Virtual Reality

In The Brain
Do We Live in our Brain's
Simulation of the World?
By David Hawkins

NOT WHAT IT SEEMS

TheNewScientistarticle

introcouldhave
beentakenfromthebackofascifinovel.It
didn'tseemlikeacompatibletitlefora
respectedsciencepublication,butthenagain,
truthisoftenstrangerthanfiction.Thiswasn't
anextgenerationvirtualreality(VR)demoa
triponpsilocybin.Thiswas
real.

"A 22-year-old man has been

instantaneously transported
to his family's pizzeria and
his local railway station by
having his brain zapped."

PierreMgevandandhiscolleaguesattheFeinsteinInstituteforMedicalResearchin
Manhasset,NewYork,wantedtopinpointtheareainthebrainwhichprocesseslocationsand
places.Theyscannedthebrainofavolunteerwhileshowingimagesofvariousobjectsand
scenes,thenrecordedthecorrespondingareasofthebrainthatlitup.Theyhadfoundtheir
itch,nowitwastimetoscratch.Theresearcherssimulatedthearea,andthat'swhena
complexvisualhallucinationtransportedthevolunteerbacktoworkatthepizzeria.
Stimulationofanearbyareasummonedthehallucinationofastaircaseandablueclosetin
hishome.Repeatedstimulationofthesameareasbroughtaboutthesamehallucinations.

Theseillusorysimulationsofthemindarehelpingscientiststoidentifythephysiologyofvisual
informationinthebrain,andonadeeperlevel,understandwhat
reality
reallyis.Naturehas
givenusourveryowninternalVRheadset,andithasitsowncoordinatesbetweentheears.
Wethinktheworldweexperienceisexternal,outside,
real
,butthesestudiessuggest
otherwise.Exceptionallyhere,manisplaying'God'manipulatingnormality.Complexvirtual

realityisbroughtaboutonlythroughtargetedstimulationofthebrain.Butitturnsoutthatthe
fencebetween
virtual
realityandrealityisnarrowerandmorericketythanwebelieve.

Inthebook,
Hallucinations,
neurologistOliverSackswalksusthroughmanysurrealcasesof
visualphenomenahe'shadwithpatients.InonecasewelearnofRosalie

,aresidentatone
ofthenursinghomesheworksat.Inhernineties,shehadrecentlystartedtosee"incredibly
realhallucinations",andSackshadbeencontactedtodeducetheemergency.More
surprisingly,however,shewas
completelyblind
.AsshestoodinfrontofDr.Sacksatthe
home,sheclaimedinfacttobehavinghallucinationsrightthen.

"Whatsortofthings?"Sacksasked.

"PeopleinEasterndress!"shebellowed.

Rosaliewasexperiencingwhat'sknownas
CharlesBonnetsyndrome
(CBS),acondition
originallyusedtodescribeanyhallucinationsrelatedtoeyediseaseorotherocularproblems,
butwhichhasnowcometoencompassneurologicalaspectsofhallucinationaswell.CBS
occursinpeoplewithimpairedvisiontheconsequenceofwhenasustainedlackoflight
passingthroughtheeyescausesthevisualcentresofthebraintoweighmoreheavilyon
visualmemory.

Vision in the blind is a very

real phenomenon.
Although people born
blind, having never
experienced vision, are
only able to produce very
simple hallucinations; basic
shapes and patterns.

ThevastmajorityofpeoplewithCBS,including
Rosalie,areabletodisassociatereallifefrom
hallucination.Indeed,thegreatestreliefoften
comeswiththeabilitytoputalabelof
sanity
to
personalaccusationsof
insanity

.Wereitnotfor
thisawarenessasisthecaseinsomeCBS
patientsinternalprojectionswouldunnervingly
becomepartofthe
believed
externalrealityaline
beyondwhichmakesansweringthequestionof
whatrealityis,evenmoredifficult.Wewinduplike
thecharactersinChristopherNolan's2010film
Inception
,whoaren'tabletodistinguishbetween
dreamsandreality.

Butbeforeyoucountyourluckyblessings,ifyou'veeverthoughtyou'dseenaghostora
personyouknow,onlytolookandrealiseyouwerewrong,thenyouhavebeenatthe
receivingendofyourmind'sprojections.Theonlydifferencehere,isthatyou'reableto
reframetheerrorafterwards.Ineffect,youhaveatotemthatstopsspinning
.

Forthosewithpooreyesight,
having
hallucinationsturnsouttobetheruleratherthanthe
exception.Ifeyesightisevenmoderatelyblurry,onedoesnotneedtogetone'sbrain'zapped'

inordertoexperienceinternalprojections.Sackssharesanexperimentconductedin1999:
"RobertTeunisseandhiscolleagues,studyingapopulationofnearlysixhundredelderly
patientswithvisualproblemsinHolland,foundthatalmost15percentofthemhadcomplex
hallucinationsofpeople,animals,orscenesand
asmanyas80percenthadsimple
hallucinations
shapesandcolors,sometimespatterns,butnotformedimagesorscenes."

(Emphasismine.)

Withoutforcefulstimulation,you'renotlikelytofindyourselfatwork(Godforbid).But
simple
hallucinationsarefarmorecommonthanreportedinanyonewithlessthanperfectvision.You
andIarewiredtosee.Andinthecaseofhallucinations,whenourvisualsystemsarenot
adequatelystimulated,aportionorallofthevisualfieldbecomesconcoctedby[the]brain
ormind."

Lessapparenthere,isthathallucinationisalsoaconsequenceofsocialstigma,
helpingtoexplainitsperceivedscarcity.("Mum,IthinkGrannyhasfinallylosthermarbles.")
Although,asSacksdoesnote,there
are
manyculturesaroundtheworldwhocelebrate
hallucinationparticularlythoseofshamanicdescent

Theseexamplesdemonstratethatoursanity,whichI'lldefinehereastheabilitytoperceive
andliveinaunanimouslycoherentfashion,isapreciousstateofmindindeed.Awelltargeted
brainzap,theremovaloflighttotheeyeforanextendedperiodoftime,anditbecomesclear
thatexternalrealitydoesn'texist
only
externally.

