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"Through the Looking Glass" (part two) looks at "Virtual Culture"

Taped live in the 3D on-line community Second Life.

Broadcast beginning week of October 4, 2006

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This week on The Infinite Mind, the second installment of our special series, "Through the Looking Glass,” and our look at the virtual of on-line communities.

In part two, we examine “Virtual Culture.” Careers, real estate, relationships and education are all thriving within virtual platforms like Second Life, which is looking more like a sophisticated civilization than a video game or diversion from reality. But how do real world institutions function in Second Life? How do you run a business? Get an education? Attend a support group? Build a relationship? How about love? What about sex? Is it safe? Can it transcend into real life?

Host John Hockenberry is joined by Neil and Casey Nafus, married in real life, who make their living in Second Life. Neil is a graphic artist and Casey designs virtual clothing. Together they expect to make $200,000 next year.

Also on the program, Lynn Giles and Frank Somers, a couple who met and fell in love in the virtual world of Second Life. They are now are a very real life couple, who talk about the fast-paced dating culture of Second Life and the qualities in each other’s avatars that they first admired.

We hear from John Lester, Community Manager at Linden Lab, and a former Information Technology Director at Massachusetts General Hospital, who talks about his work to promote academic, therapeutic and scientific uses of Second Life.

The program also features a discussion with a former speech pathologist and current Second Life support group leader, The Sojourner, who describes the “emotional bandwidth” that brings virtual social interactions to another level because “consequence-free” environments allow people to gain confidence and cultivate their creativity. And Torley Wong, a classically trained pianist and keyboardist with a rare medical condition, Hyperacuity, that sidelined his career in music. He discusses how Second Life helped him find a new life and career as a music manager.

Finally, John Hockenberry speaks with John Maeda, a world-renowned graphic designer, visual artist, and computer scientist at the MIT Media Lab, and a founding voice for “simplicity” in the digital age. The interview was taped live for The Infinite Mind at our virtual amphitheater in Second Life in front of an avatar audience of more than 100 Second Life residents.

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Read what the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Boston Globe, Wired and others say about these landmark broadcasts (click here)!

Video of Suzanne Vega with John Hockenberry live from Second Life on The Infinite Mind (click here)

The Making of Suzanne Vega's virtual guitar (click on screen)

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Stayed tuned next week as The Infinite Mind presents:

"Through the Looking Glass: Virtual Music" (part three) for broadcast beginning October 11, 2006. In the third program in this special series, host John Hockenberry is joined live in Second Life by singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega, who performs “The Queen and the Soldier,” "Tom's Diner" and "Unbound," and talks about imagination in her songwriting. Also on the program, two Second Life singer/songwriters, Suzen “Juel Resistance” Beach and Grace “Cylindrian Rutabaga,” an Atlanta-based artist who launched her career in Second Life and has gone off to perform in the real world as well.  

"Through the Looking Glass: The Transmission of Experience " (part four) for broadcast beginning October 18, 2006. In the fourth and final program in this special series, host John Hockenberry is joined live in Second Life by author Kurt Vonnegut, whose writing has chronicled the intersection of humanity and technology.  The program also examines 3D virtual reality and the transmission of experience over a digital cable; what this revolutionary medium can do that books, radio, TV and film just can’t (hint: it's a long way from snapshots of your pet, and vacation post cards of a sunset.) Plus a concluding commentary by John Hockenberry as we look back on this landmark four-part series.