This next year (2016) is going to big year for virtual reality. The are at least 4 big names jumping in to virtual reality. While being “teased” for a few years now.. next year is when everything is going to finally be released. It will take awhile before it goes “mainstream” but from everything I’ve read the experiences that VR provides will make it compelling enough to bring just about everyone onboard. Why go to the theater when you can have a virtual IMAX screen in your house? Why would elderly people travel across the country to visit loved ones when they can be there virtually? Why leave prison when you can virtually leave? Why do anything when you can do it virtually? This has been science fiction fodder since the 70s. Well, it’s finally here. Today’s headsets finally have the hi-rez displays and gyroscopes to make a truly immersive experience. In a recent article about a virtual Wright Brothers experience users always asked how the developers did the “wind”. The developers laughed, “There was no wind.. your brain just filled in the gaps”. As we rapidly head into this future I wonder about the social ramifications. Like most new technology there will a dozens of positive uses (social connections, history, industry, etc. etc.) and LOTS of abuses (social disconnection, pornography, escapism, addiction, etc.). Just like our smart phones. I wonder too if people will see this as an opportunity to create virtual Heavens. But, I am guessing having a virtual world where you can do anything all the time won’t quickly turn into a virtual Hell. It would seem to me that living for eternity in world without any real external meaning would be essentially Hell.