WHAT IS REALITY?
Whatisreality?15seconds,apparently.

Moretothepointthe
previous
15secondsofthis
verymoment.It'santheorythatwascoinedinearly
2014asthe'continuityfield'thediscoverythatwe
seemtomergetogethersimilarschemataseen
withintheprevious15secondtimeframe.

"Life comes at us very

quickly, and what we
need to do is take that
amorphous flow of
experience and
somehow extract
meaning from it."

VisionscientistandassociateprofessorofpsychologyatUCBerkeley,DavidWhitney,
explainsinaninterview:"Thecontinuityfieldsmootheswhatwouldotherwisebeajittery
perceptionofobjectfeaturesovertime."

Withoutavisualsystemtorecalibratethecurrent
sceneforwhatwealreadyknowandbelieve,dailylifewouldbemorelikeanoverwhelmingly,
"jarringacidtrip"

.(Aconcreteexampleofthisprocessinactionisourtendencytomiss
continuityerrorsinfilms

.)Morepertinently,it'salsohypothesizedthatthis15seconddelay
actually
shields
usfromhallucinogenicexperiencesbystabilisingtheincomingflowofvisual
information

,whichinvitesthequestionofwhetherhallucinogenicdrugsdisruptthisfunction
inparticular.

"This is surprising because it means the visual system sacrifices

accuracy for the sake of the continuous, stable perception of
objects."
Aswithbreakthroughsintheunderstandingofmanypsychologicalphenomena,we'reoffered
ararewindowintotheinnerworkingsofthebrainwhenthingsgoawry.

"Psychiatricpatientssometimeshavedelusivebeliefs,asiftheyareinanalternativereality,
andschizophrenicsmayalsoexperienceperceptualhallucinationsliterallyseeingthings
thatarenotthere,"saysKeisukeSuzukiinTheGuardian

.He'stheleadauthorofapaper
describing
TheSubstitutionalReality

system
(SR),developedbyresearchersattheRIKEN
BrainScienceInstitute'sLaboratoryforAdaptiveIntelligence.

"Ourmotivationistoexplorethecognitivemechanismsunderlyingourstrongconvictionin
reality.Howcanpeopletrustwhattheyperceive?"Suzukiasks.TheSRsystemhasbeen
developedtomanipulatehealthy"participants'perceptionofreality",andcouldbecomea
importanttoolinunderstandingthecapacitytodiscernbetweensimulationsofthebrainand
objectiverealityparticularlyinpsychiatricconditionssuchasschizophrenia.

Inanexperimentdesignedaroundthistechnology,aparticipantsatinaroomwearingaVR
headsetsimilartothe
OculusRift
.Theywerethenplayedalternatelyliveandrecorded
footageofasimilarsceneatdifferenttimestoseeiftheynoticedachange.Critically,the
majority
ofparticipantsfailedtodistinguishbetweenwhatwasreal(live)andwhatwasnot
(recorded).Perfectlynormal,healthyindividualswereunabletoreframetheerrorafterthe
fact.
Thistime,thetotemkeptonspinning

Tounderstandwhythisis,itwillhelpifwe
drawapictureofhowvisualinformationis
handledonceinsidethebrain.Inthe
illuminatingbook
PhantomsoftheBrain
,
neuroscientistV.S.Ramachandran
revealsthatwithinthebrain,thereare
overthirtydifferentmapsconcernedwith
visionalone.[Likewisefortactileor
somaticsensationstouch,jointand
musclesense]."

"Seven out of ten participants

could not detect that the
given scene was recorded [...].
The participant was not
certain whether he was
experiencing live or recorded
scenes."

Itsthesemapswhich
simulate
thehumanbodyinaphysicalspace.Everypartofthebodyis
plottedinacorrespondingmapwithinthebrain,andcategorisedbypart.Thebodymapfor
handsliesnexttothebodymapforthefaceandupperarmgenetaliasitsnexttothefeet

.
Thefinitesizeofthesemaps(evenwiththeincreasedsurfaceareafrombeingscrunchedup

withintheskull)limittheamountofinformationwhichcanbeprocessedandstoredfromthe
outsideworld.

Youmightalmostimagineacollectionof
scrunchedup
worldmapsforeachbodypart,
juxtaposedtoeachotherinanarrowschoollocker.Withatouchonthebodyaforearm,
indexfinger,thelowerbackasmalllightisseenappearingatdifferentpointsonthemapsto
representthefiringofassociatedclustersofnervecells.(Inneuropathologies,suchasaftera
stroke,atouchofthefacecanbeexperiencedinthehandanorgasmcanbeexperiencedin
thefoot

.)Giventhebrain'scomparativelysmallsizeagainsttheinformationoverloadof
objectivereality,itmightbesaidthatevolutionhasmadeanextremelysmartcompromise
internally,sothatwecangoaboutourlivesinacoherentfashion.

But assuming we can only process a limited feed of the world, it

doesn't explain why experience
seems
coherent.
Bylimitinginformation,theexternalworldbecomeslargelyanassumptiveblurtothebrain

,
concentratinglimitedresourcesonthenarrowwindowofobjectiverealitythatisthefocal
crosshairofourdirectgazethewordyou'relookingatrightnowthroughyourfoveaasmall
depressionintheretinaofyoureyewherevisualacuityishighest.Thismodestfeedisthen
heavilyaugmentedthoughmemorisedexperience,alathecontinuityfield.(Incidentally,this
necessary
augmentation
toourconsciouslivesmayexplainthemysteryofchildhood
amnesia,whichistheinabilitytorecallexperiencebeforetheageof3.Onlyimplicitmemories
canbeformedbeforethisperiod

.Afoundational,'continuityfield'maybeneededfor
experiencetobecoherentenoughtobecomeconscious.)

