I also would like to know in what sense failure? We're still in the
beginning of virtuality, with all its dangers and pitfalls; at this
virtuality began a long time ago. for example, if you look at the
history of glass (to compress a longer discussion much!). Glass,
made from the 2 most abundant materials at the earth's surface,
oxygen and silicon. Humans, facing the rush of natural and chaotic
energies in the sensual world, reach for the most available
substances to protect themselves, to separate themselves from the
roaring rush of nature. Only natural that they use glass. In
Icelandic, there is a phrase that translates "window weather" --
having a survival meaning akin to "thank god we have a 20cm square
piece of glass at the southern end of our sod hut through which we
can (safely) watch all hell break loose with one of those
south-easter storms" that come ripping off the North Atlantic. If
you track glass forward past windows, you arrive at the whole
dimension of optics, leading to photography (among other things), on
to the CRT, (autos with windows), teevee, the sillicon dioxide
(called amorphous silica)-based chip, and lately to Bill's creation
"windows."
What all these material mappings hold in common is that they affect a
fundamental reduction (narrowing of bandwidth, if you will) of the
energies "out there" that arrive at our sensual inputs. It is no
coincidence that silicon dioxide, as the most available substance,
has played such a pivotal role in the consequent insulation/isolation
of our senses...
I would define virtuality as the condition where there is a
human-constructed intervention that serves to reduce/narrow/limit any
of our sensual inputs. Riding in a car around eLAy is very virtual,
unless you have a convertible, then everything becomes all too real,
though unbelieveable. Looking at teevee, observing the rings of
Saturn through a telescope, taking photos -- the dangers and pitfalls
have been there since we began to hide from nature (eating fruit of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), and to cover our
naked-ness...
Hard to package this in a few paragraphs, but that is the essence.
It's based in the worldview that I hold, which leaves materialism
behind and moves in a space of energy flows...