Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do

Experience on Demand should be your first resource to understand the origins of VR, how it is currently being implemented by industry and academia, and where immersive technology may take us in the future. The book provides a healthy balance of optimism, caution, and uncertainty about VR's role in our social lives and psychological experiences. You will enjoy learning from and being entertained by one of VR's most important figures.

This is an excellent introduction to VR and its future in our society. The author discusses such uses as applying VR to film making, football and work training to much less obvious possibilities like pain management, drug rehabilitation, travel displacement and grading students. To balance this optimism, Bailenson is realistic about the negatives VR can create. While it may be great for educating students, children under 12 should not use it and adults should limit sessions to under twenty minutes with the current technology. Dizziness is common and safe spaces are needed. It also could allow extremists a more devastating avenue to hone their skills.The reader will be introduced to terms such as:Homunculus - the idea that your brain is a pilot and that the body can be rewired accordingly to do certain tasks with a different body structureMidas Touch- the importance of touch and feel in communicationFaceshift - the ability to read subtle difference in facial expressionsMacbeth Effect - the need to cleanse oneself after experiencing something morally impureProteus Effect - accepting an avatar as yourselfIt is amazing how many studies the author has conducted in so many interesting fields. He introduces you to pioneers who are doing cutting edge research. As a layman myself, I cannot speak to the scientific credibility of all of this but I do think it is a good introduction to what many feel will be a major new medium.

This is a MUST read for anyone even slightly interested in virtual reality. Bailenson's book puts into perspective just how powerful VR is while giving incredible insight on where it came from/where it's going. Information from this book seems impossible to find elsewhere...10 out of 10 for sure!

This book a good introduction to a technology that will be playing a big role in our future. I am somewhat of a technology skeptic, meaning I think much of it is misused or once you strip away the bells and whistles, not much new is added to the conversation. Mr. Bailenson does an excellent job of portraying how VR can be used practically and probably effectively in many different forums from sports training to improving self perception and improved communication. The reader will find themselves naturally coming up with their own applications pertaining to whatever they do for a living or personal fun. In a time where technology seems to be dividing us into political and idealogical tribes, one can see how VR can be a tool to help remedy this by allowing us all to wear another's shoes and develop a better understanding of each other.

Experience on Demand, by my colleague Jeremy Bailenson in the Stanford Communication Department, presents a cutting edge take on virtual reality that is full of great stories that highlight the key takeaways that his years of research have revealed. Experience on Demand lays out a compelling vision of how VR can be used in fascinating and often counter-intuitive ways. One example is the way that Bailenson and his team have shown that VR can be used to foster empathy with others who might not be like us. This book is a must read for industry folks wanting to see the near future, parents that want to understand what VR's implications are for kids, policy makers that want to ensure VR is a positive force for society, and anyone else interested in how VR works and what its going to be good for.

EOD sets the stage for seeing the future of this powerful technology as something well beyond images of kids in arcades, but rather a means to impart experiential change thru thoughtfully designed virtual worlds that can improve the human condition. There exists a world of experiences that are otherwise be inaccessible but thru coming VR can provide meaningful impact on how we understand our world and feel the empathy and motivation to want to be a force for change in a positive manner.

An incredibly useful guide on what VR is and how it will (and already is) impacting our 'real world' lives in meaningful ways. We've arrived at the dawn of VR and Bailenson's research over the last 20 years describes how it will impact our society - in the workplace as well as the social dynamics we experience every day. This book doesn't just speculate on how immersive technology will impact our lives but rather describes how it already has from years of scientific research in the lab and will continue to do so. As William Gibson astutely noted, "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed."

Phenomenal read on all accountsMade me think - what would be the cost to develop a “first person victim” VR experience to show what it’s like to be hunted down during a mass school shooting? Could this be used to influence the views of politicians who talk the talk, but are unwilling to back it up in Congress (or local elections)I, for one, would be happy to donate to an on-line fundraising effort to support such a projectAgain, truly mind expanding read about the potential benefits, and risks, of VR