Significantly,however,this
peripheral

blur
hasnecessitatedanextrasensitive'dangertrigger',
ensuringthatanypossiblethreatisbroughtintofocuswithaturnofthehead,orashiftingof
theeyes

.Allthingsconsidered,itisaneffectiveadaptationformaximisingcoherenceand
survivabilityinauniverseincomprehensibletoa"threepoundmassofjelly"(as
Ramachandranhasbeenknowntocallit).

Historically,thisadaptationmighthaveproduceda,"couldthatbeasabretoothedtigerinthe
bush?"aswewalkdownthepath.Inthemodernworld,though,we'remorelikelytogetthe
chronic
dangertrigger:"Isthatwar6,000kmawayapossiblethreattome?"Worryingly,our
bestresponsetoremediatethisinflamedtriggertodayseemstobethroughapathy,
medicationorboth

.(Althoughsomemighthavereducedtheproblemsomewhatwitha
smart
lowinformation
diet

.)Apathyandmedicationaresurfacelevelresponses,however.
Lessapparentisanotherofnature'singeniousadaptationstoresolvingthecognitive
dissonanceofthisgreatuncertainty:givetheconsciousmindthe
impression
thatit
is
getting
thefullpicture

Theoverwhelmingblurinour

perceptuallivesis
filtered
forthe
consciousmindtobeasconcreteas
thewordyou'renowlookingat.This
adaptationhasassistedusincoping
withthechaoticuncertaintyweface
everyday.

"Our nervous system uses past

visual experiences to predict
how blurred objects would look
in sharp detail."

Afascinatingpsychopathology,anosognosia,isanextremeexampleofthismechanicgone
wrong.Alsoin
PhantomsoftheBrain
:

Anosognosiaisanextraordinarysyndromeaboutwhichalmostnothingisknown.Thepatient
isobviouslysaneinmostrespectsyetclaimstoseeherlifelesslimbspringinginto
actionclappingortouchingmynoseandfailstorealizetheabsurdityofitall."

ConsiderthecaseofMrsDodds

,whohadbeenleftcompletelyparalyzedontheleftsideof
herbodyafterastroke:

Ramachandran:Mrs.Dodds,canyoutouchmynosewithyourrighthand?"

Shedidsowithnotrouble.

Ramachandran:"Canyoutouchmynosewithyourlefthand?"

Herhandlayparalyzedinfrontofher.

Ramachandran:"Mrs.Dodds,areyoutouchingmynose?"

MrsDodds:"Yes,ofcourseI'mtouchingyournose."

Thediscrepancybetweentheinternalmapsofrealityandtheexternalfeedofferarare
glimpseintothemind'scompulsiontocreatecoherenceintheworld.AsRamachandran
notes,theoddbehaviorofthesepatientscanhelpussolvethemysteryofhowvariousparts
ofthebraincreateausefulrepresentationoftheexternalworldandgeneratetheillusionofa
"self"thatenduresinspaceandtime."

Oflargerconsequenceperhaps,thisnaturallimitationhasledtoasystemicfalseconfidence,
producingcompletelyunreasonableeconomicgamblesinmodernsociety

.Arbitrarily,we've
beenmakingconfidentdecisionsontheassumptionthatwe'regetting100%ofthepicture,
butreallygettingjust10%ofthepicturewith90%peripheralblur.

Moreaccurately,formerchiefengineerforSunMicrosystemsMichaelDeeringpublished
researchin1998,findingthat,"acrosstheentirevisualfield,thehumanvisualsystemcan

perceiveapproximatelyonlyonefifteenththevisualdetailthatwouldbediscernibleiffoveal
resolutionswereavailablefortheentirefield."

Inhumans,thefovearepresentsahigh
resolutionbutverynarrowfieldofviewabout12degrees.Forthisreason,theeyesdart
aroundsimultaneouslyalasaccades,focusingonnovelandmemorydirectedstimuliof
interestwiththeeyesthroughthevestibuloocularreflex(VOR)andforminga
threedimensionalmapinthebrainwithanemphasisonthe
novel
and
interesting
.Again,this
istoconserveresources.Wefavourthecontextualgestaltoveraccurateminutiae.(To
demonstratethefallibilityofthissystemandtheroleofmemory,considerthemysterious
Spelunker'sillusionthe'confident'beliefthatonecan
see
theirownhandsincomplete
darkness,yetatthesametimenotthehandsofsomeoneelse.)

Peripheral blur is, in a very real sense, subject to the same

conditions as visual impairment. As such, it can produce the same
hallucinations in perfectly healthy people.
Weareleadingourselvesintoincreasinglypunitivecrisesaroundtheworld,allthewhile
maskingthesourceoftheproblem.Hindsight
appears
tobe20/20,andthesefundamental
limitationsofthoughtleadustobelievethatwe
can
learnfromourmistakes.Bynofaultofour
own,wefindourselvesunderestimatingthecomplexityofthefuture.Aslongashumansare
inthedrivingseatandtechnologycontinuestoempowerindividuals(particularlythosewith
economicpower)there'snoimmediatereasonwhythesebaselinemechanicswon'tproduce
globaleventswithramificationssohugewecanbarelyappreciatethemtoday.

Byreconcilinguncertainty,naturehasallowedtheconsciousthinkertogetoutofbedinthe
morningwithoutcavingundertheimmenseconditionalityoflife,butit'snecessarilyturnedus
intodecisionmakingbuffoons.(Particularlywhenitinvolvespredictingtheinherently
un
predictablefuture.)

Tomakethingsevenworse,oncewe
have
madeadecision,weunwittinglyanchorourselves
toitthroughawholehostofheuristicsandbiases

whichservetofurtherincreaseour
perceivedsenseofselfimportance,righteousnessandcontrolintheworld.(Anadditional
layerofcoherence.)Tonamejustthreebiaseswhichfurtherpartusfromobjectivetruth:

THE CONFIRMATION BIAS

Theconfirmationbiasnarrowsourworldviewinordertohaveus
confirm
whatwealready
know,closingourattentionstonewandinparticularconflictinginformation.Theresultis
reducedcognitivedissonance,fueledonincreasedperceivedhappiness.(Theworldbecomes
ostensiblylesscomplex,reducinganxietyandeffectivelyincreasingwellbeing.)

