[extropy-chat] Are the developed nations fleeing into virtual reality?

[Amara Graps]

About Face to Face versus Virtual interactions...

t the end of my street is a garage where two old mechanics fix
cars. They have no business name posted on the outside. No hours
listed. No telephones present. They have many customers; they are
usually always working on a car with another car outside waiting.
For one-and-half years in the morning, I have said buon giorno to
them with a smile, and they have answered buon giorno with their
smiles. I don't know what are their names, and they don't know what
is my name.

About a month ago a series of mechanical problems developed on my
old car, and I needed the services of the car mechanics at the end
of the street. The first was my car door latch that broke - a couple
of times of holding the door closed while I was drove was enough
danger for me, and so I brought the car to the anonymous auto
mechanics. They could understand immediately what was wrong, and I
didn't need to try to explain anything in my bad Italian. They
proceeded to tell me the time they needed to fix it, I went away for
a few hours, they bought the part and installed it, I returned, they
cold me the cost, I gave them cash, and I drove my car away.

A few hours later, while my car was parked down the street from them
in front of my apartment building, the car refused to start. The
electrical system was kaput it seemed. So I walked at the end of the
street, told them in my bad Italian that the car wouldn't start, and
they walked with me to where it was parked and proceeded to check it
out there. 'Dead Battery' they said, told me the time they needed to
buy a new battery and install it, I went away, they did the work, I
returned, they told me the cost, I gave them cash, and my car
started again.

Now I still don't know the name of the anonymous mechanics and they
don't know the name of their anonymous customer, yet the transaction
took place, indeed, at the end, they *fixed it at my home*, and I'm
sure that we trust each other. Moreover, the transaction happened
when my speaking and language understanding skills were (and are)
extremely poor, so communication between them and me took place at a
very low level.

Such a transaction required that face to face interaction. So I
think it is worthwhile to consider the spectrum of interactions that
humans can have with each other. Not only do we have the richness of
all five senses, we have a context of body language and a history of
that body language, even when few words are spoken. Communication
can occur on many levels.

Amara