Abstract
In this essay I address two issues that emerged during use of the virtual world, Second Life ®, as a tool for interaction for meeting participants that were not able to attend the actual site of a research meeting: the nature of reality in the virtual and the actual and the role of culture. I find notion of ontological-epistemological engines (Ihde D, Bodies in technology. Electronic mediations, vol 5. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2002) offers a way of thinking about how humans engage with technology and technology engages back in ways that enrich our appreciation and understanding of the world in which we live. I also explore the cultural nature of human stance on embodiment as possibly irrational or as indicative of our cultural relationship with technology.
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Milne, C. (2015). Beyond the Actual: Exploring Constructs of Reality, Knowledge and Culture in Virtual Environments. In: Milne, C., Tobin, K., DeGennaro, D. (eds) Sociocultural Studies and Implications for Science Education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4240-6_16
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