THE HINDSIGHT BIAS

Thehindsightbiasleadsustosimplifythepasttoaformfactorwecanunderstand.Steve
Jobsoncesaidthatyoucanonlyjointhedotslookingback

.Thisstatementisnotjusta
shrewdphilosophy.Presentlyandinthefuture,therearetoomany'dots'tocomprehend.Our
brainunconsciouslyrearrangesandsimplifies

ourmemoriessothatwhenwelookback,we
canmakesenseofourlives.Thisgivesustheretrospectiveillusionthatwecanapply
(simplified)pastlessonstothe(incomprehensible)future.Weassumethe
dotdensity
never
changes.

Existential coherence, it might

be said, is a retrospective
illusion, caricatured in
Geschwind syndrome; the
neurotic capacity to find
exquisite meaning in life. More
normally, to
expect
coherence
presently and in the future is to
invite depression.

THE OPTIMISM BIAS

Whileambiguityaccentuatesour
dangertriggeratoneextreme,it
increasesourdispositiontowards
seeingtheworldthrough
rosecoloured
glasses

attheother.Fantasiesthrive
onhavingfreedomagainsttheheavy
burdenofobjectivereality.Thisbiasis
constantlyrecalibratedthroughoutlife,
fromthestarryeyedkindergartnerall
thewaytothejadedairtraffic
controller.

DO WE LIVE IN OUR BRAIN'S SIMULATION OF THE WORLD?

Thesimpleanswerisno.Thebrainworksintandemwiththeobjectiveworld,albeitthrough
anarrowwindowbolsteredheavilythroughpreexistingmemoriesofthepastsoasnottobe
overwhelmed.Furtherenquirytoday,however,passesthetorchtophilosophy,withits
millenniaofpolarisedEasternandWesternthoughtquestioningthetruenatureofreality.It
suggestswemeetsomewhereinthemiddle.

At one end, the East practices holistic subjectivity with a fatalistic

acceptance of the world as it is; a sacred gestalt. At the other, the
insatiable objectivity of the Capitalist West with it's obsession for
reductionism; a scientific pursuit of the truth which winds up
lifeless. We see the dots rather than the Dalmatian.
Thebetter(strictlyWestern)questiontoaskperhapsliesindeterminingtheactualratio
betweensubjectiveandobjectivereality,whichproduceswhatwecallexperience.Butthe
problemwiththepursuitofquantificationisthatweenteraworldofcontradictionasweleave

thesafetywallsofNewtoniandeterminismfortherandomuniverseofHeisenberg's
uncertaintyprinciple.Weattempttostudythe
objective
brainthroughafundamentally
subjective
lensthebrain.Onthefringeofourworldlyunderstanding,webumpupagainst
thePandora'sboxofQuantumMechanicsthedoubleslitexperiment,aswellasother
unsolved,possiblyneurorelatedmysteriesinPhysics.

Thisratio,ifthereissuchathing,willfluctuatebetweenpeopleonanaxisofvarious
conditionssuchaswhatwe'veexploredinthispieceneuralstimulation,thedegreeof
pathology,selfawareness.Certainly,thescienceofhallucinationanditssurprisingubiquity
makesitclearthatrealityismoresubjectivethanmostofuswouldthink.Andthismakes
senseconsideringthatwhatweseeisdeterministically
outside
ofourselves.Sensibly,it's
reasonedtoderivefromthere.Butthatinsighttakesusbarelyclosertofindingasatisfying
scientificanswer.

Giventhatsubjectiveexperienceisdifferentforeveryone,agoodstartingplaceperhapsis
withtheintegrityofone'sopticalandneuralvisualsystems(eyesandbrain)againsttheflow
ofvisualinformationavailabletothesesystems.(Outsidelight/stimulation.)Withanyonecog
departingfromwhatcouldbeconsiderednormal,neuralartifactsbegintoappearveryquickly
andthe
brain
takesanincreasinglysizeablepieceoftheperceptualpie.Thiswaswitnessed
throughourvolunteerwhowasvividlytransportedbacktohisfamily'spizzeriathrough
brainstimulation,ormoreseverelythroughpsychiatricproblemslikeCharlesBonnet
syndromeandschizophrenia.

Weknowpeoplecanbedrawnintoamazecontrivedsolelyfromtheirownmindwhether
throughneuropathology(asHollywoodhasbountifulaccountsof),orinhealthybrainsthrough
dreaming.Buthowfardoestherabbitholegotheotherway?Isitepitomizedthroughan
overstimulatingacidtripwhentheneuralbarriersonobjectivityarecompromised?Orarewe
backtothebrainagain?

Disconcertingly,experimentslikethoseconductedthroughthe
SubstitutionalReality

system
(SR)revealthatevenfullyhealthyindividualsarenotexemptfromafailuretocalibrate
subjectiveandobjectivereality.Whetherwelikeitornot,theworldisblurrytousall.
Pinpointingthetransitionbetweenrecordedandliverealityseemsintractable,butitdoes
inviteoneconsiderationthatmaybeit'stimetostartlookingforour
own
totems.

Coding Consciousness
Manyofthebrightestmindstodayareattheforefrontofunderstandingourperceptual
relationshipwithtechnology,butfewareaspoisedtomakestunningbreakthroughsinthis
arenathanvirtualrealitycompanyOculus,nowownedbyFacebook.Theyhavedeeper
pocketsthanthemostIvyleagueofuniversityresearchdepartments,andhavethe

intellectualbruntofsomeoftheworld'ssmartestscientistswhenitcomestobridgingthe
digitalandbiologicaldivide.

