Meta what?

[VictorBravo]

I understand and accept changes in word meaning over the centuries, etc. Like the word, "Metaphysics", which original simply meant the volumes after "Physics," referencing Aristotle's works. Makes sense. Meta...beside, after, with, next to, etc.

Of course, over time, metaphysics came to mean something like "beyond physics." Implying that there is a body of knowledge that transcends physics...woo woo stuff. Gnostic insights. Etc.

I had hope in the computer age that with terms like "metadata", we would come closer to the original meaning of "meta." After all, metadata on an email or photo is not transcendent information--it merely is "alongside" information. It tells us when the file was made, how many revisions there where, etc. It does not have any particular "deeper meaning."

Of course, my hopes were permanently dashed when I learned of metalanguage, metacommunication, metasemiotics, and so forth.

But, until the past couple of months, the whole meta-world lay dormant as far as I was concerned. That was until I started to see references to the "metaverse." Since then, Facebook has changed its name to capitalize on it. All the big gaming companies are investing in it. Of course, Microsoft has had a team working on it for quite a while now.

To quote Han Solo, "I have a bad feeling about this, Chewy."

Why? Because "virtual" used to mean "not quite." Now it means "transcendent."

Who needs mud and blood and daily manifestations of the Genesis curse when we can transcend them with VR goggles?

Sometimes I tremble. But I am brought back to earth and our rock-hard-creation-based reality by God's Word. Just this evening 1 John 1:7 straightened my perspective. There is light. There is blood. Our Lord Christ overcomes all this.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 Jn. 1:7 KJV)

 

[Ben Zartman]

On a positive note re: vr. The more nerds that stay in their basement living virtually, the more room there is outside for me to live actually, without bumping into said nerds. The real world was getting too crowded in some places--now it can thin out a little.

 

[Taylor]

On a positive note re: vr. The more nerds that stay in their basement living virtually, the more room there is outside for me to live actually, without bumping into said nerds. The real world was getting too crowded in some places--now it can thin out a little.

Also, such people tend to be less likely to reproduce. That's one of the good things about liberalism in general. Liberals—which often includes gamers—hate children, while genuine Christians tend most often to love them and have lots of them. This means in a generation or three, there won't be many, if any, left.

 

[Gwallard]

Also, such people tend to be less likely to reproduce. That's one of the good things about liberalism in general. Liberals—which often includes gamers—hate children, while genuine Christians tend most often to love them and have lots of them. This means in a generation or three, there won't be many, if any, left.

One of the reasons I really am very concerned for Western civilization in general. For all the virtual reality people are a part of, reality doesn't go away. The internet is part of this, virtual reality only reaches the logical extent.