computer science

Second Lives

Second Lives is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Second Lives rather than just read about it. In short: Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds is a 2007 book about virtual community, written by author Tim Guest. Contents Tim Guest examines life in virtual worlds.

Key takeaways

Second Lives belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Second Lives to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Second Lives from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds is a 2007 book about virtual community, written by author Tim Guest.

Contents Tim Guest examines life in virtual worlds. He finds some people who claim to have found love and friendship without ever having really met, he looks at companies who have used these virtual worlds to do business including IBM and the Metaverse evangelist Ian Hughes, also the developers Rivers Run Red, who have pioneered virtual worlds for brands and business use. Guest looks at the US military's virtual model to train its warriors to fight, and looks at virtual worlds in South Korea. Guest is worried about the 'dark side' of these worlds with their criminals, mafiosos, prostitutes, hackers and terrorists. This book seeks to address the question: are virtual worlds life enhancing or mere escapism. Guest in his virtual personality, 'Errol Mysterio', explores these worlds.

Film adaptation In 2007, director David Fincher worked with screenwriter Peter Straughan to adapt Second Lives to the big screen. With interest from Brad Pitt and Sacha Baron Cohen, the adaptation was rumored to be about the book's main protagonist, a zany Second Life resident who drove founder Philip Rosedale bonkers.

Bibliography Tim Guest (2008) Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds, Hutchinson

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Second Lives

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Second Lives claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Second Lives before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Second Lives ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Second Lives

In research: Second Lives appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Second Lives in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Second Lives is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 non-fiction books, Computer book stubs, Internet stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Second Lives outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Second Lives in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Second Lives means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Second Lives out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Second Lives in simple terms?

Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds is a 2007 book about virtual community, written by author Tim Guest. Contents Tim Guest examines life in virtual worlds.

Why does Second Lives matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Second Lives?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Second Lives.