Thatbridge,however,isstilldividedbyachasmofignorance.Westillbarelyhavea
frameworkforhowthehumanbrainworksforonething.Inearly2014,amousebrainwas
mappedforthefirsttime

amammothachievementinthefieldofconnectomics(thefieldof
brainmapping),involvingasingleconnectomeof75millionneurons.Butthecompletemapof
thehumanbrainisstillnowheretobeseen.Afeatthatwouldbringadegreeof
understandingthatwoulddoubtlesstranslateintoenhancingvirtualrealitytechnology.

Buttheleapfromonetotheotherissignificantnotunlikeahighschoolscienceteacher
drawingplanetsontheblackboard.Planetscanbeabstractedintocategoriesandisolatedfor
humanunderstanding,butit'sdifficulttocommunicatetheobjectivescalethatwe'redealing
withhere.Forinstance,evenamodestlydetailedconnectomeofamousebrainrepresents
morethan1.8petabytesofdata.(That's1.8milliongigabytes.)Thehumanbrain,bycontrast,
wouldlikelyrequire98,000petabytesofdata.

(ERROR.)

Andthat'sjustthebridgeproblem,atheoreticallyknowablepath.Thechasmproblem,
however,isfarlessclearitsdepthimpossibletoknow.Ononeend,thedigitalmechanicsof
VRstayrelativelylogicalanderrorfree.Ontheother,thehumanbrainprocessesinformation
onestimatedpatternrecognitionwithanerrorpronememory.We'redealingwith
fundamentallydifferentparadigmsoflearning.Andwhetherforgoodorbad,theseapparent
flawsandidiosyncrasiesinbiologymustbeheededto,anddesignedfor,whenreproducinga
convincingvirtualenvironmentforthehumanplayer.

Inthispiecewe'lllookatsomeofthesignificantchallengescurrentlyposedinVRboth
knownandunknownwhichmakethisbridgesolong,andthechasmsodeep.It'samightily
excitingareaofstudythatwe'reonlyjustbeginningtoexploreandunderstand,andit'sa
privilegetounearthjustafootnoteofanindustrythat'ssettoradicallychangethehuman
experience.

BRIDGING DIGITAL AND BIOLOGY

Oneaspectofthebrainthatmakesitsodifficulttoreplicatethroughartificialintelligenceis
itsproficiency(andcompulsion)increatingmeaninginaworldofuncertainty

.Ifhuman
brainsseeingrey,thencomputersseeonlyinblackandwhite.Sitadogbehindafenceand
aska9yearoldtofillintheblank:

Behindthefenceistheheadofa_____.

Achildwillmostlikelytellyoufirst,thatit'sadog(whichwouldtaxeventhemostpowerfulof
computers,whichmightextrapolateanewspeciesoffencedog).Butevenmoredifficultfora
computer,thechildwouldunderstandimplicitlythatbeneaththehead(andbehindthefence)

wasabodywhichcompletesthedog.Whatcomesnaturallytouswhatdifferentiatesadog
fromsomethingelseisnotoriouslyhardforacomputer.Butthereisasimpleexplanationfor
whythisis:theyaretwoentirelydifferentparadigmsoflearning.

Giventhatwebarelyhaveaframeworkforthehumanbraintoday,we'renotquitesurewhat
paradigmthebrainusestotheextenttowhichwecanreplicateit.Thebestwecandotoday
istoeffectivelyincreasememorycapacity,butstillneverunderstandexactlywhatisbeing
seen.Acomputerwilllabeleverycolour,breedandorificeofadog,butitstillwouldn't
understand
whatadogwasifitenteredthesameroom,barkedalittle,andwaggeditstailfor
atreat.Caseinpoint,inorderforacomputertobeatahumanatageneralknowledgeshow,
itneedstofirstmemorise200millionpagesofcontent,includingthefulltextofWikipedia

.
Andeventhenit'lltellyouthatit
estimates(estimates!
)BarackObamatobethecurrent
presidentwithsub100%certainty.

Onewaytocontrastthesedifferencesisthroughtheideathatcomputersaren'tusingallof
the5sensesthataresecondnaturetohumanbrains.Asaresulttheyneedto
overcompensatebycontinuallyincreasingthecomputinghorsepowerthrownattasks,which
thebrainhappenstodoeffortlesslyasaresultofenvironmentoptimisationthroughevolution.
Ablindpersonmayfindthemselvestaxingtheirmemorytorememberthelayoutofabuilding,
forinstance,withouthavingtheabilitytoprocessitvisuallyandwithoutconsciouseffort.

Take16,000computerprocessorswithonebillionconnectionsandgiveitunlimitedaccessto
YouTubeto
recognise
thecontentofthemostcommonlyoccurringimagesandstill
technologyisoutwittedbya9yearold.In2012,Google'sstateoftheartartificialbrainwith
thisdigitalhorsepowerwasabletomuster81.7percentaccuracyindetectinghumanfaces,
76.7percentaccuracywhenidentifyinghumanbodypartsand74.8percentaccuracywhen
identifyingcats

.Suchpercentageswouldbeludicrousforachild.

Intryingtoreproducehumanbrainintelligence,weareusingafundamentallydifferent
paradigm.Theresultofthisisalotofunexplainedphenomenawe'vebodgedtogetherlabels
forwithequallyperplexingtermschangeblindness,continuityofexperience,thecontinuity
fieldwhichwetouchedonearlier,andpersistenceofvisionwhichwe'llrevisitlater.Theyare
problemsthatsomeoftheworld'sbrightestmindstodayaregrapplingwith.

VIRTUAL REALITY ISN'T THAT SIMPLE

Virtualrealityisn'tjustabout,"puttingadisplayaninchinfrontofeacheyeandrendering
imagesattherighttimeintherightplace"

,saysMichaelAbrash,ChiefscientistatOculus
VR.Byminiaturizingyourlivingroominfrontofyourfaceandswitchingoffthelights,the
brainisstill
aware
that
it's
watching

a3Dsimulationofa2Dprojection.Whatwereallywantis
a3Dsimulationofa3Dprojection,therebytrickingthebrainintothinkingit'stherealworld.
Thisisafarmoredifficultcharadetomaintain.

