Art Kramer Talk: To the Future and Beyond

Art Kramer's talk was really good because it told us what I think society has known for years-- exercise is good for you!-- but he was able to present it with proof as well as theories to explain just exactly why you should be hitting the gym. What really struck me in his presentation, however, was the video of the lab near the end. His point was on showcasing the cognitive effects of high activity levels in children, but what I was fascinated by was the technology of virtual reality was actually being used in a lab! With the introduction of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset, the gaming world had begun to take a turn towards more immersive game play, but now it could be used to help further science. Participants would be able to be observed in what would be either impractical or unethical settings, something that severely limited the realm of psychology and neuroscience. With virtual reality, variables in the situation would only be a matter of programming, giving researches strict control even in a more natural setting. With how fast the technologies available to researchers are advancing, I almost feel as if it's only a matter of time until the race for "which lab would be the first to use a holodeck" begins.