The 2D internet works though because it's an efficient means of communication and data transfer. When I search the weather, check directions, send a message, book a flight, buy a shirt, or view the daily news, I can get that done fast on the existing internet. I don't want to load a 3D world to read an article. I don't need to walk around as a 3D avatar to ask a friend what time they're arriving. It's inefficient. It's not the future of the internet. It's a gimmick or form of entertainment.
That being said, I did think it was the future of the internet 15-20 years ago when I was taking CAD files of products and turning them into interactive 3D Flash websites. Then I realized my mistake. People don't want fancy graphics or animations when browsing the internet. They want data. They want it fast, and they want it organized and presented to them in the most efficient way.
For that reason, I don't believe the future of the internet is the metaverse. The future will be something along the lines of neuralink, where information is instantly sent and received from the brain. Instead of spending 20 minutes reading a Wikipedia article, the information will be instantly sent to your brain. Instead of pulling out your phone and checking directions to a restaurant, you'll know where to go just by thinking that very question. The internet will basically be an extension of your brain. What the internet knows, you'll know. That's the future.
I underestimated Minecraft. I knew it is important, so I tried it out two years ago but dismissed it when I got killed by a zombie. I thought, fuck it, I don't need anxiety when it gets night in the game.
But then a friend of my son played Minecraft.
I installed Minecraft on a Chromebook then I watched the children figuring out Minecraft. I figured out lot of things, too.
When I discovered that they created a railway and put monsters onto the trolleys, first I had a hearty laugh then I got intrigued again. I discovered that Minecraft Education Edition has a coding environment similar to Scratch from MIT. I showed them how to create a giant ice cube and dig narrow aisles inside it. Next they created a giant cube of TNT and set it off.
Anyway, I think what will happen: you can't centrally create a world. You need people. So when I read the article I found myself just nodding.
People will find ways how to define and use the metaverse, not that company.
This is literally the worst take I've ever read on hn. What's your background in neuropsychology? On what basis besides Elon Musk PR do you have to make this prognostication?
It's never going to happen because that's not the way the human beings work. Which anyone with any knowledge of the brain (i.e. not tech bros) will readily tell you.
I have zero background in neuropsychology, however, I think I'm still entitled to share my opinion and make predictions on the future.
I'm not suggesting this will happen in 5 or 10 years. However, I would be very surprised if a few hundred years pass and we don't have a more efficient means of transferring data into our brain, and we're still slowly reading books and spending decades of our life receiving an education.
Or, maybe you're right, and this will never happen. We'll forever be reading, writing, and using speech as our primary means of data transfer with our brain, and that'll be the peak of efficiency until the end of time.
However, given that I can play billiards with someone on the other side of the world, in real-time, in virtual reality, I don't think it's too crazy to imagine a future where I can get a Wikipedia article into my brain faster than reading.
That being said, I did think it was the future of the internet 15-20 years ago when I was taking CAD files of products and turning them into interactive 3D Flash websites. Then I realized my mistake. People don't want fancy graphics or animations when browsing the internet. They want data. They want it fast, and they want it organized and presented to them in the most efficient way.
For that reason, I don't believe the future of the internet is the metaverse. The future will be something along the lines of neuralink, where information is instantly sent and received from the brain. Instead of spending 20 minutes reading a Wikipedia article, the information will be instantly sent to your brain. Instead of pulling out your phone and checking directions to a restaurant, you'll know where to go just by thinking that very question. The internet will basically be an extension of your brain. What the internet knows, you'll know. That's the future.