Cameron's Avatar a 3D Drug Trip?

bowman9991 writes "James Cameron's first movie since Titanic, his upcoming science fiction epic Avatar, has a budget pushing US$200 million and enough hype to power a mission to Mars. Now it appears the 3D technology he created to turn his vision into a reality, the key to Avatar's success or failure, may be habit forming. Dr. Mario Mendez, a behavioral neurologist at the University of California, said it is entirely possible Cameron's 3D technology could tap brain systems that are undisturbed by conventional 2D movies. Cameron himself believes 3D viewing 'is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2D viewing doesn't' and that stereoscopic (3D) viewing uses more neurons, which would further heighten its impact."

Comments

Hype, nothing

[Kelson]

At $200 million, they're approaching the ability to fund a mission to Mars.

Re:Hype, nothing

[Me-The-Person]

Not quite... "According to spokesmen of both NASA and the federal government, the price tag of the mission to Mars currently sits at approximately $11 billion over the course of the multi-stage implementation of the program. Unfortunately, flipping this extraordinary bill is only a small portion of the whole sum of costs imposed by the Mars Exploration Program." - http://www.mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1440

It's true, I'm addicted to 3D.

[Chris Burke]

After watching several 3D movies back to back, I now find myself completely addicted to 3D and finding myself craving it all the time in my everyday life. I've tried to give it up, but after only a few minutes of having one eye shut I start to get a headache and my eye muscles get sore, not to mention I'm completely unable of functioning and find myself bumping into things and knocking things over when I reach for them. James Cameron must be stopped!

So what?

[localman57]

Just because something is 3d, it doesn't necessarily excite the brain... I'm staring at my desk in 3d right now, and all I feel is bordom...

Re:And when..

[Narpak]

The bigger question is; When we DO get 3D porn will it make you believe, and create the memory, that you've had actually sex? And if it does; hi to you population decrease.

True Story

[heyitsjon]

I saw The Terminator 3D at universal studios when I was 8, and I've been looking for John Connor since then.

Hey Hiro... Wanna try some Snow Crash?

[Anonymous Coward]

Neal Stephenson called it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_crash

One of the plot devices is a drug that can be absorbed visually.

Interestingly, Stephenson is also the one who coined the modern use of 'Avatar' in virtual worlds.

yeah, no really...

[FredFredrickson]

No, seriously though, guys, this 3d movie IS SOOOO 3d, that if it made sense, I'd just go ahead and label it with a few more dimensions. In fact, it's 4d! By the time you leave the theater, you'll feel like you're in the future! Hours will have passed!

TLDR: 3d is the same as it's been, nothing to see here, move along.

Seems ridiculous, but...

[wjwlsn]

Consider Ramachandran's mirror box, a means of using illusion to "cure" the pain of phantom limbs. From the Wikipedia article:

The patient places his or her good limb into one side, and the stump into the other. The patient then looks into the mirror on the side with good limb and makes "mirror symmetric" movements, as a symphony conductor might, or as we do when we clap our hands. Because the subject is seeing the reflected image of the good hand moving, it appears as if the phantom limb is also moving. Through the use of this artificial visual feedback it becomes possible for the patient to "move" the phantom limb, and to unclench it from potentially painful positions. Because this visual feedback elicits kinesthetic sensations... Repeated training in some subjects has led to long-term improvement ... and in one exceptional case, even to the complete elimination of the phantom limb between the hand and the shoulder ...

If such a low-tech visual illusion can rewire neurons, what can a high-fidelity, 3-dimensional illusion accomplish? (I'm not saying that Cameron's movie is going to have such effects, but how far will the technology go?)

Re:I'm blind in one eye...

[Hottie Parms]

I'm not blind, but because I was cross-eyed for many years before I had corrective surgery, my brain tends to focus out of one eye primarily. My stereoscopic vision is quite limited, thus reducing depth perception and making it nearly impossible to see using those 3D glasses.

I remember staring at those Magic Eye posters for hours, frustrated that all the other kids could see dolphins and ships and stuff, while all I saw was a bunch of weird looking colors.

Thanks to the wonders of a college class on Visual Perception, I now understand why. Mod this "+5, Woe is me"?

Re:And when..

[jeffshoaf]

The bigger question is; When we DO get 3D porn will it make you believe, and create the memory, that you've had actually sex? And if it does; hi to you population decrease.

And a lot fewer comments posted on Slashdot...

Re:And when..

[eataTREE]

Somehow, I manage not to have sex, without the benefit of this amazing technology you describe...