical and military training. Similarly IVR use moved from the mainstream at this time and into highly specialised contexts, particularly medical education. Incidences of IVR being discussed as popular entertainment or a viable medium for consuming visual media were increasingly rare, and almost non-existent in popular journalism. This too was mirrored in the move of IVR out of vogue. Virtual in the context of IVR continued to decline as a proportion of broader academic and popular texts until 2012. Technological innovation in IVR for the corresponding time period was similarly and unusually slow, as social pessimism persisted.

Throughout the 2000s there was rapid development in computer technology, web science, display technologies, and almost every other technological field. Whilst there were some attempts at IVR headsets and kits during this time for limited specialist usage, it did not find its way back into the mainstream and, from a popular standpoint, was seen by many as an 80s technology. In the manner of Betamax, Laserdisc, Minidisc, and HD DVD storage formats, it was seen as redundant, and supplanted by improved computer displays, including 3D displays from around 2003.[footnoteRef:120] The pessimism of the last attempt to push IVR into popular use remained broadly in the form of disbelief. Unlike Betamax et. al. however, IVR wasnt supplanted by an alternate means to the same end; an immersive synthetic space, but instead non-immersive synthetic space on a screen. Nintendos self-described spiritual successor to the Virtual Boy in 2010, the 3DS, similarly used a 3D screen, not even hinting at the immersion that the Virtual Boy attempted (and, incidentally, being far more successful).[footnoteRef:121] [120: Iizuka, Keigo, Cellophane as a Half-Wave Plate and Its Use for Converting a Laptop Computer Screen into a Three-Dimensional Display, Review of Scientific Instruments, 74/8 (2003), 363639.] [121: Tabuchi, Hiroko, Nintendo to Make 3-D Version of Its DS Handheld Game, The New York Times, 23 March 2010, section Technology; and also Nintendo, Hardware and Software Sales Units, IR Information, 2014 [accessed 9 September 2014].]

Public perceptions of IVR can be seen to lend considerable nuance to the history of the technology, as the difference between display methods can be seen to be far more than semantic or purely technological. Immersive displays remained a future technology; but as computer graphics improved, the desire for immersive computer-generated experience grew, having been piqued, and frustrated in the late 80s and early 90s. The lull in publication and appearance in academic and popular media is tied not to a slowdown of technological development of the component parts of the IVR technology cluster, but to considerable public reluctance, in the face of such technologies and the disappointment they continue to pose. IVR at the time was understood to only gain mass popularity if the viewer could truly believe what they were seeing; for anything less, a screen was far preferable for economic, ergonomic, and experiential reasons. IVR headsets were available throughout the 2000s but were prohibitively expensive for all but institutional or state-funded projects. They also served specific functions - training, education, not entertainment - and they were not sufficiently advanced to merit such use. The appetite for a viable immersive digital experience persisted though, and it was only when it seemed that the appetite might be realistically sated that an earnest interest began to develop. As such, when technology start-up company Oculus pitched their concept for an affordable, zero-latency IVR system to the public, money was quickly donated to build prototypes, a process which continues into 2014.

Even though the device has not been released by time of writing, considerable literature has arisen from those either using development kits or discussing the potential of such devices which, unlike their predecessors, actually seem to work as hoped. Beyond that however, Oculus Rift and, more broadly, the notion of IVR, was being discussed seriously for the first time against a background of existing virtual knowledge and virtual space. The public in general was familiar with virtual conferences, hardware, networks, space, even sex, by 2012. This provided a fertile bed of familiarity and knowledge that helped IVR seem not only technologically feasible, but for the first time, socially incorporable. This has helped reduce broader public concerns as to the feasibility and potential of IVR technology and, through not only crowd-sourcing but also fresh public optimism, an environment for IVR is developing in which it can flourish.

Patterns of Force[Against a dark background]

IVR seems feasible to both the academic community and the broader public for the first time in almost 20 years. This increased interest can be seen in the growth of publications using the word virtual, and the increased usage of virtual to specifically refer to immersive virtual spaces. Once again, the change in distributions of usage, from a small proportion to a large one using virtual to refer to Laniers notion of virtual reality, highlights technological developments and the resulting growth in public appetite for such technologies. This is a trend seen before in the late 1980s, but magnified in 2013 - 14 by the far greater reach of the Internet, and the long accumulating and unsaturated appetite for Laniers virtual reality, Gibsons cyberspace, and Cronenbergs gamepods to become more than a science-fiction dream or, at best, an embarrassing gimmick.Chapter 5: Evaluation

Fallout

This project originally set out to answer two research questions: 1) How does the perceived meaning and significance of the word virtual change over time from 1966 to 2014, and for whom? 2) Can changes in the meaning of the word lend nuance to, or aid revision of, understanding of the history of virtual spaces, particularly virtual reality technology, and, if so, in what ways?

Question one could be said to have been investigated successfully. Changes in usage, distribution, and either inferred or explicit meaning have been examined at intervals from 1966 to 2014. Those changes have been highlighted and discussed; since the usage of virtual has changed greatly from a broader public perspective, and is in a constant state of flux across a wide variety of academic disciplines, in both