A visitor to our lab was trying out our Holojam untethered virtual reality system today. She was having a great time walking around in a virtual world, happily drawing in the air, as my students and I looked on.
At some point she said that she felt like a character in The Matrix. “It’s as though,” she said, “I’m inside The Matrix, and it’s really happening.”
“Do you know what it’s called,” I asked, “when you feel like the main character in The Matrix, but it’s really happening?”
“No,” she said. “What is it called?”
I was very pleased with my answer: “Neo-realism!”
To my great satisfaction, everyone in the room groaned at once. 🙂