"Therearethreebroadfactorsthataffecthowrealorunrealvirtualscenesseemtous"

,
hesays.Thefirsttwohaveamoreobjectiveemphasisonthetechnologicalsidethey're
knownas
tracking
and
latency.
TheseareproblemsastaticTVsetupdoesn'tencounteras
muchwhentheeyesareequallystatic,andcanbeneareliminatedthroughincreasingrefresh
ratesandincreasingblurwhenthecameraisrotating.Everytimetheeyesreorient
themselvesspatially,however,astheydoinVRbutnotonastaticdisplay,therearea
panoplyofphysioandneurologicalprocessesactivewhilethebraincalibratestothenew
scene.

(Torepeatthepassagefromearlier:
Inhumans,thefovearepresentsahighresolutionbut
verynarrowfieldofviewabout12degrees.Forthisreason,theeyesdartaround
simultaneouslyalasaccades,focusingonnovelandmemorydirectedstimuliofinterestwith
theeyesthroughthevestibuloocularreflex(VOR)andformingathreedimensionalmapin
thebrainwithanemphasisonthenovelandinteresting.)

ThiswholecomplexsystemseemstogiverisetoahostofenduringproblemsinVR,suchas
judder"thefactthatduringeachframepixelsremainilluminatedforconsiderableperiodsof
time"

,saysAbrash.Withnormal
2D3D
youreyesandbrainknowthey'relookingata
picture,buttrulyconvincingimagesin
3D3D
is,"expectedtostaystablewithrespecttothe
realworldasyoumove"
,
saysAbrash.It'slikecomparingyourreactiontoabearonamovie
screen,andabearinreallife.In3D3D,thebrainnoticeseveryminuteinconsistencyinthe
world,becauseinstinctively,it'snowbelievedthatyourlifeisatstake.Yoursurvivaldepends
onyoubeingabletopickupsubtleinconsistenciesintheenvironment.Thisisjustonereason
whyVRissohard.It'slikehavingtheharshestfoodcriticswiththemostsensitiveoffood
palettesvisityourrestaurant.Theynoticeeverything.

Definingtrackingandlatencyinmoredepth,andotherproblematictermsisoutsidethereach
ofthispiece(andasAbrashwillattest,thereisstillmuchtobeunderstood),buttoexplain
simplyifyou'veevernoticedthesecondhandonaclockorwatchseemingtohangforlonger
thanasecondwhenyoufirstlook,youhavealreadyexperiencedthebriefperiodwherethe
brainseemstoidlebeforeresumingnormalfunction.Duringthispausethebrainisactually
reconstructing
thepresentthroughatenthofasecondwindow

whererecentinformationis
collectedandacoherentpictureisformed,aswesawwiththecontinuityfieldearlier.This
phenomenoninparticulariscalledthestoppedclockillusion,anexampleofchronostasis
whichitselfisaproductofsaccadicmasking,"wherethebrainselectivelyblocksvisual
processingduringeyemovementsinsuchawaythatneitherthemotionoftheeye[...]northe
gapinvisualperceptionisnoticeabletotheviewer."

Itgoessomewaytoexplainingwhy
imagesappeartojudderwitheyesthatconstantlymoveinVR,butnotthroughastaticdisplay
withequallystaticeyes.

ReconcilingthetemporalityofthenonstaticvisualsystemwithdigitaldisplaysinVR,liesat
theheartofcreatingavirtualrealityexperiencethatisindistinguishablefromreallife.(InVR,
thisproblemisknownaspersistencerelatedtopersistenceofvisionwhichwasintroduced

earlier.)It'sintuitiveforustothinkthatthebrainindiscriminatelypresentstheworldaroundus
atanygivenmoment,muchlikeadigitaldisplaywouldinan
absolute
fashion.This
fundamentaldifferenceof'absolutedigital'against'relativebiology'isanotherperspectiveon
whyit'ssodifficulttotranslatebiologyintodigital.Itdemandsthatwedesigninlinewiththe
sameseeminglyarbitrarycompromisesthatevolutionhasgivenus(arbitraryonlyuntilwe
havegreaterunderstandingthatis),ratherthantobuildatheoreticallysuperiorHMD
(headmounteddisplay)fromscratch.

ThethirdfactorfromAbrashismoresubjectiveandnotfocusedondigitaltechnologythe
visualsystemitselftheeyesandthebrainwhichwe'velookedatinsomedepth.Andthis
thirdfactorisreallythefocusofthispiece.Understandinghowexactlythebrainprocesses
virtualrealitybringsusbacktothecentralquestion:whatcanvirtualrealitytellusabouthow
thehumanbrainworks?Inansweringthequestionwecomebacktotryingtodrawtheline
betweenrealandvirtualasastartingpoint.Butoncemore,itturnsouttobeaharderproblem
thanwemightthink.

PsychologistanddirectoroftheresearchcenterforvirtualenvironmentsattheUniversityof
California,JimBlascovich,standsatthepodiumofWinnipeg'sfirstTEDxconference

.He
expressesgratitudetotheaudiencebeforeengagingthemwithacuriousquestion:"Where
willyoubeduringmytalk?".Theaudienceletsoutanervouslaugh,sensinganunintuitive
answercoming."Rightherelisteningtome?",heoffers."Notcompletely.Ifyou'relikethe
averageNorthAmerican,yourmindwilltakeyousomeplaceelse40timesinthe18minutesI
haveforthistalk."

