Virtual reality is just a glorified simulation?

I remember as a kid that you had those movies where virtual reality would blow your mind away, of course as a kid you´d love that and the possibilities seemed endless. But in reality here we never got much further than cheap cardboard carved glasses with two different coloured pieces of plastic in them. It would do the trick but that doesn´t look as cool as it could be, not to forget the headache it would give you for watching through that. Well maybe I was a rare case with the headaches but it sure wasn´t comfortable.


So where do we stand now? We have our occulus rift gadget that gives us a look inside virtual reality, it looks real and to your mind it might actually be real. But it´s not, it´s still just a trick you play on your mind, there is no Star Trek holodeck or Back to the future 2 stuff going on. Perhaps that´s because those are science fiction movies and we live in reality, so things work a bit different here. At least that´s what we all expect, because I don´t see anything special going on in the virtual reality gadgets. Sure they let you see things that aren´t there but isn´t there also a sickness that does the same thing? Ok that´s a bit harsh and I don´t mean offense with that, but really where are the cool things that sucks us into a game and make everything so real?


As a pilot you get simulation training, that´s meant to prepare you for the real thing and for some pilots a way of getting back into the pilot seat after an injury or sickness. They´re great for training and you probably know the simulations you can play on your computer. It´s fun and great for people who want to fly but don´t want to do it in real life or can´t do that in real life. So what can virtual reality do for you? Well I heard stories where people who are afraid to go outside learn to slowly get out of the door, of course a lot of this is just a simulation and they know that it´s not real. But it feels real to your mind, which means it can still help you overcome difficulties like being afraid to go outside.


So maybe virtual reality does have a chance to be more than a glorified simulation, I´m certain that there is a will for that and maybe one day also a way. But for now we´re stuck with gadgets that are fun but not really blowing your mind away, so far it´s just trickery that can be fun but still it´s nothing like the movies...