This really interesting future conundrum of how will we know where the real world finishes and the virtual world begins was the starting and ending point of my on air chat this week with Radio Hong Kong 3’s Phil Whelan and also the conversation starter for my segments with 4BC’s Clare Blake and ABC Wide Bay’s David Dowsett.

The prompt came from the anniversary of the release of Meliers 1902 film “Trip to the Moon” the first motion picture to show a trip to the moon and arguably the film that ignited the industry’s love affair with space travel.

Arguably this is the first time we saw another world and as we do so often when we watch something we lose ourselves in fantasy and for just a moment make it real and plant the seeds of how do I make it real.

As we moved forward from 1902 and ever faster sped through the innovations of radio, televisions, video, CD’s, DVD, Blue Ray and now hurtle towards virtual and augmented reality on the way to holograms, is it possible that we will lose ourselves in a make-believe digital world and be lost forever somewhere between virtual and real?

The thought of this is not entirely bad. Alzheimer patients are able to don a virtual reality headset and be taken to a time and place that’s more familiar to them and to see the moments of serenity and peace on their face as they relive these times is a virtual reality worth having.

Pilots are routinely taught and tested in virtual reality cockpits. Tom Cruise put on an augmented reality headset to fly in Top Gun allowing him to see the real world overlaid with digital information and in a similar way surgeons now have the ability to perform operations wearing technology that guides and informs their every move.

When you put on a virtual head set for the first time your body may react with a sea sickness like attack as it fights between the reality that your physically standing still, but your virtual self is flying, moving, or being transported elsewhere. Once this sensation abates the mind, within a few quick minutes, begins to consider the virtual real and begins to react to virtual situations with physical responses.

It’s a fascinating new world ahead, in which we will increasingly see and experience the world through these virtual technologies and expect so see much more than our old organic eyes were ever capable of showing us and the question, although not sinister yet, is what difference this new world view will make to being human and having human experiences and reactions?

Have a listen now to HK3 – Phil Whelan – 1 September 2015 (17 minutes 06 seconds)…

4BC – Clare Blake – 8 September 2015 (15 minutes 39 seconds)…

ABC Wide Bay – David Dowsett – 7 September 2015 (15 minutes 39 seconds)…