I'llaskagain.Wheredowedrawthelinebetweenrealandvirtualreality?Whenyougo
elsewhereinyourheadisthatrealitystill?Orisitmoreaccuratetocallitbiologicalvirtual
reality,likeourmanatthepizzeriaatthebeginning?Acompellinganswer,perhaps,isthat
realityisrelative.Blascovichcontinues."Ourpositionisinherentinournotionofwhatwecall
psychologicalrelativity.Nowscientistshaveproventhatmotionisrelative.AsIstandhere
tonight,itdoesn'tlooklikeI'mmovingveryquicklyorveryfar.Butthatperceptionisonly
accuratefrompointsofviewinthisroom.Fromamuchmoredistantperspective,Iammoving
quitefarandquitefast,andsoareyou.InWinnipegatthislatitude,wearemovingatmore
than1500kmanhour,astheearthspinsonitsaxis."

It'saboutperspective.
When
youhearthefiringofagun,changesfundamentallybetween
whetheryou'restanding10metresaway,or500metresaway.Ittakestimeforsoundtotravel
throughspaceandintoyourear.Thegunshotdoesnotexistobjectively,onlyinagentswith
theapparatustoregisterandreacttothesound.Andinthecaseofhumans,perhaps:to
register,react
and
reflect.Theproverbialtreethatfallsinaforestwithnoonearounddoesit
makeanoise?Well,sciencesuggeststhatitdoesn't.Blascovichmakesitclearthattheline
betweenrealityandvirtualareveryblurredindeed,whichseemstohavebeenanunnerving
themewhileI'vebeenwritingthis.

Butifwetakeacloserlook,theremaybemoreofadifferencethanwethink.Infact,MRI
scansofthebrainshowthatthereisadifferencesoprofoundthatthedigitalworldmaynever
beabletoperfectlyreplicatetherealworldfromthebrain'sperspective.Thisdoesn'tmean
theconsciousmindcannotbetricked,butitmightmeanthatwehaveabiologicaltotem.

(A
factthatwouldbereassuringinthefutureifwecometohaveconsciousaccesstothat
informationatwill.)

Inordertocontinuenow,we'llassumethattrackingandlatencyaresolvedproblemsinVR,
andwe'llstartwithanimportantdistinctionbetweenhowtherealworldisperceivedfromhow
virtualrealityisperceivedthroughaHMD.Thatis,weassume,whenwelookleftinvirtual
reality,theworldmovesexactlythesameinrelationtoourheadmovement,asitdoesinreal
life.Thefirstprincipleisthis:thatwhatthevisualsystemperceives,iscausedbythe
correspondingclusterofphotonswhichexistoutside,hittingtheretina.Thisiswherethe
profounddifferenceexists.AsAbrashsays,"Theoverallwayinwhichdisplaygenerated
photonsarepresentedtotheretinahasnothingincommonwithrealworldphotons"

Andrecentresearchconfirmsthis.Inlate2014,Neurophysicistsfoundthat
spacemapping
neuronsinthebrainactuallyreactdifferentlybetweentherealworldagainstthedigitalworld
ofVR
.
It'swellknownintheneuroscientificcommunity,thatwhenapersonentersanew
environment,hippocampalneuronsaregioninthebrainassociatedwithmemoryformation
selectivelyactivatetoforma'cognitivemap'ofthatarea.Thehippocampuscalculates
distancesbetweennotablelandmarkssuchasmountainsandbuildings,andinformationfrom
allthesensesisinterpolatedtoformathreedimensionalmapoftheworld.Itwasthoughtthat
thebrainwouldreactthesameintherealworld,asitdoesinvirtualreality.

Researchersplacedaminiharnessaroundratsandplacedthemonatreadmillsurrounded
completelybyavirtualworld.Scientistscomparedbrainactivitybetweenthisenvironmentand
thatofarealroomdesignedtolookexactlythesameasthevirtualrealityenvironment.What
theyfoundsurprisedthem.Brainpatternscorrespondingtothetwoscenariosweredayand
night.Whileneuronalactivitywasorderlyandsensibleintherealworldinthevirtualworld,
neuronsseemedtoactivaterandomly.Theuncorrelatedactivitysuggestedtheratwas
completelybaffled,butitsbehaviourwasthesameinbothcases."The'map'disappeared
completely,"saidMehta,thestudy'sseniorauthor,beforeconcluding,"Weneedtofully
understandhowvirtualrealityaffectsthebrain."Aninsightofutmostimportance,nodoubt,as
theVRindustrybeginspickingupspeed.

MichaelAbrashbringsadeeperinsighthere."Realworldphotonsarecontinuouslyreflected
oremittedbyeverysurface,andvaryconstantly.Incontrast,displaysemitfixedstreamsof
photonsfromdiscretepixelareasfordiscreteperiodsoftime,sophotonemissionisquantized
bothspatiallyandtemporally."

WhatwehaveinVirtualReality,isarudimentaryversionof
realitywhichgoespartofthewaytofoolingtheconsciousmind,butnevertheunconscious.
Possiblyablessingindisguise.

SPECS FOR THE MATRIX

InMichaelDeering's1998paperwhichwereferencedearlier

,multiplemonitor
configurationswereusedtoformatheoreticalmodelofvisualsystemsaturation.Iquote:
"Assuminga60Hzstereodisplaywithadepthcomplexityof6,wemakethepredictionthata
renderingrateofapproximatelytenbilliontrianglespersecondissufficienttosaturatethe
humanvisualsystem."

Oncethispointisreached,Deeringnoted,theultimatelimitsofhumanvisualperception
wouldnowneedtobeincludedinhardwaretradeoffs.Infact,itappearsthatinsomesense
wehavealreadycrossedthispoint.Digitalmonitorsdon'tdiscriminatebetweenthedirect,
narrowgazeofthefoveaandourblurredperipherywhereanopportunityliesinconserving
resourcesthroughrelyingmoreheavilyonexperiencedmemoryinplaceofuncertainty.
Simply,displaysoutputthesamedetailwhetheryou'relookingatthetopleftofthedisplayor
thebottomright.ToquoteDeeringevenasfarbackas1998CRTsexceeded"the
maximumspatialfrequencydetectioncapabilityofthevisualsystem,inregionsawayfrom
wherethefoveaislooking."

