computer science

Virtuality (software design)

Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) rather than just read about it. In short: Virtuality is a term used by Ted Nelson for what he considers one of the central issues of software design. "Virtuality" refers to the seeming of anything, as opposed to its reality. (This has been the dictionary meaning of "virtuality" since at least the 18th century).

Key takeaways

Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Virtuality (software design) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Virtuality is a term used by Ted Nelson for what he considers one of the central issues of software design. "Virtuality" refers to the seeming of anything, as opposed to its reality. (This has been the dictionary meaning of "virtuality" since at least the 18th century). Everything has a reality and a virtuality. Nelson divides virtuality into two parts: conceptual structure and feel so in every field these have different roles. The conceptual structure of all cars are the same, but the conceptual structure of every movie is different. The reality of a car is important, but the reality of a movie is unimportant—how a shot was made is of interest only to movie buffs. The feel of software, like the feel of a car, is a matter of late-stage fine-tuning (if it is worked on at all). But Nelson regards the design of software conceptual structure—the constructs we imagine as we sit at the screen—as the center of the computer field. However, the conceptual structure of almost all software has been determined by what Nelson calls the PARC User Interface, or PUI, on which Windows, Macintosh and Linux are all based. The feel is only icing on top of that. In relation to new media, Steve Woolgar has proposed 'five rules of virtuality'" that are drawn from in-depth research in the UK on uses of the so-called 'New Media':

Both the uptake and uses of new media are critically dependent on the non-ICT-related contexts in which people are situated (gender, age, employment, income, education, nationality). Fears and risks associated with new media are unevenly socially distributed, particularly in relation to security and surveillance. CMC-mediated or 'virtual' interactions supplement rather than substitute for 'real' activities. The introduction of more scope for 'virtual' interaction acts as a stimulus for more face-to-face or 'real' interaction. The capacity of 'virtual' communication to promote globalization throughout communication that is spatially disembedded encourages, perhaps paradoxically, new forms of 'localism' and the embedding, rather than the transcendence, of identities grounded in a sense of place, belief, experience, or practice.

References

Further reading Cyberspace and Human Nature, Howard Rheingold. 1991

External links Web Studies, and other new media studies resources VoS: Voice of the Shuttle

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Virtuality (software design)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design)

In research: Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) 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: Virtuality (software design) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Software design, Technology neologisms, Ted Nelson, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Virtuality (software design) in simple terms?

Why does Virtuality (software design) 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 Virtuality (software design)?

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 Virtuality (software design).