Virtual reality (VR) is a trend going into 2015, at least according to an article in the Halifax Chronicle Herald (12/23/2014). Facebook spent two billion dollars to acquire Oculus VR, and Sony is working on a VR headset with the name Project Morpheus. I find VR boring, but I have not attempted any experience with a headset or game that puts me in full VR. I find reality beautiful and awesome, infinitely varied and overwhelming. Oculus VR is a fantastic name, as the Latin oculus, oculi m. means "eye." Brilliant, to name a VR product for the organ that enables one to see. Project Morpheus is another compelling name for a VR project, as Morpheus is the Latin name for the god of dreams. The Greek root of his name is morphe, which means "form, shape." The god of dreams brings many shapes and forms to our minds as we sleep. Is VR a kind of dreaming while awake? If so, Sony has chosen an excellent name for its VR product.
I also came across another Project Morpheus launched (literally) by NASA. I do not see a link between this spacecraft and the god of dreams, but the logo looks like a vertical take-off craft, and humans have long dreamed of landing on other planets; perhaps Project Morpheus brings us closer to fulfilling this dream.
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