Thereis,however,adigitalexampleofperipheralprocessingbeingdifferenttothatofthe
actionbeingdirectlyexperienced.Andit'sunderstoodthroughwhat'sknownasthe
NyquistShannonsamplingtheorem

.In2012

,theprogrammerandfounderofEpic
games,TimSweeney,gaveapresentationonthefutureofgaming,whereinheexplainedthe
theorem:"Thescreenresolutionlimitstheamountofgraphicsdataweneedtoprocess
beyondthislimit,anyextradataiswasted."Thisistosaythatonlytheimagesonscreenfor
anygivenresolutionneedtobesharp(thefovealequivalent).Actionoutsideofthescreen
viewcanbeonalowerpowersettingandconsumelessmemory.(Theperipheralblur
equivalent).ThisisknownastheNyquistlimit.

Forthisreason,SweeneysaystheultimatetruerealityHMDwouldhavearesolutionof8000
x4000pixels,witha90degreeFOV.Andwiththatsetup,wewouldneedsomewhereinthe
regionof2040billiontrianglesonthescreenpersecond.Sweeneypredictsthistechnology
tobejust23generationsaway.(ArelevantnotegiventheincreasedFOVinVR,another
challengeisintroduced.ThewiderFOVinaHMDmeansitnecessarilyhastopushmore
pixelsatanyonetime,whencomparedtoaconventionaldisplay.Fewgamerswouldbe
contenttoplaydecadeoldgamesalongsidetheirTVcounterpartsinordertoexperiencethe
samesmoothness.)

AddingtoourhypotheticalcomponentlistofthetruerealityHMDwhichhijackstheconscious
mind,Abrashhassaidthata"1000Hzdisplaywouldverylikelylookgreat,andwouldalso
almostcertainlyreduceoreliminateanumberofotherHMDproblems,possiblyincluding
motionsickness,becauseitwouldinteractwiththevisualsysteminawaythatmimicsreality
muchmorecloselythanexistingdisplays."

Butratherdisappointinglyhegoesontosay,"I

havenowayofknowinganyofthatforsure,though,sinceIveneverseena1000Hz
headmounteddisplaymyself,anddonteverexpectto."

Morerealistically,a120Hzdisplaywouldpromisenoticeableimprovements.Butwhile
technicallypossibletobuild,thereisnoreasontobuildthemtodayfromaneconomic
standpoint.CurrentRiftdevkitsaremadeusingphonedisplays,whichhavenousefor120Hz
panelsintheirprimarymarket.AsAbrashexplains,"Itscertainlypossibletodoso,and
likewiseforOLEDpanels,butunlessanduntiltheVRmarketgetsbigenoughtodrivepanel
designs,ortojustifytheenormousengineeringcostsforacustomdesign,itwonthappen."

THE HUMAN COMPONENT

Ultimately,Abrashadmits,"Someonehastostepupandchangethehardwarerules".
ObstaclestodayinmakingVRallitcanbearenotjustaquestionoftechnologywecan'tjust
throwmorecomputingpoweratthemandexpecttoresolvegrandengineeringchallenges.
Givethesmartestscientistsintheworldcomputersof
infinite
powerandstillwewouldn'tbe
abletorecreaterealityinVR.Theproblemisalsoasocialone,andthatcomesdownto
innovation
asadlyundervaluedcharacteristicinaworldthatgivesinordinateattentionto
technology,whichiseasiertoquantifyandvalue.

ThereareexpertssuchasfuturistandinventorRayKurzweil

whotraceMoore'slaw(the
observationthecomputingpowerincreasesexponentiallyevery1218months)from1968to
trackandpredicttheadvancementoftechnology.Theyconcludethatcomputerswillsoon
surpasshumanintelligencewithinthenext20years.ButwhileMoore'slawcouldfairly
accuratelypredictartificialintelligencetechnologylikeDeepBluebeingabletobeatachess
grandmasterby1998,anticipatethedemiseoftheSovietUnionandevenGoogle'sself
drivingcar,itmaynotbeaparadigmwhichtranslatesintotheextremediversityofhuman
intelligencewhichhasevolvedovermillennia.

Ourmotorskillsalongsideouropposablethumbsincombinationwithpatternrecognitionand
problemsolvingminds,presentamammothchallengefortechnologywhichispredisposedto
specialisation.(Andisratherautisticinitsnature.)Taskbytask,computersbeatuswithout
dispute.Butintermsofadaptabilityandflexibility,andtheintuitionwhichcanarisefromthat
freedomwetakethecake.Computersblowourmindsatbeingthebestatagrowinglistof
systematictasksfollowinginstructionsbutthey'renotlikelytobecompetingforminimum
wageagainstthehousecleaneranytimesoon.Activitiespresentingahighdegreeof
uncertaintyand/ordemandingdextrousmotorcontrolarefarlessunderstoodbymachines
andit'sdifficulttoputatimelineontechnologythatcanreplaceusinthosetasks.Eventhe
incredibleselfdrivingcarsaremoreakintoatrainonexquisitelydetailedtracksthanatruly
liberatedcar.

Cruciallyhereisthechallengeofinnovation."Facebookcouldhavebeendeveloped10years
earlier[on1994technology]"saysSweeneyinhistalk.Sowhydidn'twehaveFacebook

then?Well,itjusthadn'tbeen
invented
thenbyahuman.Computersaren'tgreatatinvention.
Atleastnotyet.Innovationoftencomesfrombeingintherightplaceattherighttime,with
boththebrainsandbrawnofahumanbeing.

FortunatelyforexpertslikeMichaelAbrash,itseemshe'sinexactlytherightplacetoputthe
biggestdentintheuniversewithhisprodigiousknowledgeofVR.Tohelpusherin,onemight
imagine,aworldinwhichplayersarehandedtheirveryowntotembeforepluggingintothe
virtualeconomyspurringanewindustrywithinanewindustry,withinanewindustry.Avirtual
realityinthebrainthatindisputablyfoolstheconsciousmind,butgravelyneverthe
unconscious.

Lest,wegetlostforever.

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