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Physics Rebel Aims To Shake Up the Video Game World

Posted by Soulskill on from the feel-it-in-your-sternum dept.

waderoush writes "Physicist Shahriar Afshar is famous as the designer of the 'Afshar Experiment,' a study first described in 2004 that called into question Neils Bohr's observation that it's impossible to observe light's wave-like properties and its particle-like properties at the same time. Not surprisingly, the idea met with widespread resistance in the physics community. While he waits for the controversy to settle down, Afshar himself is taking a detour into the video game world. He's now the president and CTO of Immerz, a Cambridge, MA-based startup building an 'acousto-haptic' interface that drapes over a gamer's shoulders and turns video game sound into (literally) chest-pounding vibrations. Xconomy was allowed to test the device, and has the full story behind Afshar's unusual journey and the company's hopes for enhancing PC and console gamers' experience of action/adventure/first-person-shooter titles."

9 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. porn by timmarhy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    unless it has application in the porn industry, it's dead in the water.

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  2. Chest pounding vibrations... by reverendbeer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...and unfit, overweight gamers. In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, what could possibly go wrong?

  3. !Controvrsy by should_be_linear · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Controversy" already settled by being tagged "BS" by major physicists.

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    839*929
    1. Re:!Controvrsy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So it should be:

      Physics Crackpot Aims To Shake Up the Video Game World ?

    2. Re:!Controvrsy by gad_zuki! · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Except he's not going to shake up anything, other than investor dollars. I dont know how many times it needs to be said: gamers dont want to wear equipment. No gloves or helmets or chest pieces. Its market suicide.

      Not to mention that stuff begins to smell after a while. Brings back memories of playing Photon way back when.

    3. Re:!Controvrsy by Interoperable · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's not quite as bad as most crackpots. I looked it up on Wikipedia and it looks like his big mistake is writing a blog about it. That's the difference between a controversial (or perhaps flat out incorrect) theory and a crackpot theory; the blog about it. His paper has sparked much debate over it's validity which makes it a valuable contribution. Even if it's incorrect, it has enough merit to provoke criticism, not dismissal.

      You're allowed to be wrong in science; being wrong is still more useful than saying nothing. Just don't blog about it.

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  4. Physics rebel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hate when media makes up "impressive" headlines out of nothing.
    The article may be worth from a point of view of a new controller but using terms such as "physics rebel" to make the controller sound like it will change the world (just like the "physics rebel" did) just pisses me off.

    If Afshar's theory/experiment contradicts the mainstream physics, does this makes him headline-worth "physics rebel"? If yes, there are millions of wackos around the world with their crazy theories.
    Foundations of Physics (where he published the last) may be a peer reviewed journal but its impact factor is very low (i.e. it is not a highly regarded journal) and it is known for publishing crazy (or should I call them rebellious) claims.

    And they can't even spell Niels Bohr's name correctly...

    1. Re:Physics rebel? by totally+bogus+dude · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Agreed, and his "physics rebel" credentials are irrelevant to the story in any case.

      I read this article because the headline made it sound like they were doing something really new and different in the world of video game physics. I mean, what else would you assume from the title?

      Then I see it's just an advertisement for yet another thing that thumps you when there's a loud noise in a game. As several others have already said in this slightly-commented-on-article, it's not exactly new and revolutionary. And even if it was, it would only be of marginal interest to most gamers.

    2. Re:Physics rebel? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If Afshar's theory/experiment contradicts the mainstream physics, does this makes him headline-worth "physics rebel"? If yes, there are millions of wackos around the world with their crazy theories.

      Please don't conflate the two like that. An experiment that contradicts existing theories is headline worthy and interesting. Theories that contradict existing theories are ten a penny.

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