I have always wanted to dive into the world of Virtual Reality. Years ago, the urge to play a virtual reality game was so strong that I was ready to pay any price to experience it at a gaming center. Unfortunately, there were no VR games in my town, at least not that I knew of. I still kept on searching, hoping that I would one day find one. After a couple of years, a gaming center launched in my town, and virtual reality games were available. I would always envision putting the headset in my head and being transported into another world. From the videos I have seen, it is always fun and interesting. It is like you are physically present in that game. Some people find it scary, though, but I'm pretty sure I would find it exhilarating. The day they launched this gaming center, I went there, hoping to play the games, regardless of the cost, but unfortunately, there were too many people and I had to go home disappointed. Ever since, my desire to play a VR game died down.
Over the years, the world of virtual reality has gone past gaming. Although I think gaming is what first caught the world’s attention. There are different types of virtual reality games, but I suppose the early ones are the car racing games and the adventure ones. If you have seen Jumanji, take VR games like this movie where the game players get sucked into the game and they have to complete quests and all. Today, virtual reality is not only limited to games, but also to other areas like healthcare.
Health is wealth. If there is anything health practitioners can do to reduce the risks of mistakes, then they should embrace it, don’t you think? Well, they sure have. They have embraced virtual reality in healthcare. Health practitioners, particularly surgeons, have started to make use of VR to reduce the likelihood of mistakes. Surgeons spend hours reading books and materials about surgery, but they also combine it with rehearsing complex procedures through the use of VR. For example, imagine a doctor preparing for a complex heart surgery. The heart is a complex organ and surgeons have to be very careful with it. Instead of relying on textbooks, diagrams, or practicing on cadavers, they put on a VR headset and get a 3D view of the patient's heart. Before I started writing this post, I watched a video on the internet of a surgeon who did this. He got a clear view of every artery, vein, and other things. This reduces the likelihood of making mistakes.
In today’s world, VR also has a huge part to play in education. Let’s take history as an example. Imagine a history teacher teaching students about the Roman Empire, the Great Wall of China, or an important event that happened in the past. Instead of making them read notes or explain to them, don’t you think it would be better if they witnessed the real thing? This is possible with the use of VR. If students were taught this way, I'm pretty sure they would remember the details better.
However, the world of virtual reality is not flawless. As much as it makes learning, gaming, and the health sector fun and easier, it also has its downsides. Too much exposure to VR gadgets can cause risks. For example, it can damage the eyes. So, the best way to go about it is to make use of it in moderation.
This is my entry to the Sci-fi multiverse prompt for week 28. The topic is: Virtual Reality.
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Thanks for reading.