The Small - From Physical to Virtual

In regards to physical space, the small refers to the tiniest particles of matter. Since physicists have often discovered smaller particles within the supposed tiniest particles, it is difficult to tell whether technology will ever be able to ascertain the smallest physical particles in the world. Right now, quarks and leptons are the smallest known particles, but it would not surprise me if even they had component parts. In our class discussions about nanotechnology, we talked about how rearranging these tiny particles could allow us to essentially rearrange the external world according to our will. In a visual example, we saw how typing information into a keyboard could potentially change the physical layout of an office. In this sense, the small is the building blocks of matter.

Additionally, the small can be analyzed by comparing the amount of physical space with the amount of information instantiated by that physical parameter. As we spoke about in class, the physical size of symbols (for instance the size of words in a book) does not determine the amount of information those symbols represent. Even if a book is written in fine print that requires a microscope to read, the information content is equivalent to an average size novel. In a more abstract sense, organisms can communicate incredible amounts of information by altering a small part of their physical appearance. The act of winking can communicate a great amount of information, depending on the context. A slight movement of the mouth up and down can drastically alter others perceptions of happiness, sadness, or other emotions within an individual. As Martin Buber posits “An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language” (Life Extreme, 38). While intonations of the eye do not resemble letters or numbers, they can communicate a significant amount of information.

In the virtual realm, small is harder to define. Since virtual space is potentially infinite, the actual size is less important than the maps. In virtual space, organization of information and links between information become more important. For example, while plurk messages have a limit of 140 characters, people can provide links to blogs, articles, movies, online books, and other mediums of information. In such an enormous sea of information (which does not take up any physical space), the tools we use to organize and navigate virtual reality are essential.

Virtual reality allows people to take up less physical space since they can navigate ideas, explore the world, and communicate with others without ever leaving their seat. Instead of traveling miles to see a person’s face, people can simply log onto Plurk from any computer or phone with internet access to see pictures or movies of someone. With the right technologies, virtual space is incredibly quicker and easier to navigate than physical space. In our yearning to teleport, humans have focused on travelling through physical space. But this may be impossible due to the limitations of physical laws. By entering a virtual universe void of physical laws, we have already teleported metaphorically. By embracing this metaphor, we can reduce the amount of space needed to navigate our worlds. Considering the time inefficiencies with transportation, the pollution caused by physical transportation, and the possibility of accidents in traversing physical space, virtual travel seems like a feasible alternative transportation source. Indeed, virtual reality appears to be the most practical way to fit the desired amount of information into the nano.