virtual |ˈvər ch oōəl|
adjective
almost or nearly as described, but not completely or according to strict definition : the virtual absence of border controls.
• Computing not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to do so : a virtual computer. See also VIRTUAL REALITY.
• Optics relating to the points at which rays would meet if produced backward.
• Physics denoting particles or interactions with extremely short lifetimes and (owing to the uncertainty principle) indefinitely great energies, postulated as intermediates in some processes.
DERIVATIVES
virtuality |ˌvər ch oōˈalitē| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (also in the sense [possessing certain virtues] ): from medieval Latin virtualis, from Latin virtus ‘virtue,’ suggested by late Latin virtuosus.
I am a big believer in experience. Get yourself in that car, boat, plane - just go and see, smell, hear, feel, taste what the World has to offer. I think of the adventure involved in the journey to experience experience. I think back fondly to the day I foolishly attempted to go through the Louvre in three hours. But I did get to see the Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People and the Venus de Milo with my own eyes. As exhausted as I was, I was also thrilled to be in Paris attempting to speak French, sampling food, being invited to a party, and, simply, taking it all in.
For me, traveling was, essentially, my early life. Born in the Panama Canal Zone and spending a great deal of my youth in Germany, I never really felt I had a home and that I was destined to always be on the move. Maybe that's why I like driving so much. Then I moved to Boston, and even with the occasional move to different neighborhoods, I actually stayed for almost 19 years. Towards my final years in the Old Towne, I wanted to get on a plane again. So I hatched a plan to introduce two friends to each other and they would get married and since one of them was Irish, I'd get to go to a wedding in Ireland - and it worked. The following year, Paris, Madrid and back to London. Two years later after my move to NYC, my neighbor convinced me to go to Costa Rica. I actually didn't want to go but I have to tell you that zip-lining 80 ft. above a rain forest floor, riding a horse through a driving tropical rain storm, and taking in hot springs near an active volcano was an experience!
I'm going at length about this because going to these places and being there was/is completely visceral - that thing that can never be captured in books or online.
But the reality is that for many, if not most, that is simply something that will not happen. For whatever reason, not happening. So what is left is that an online experience these days is the next best thing if not better.
During another enjoyable brunch at Bar Tabac, I pressed the case I made above. However, a dear friend pointed out that a virtual museum tour may actually provide more of an educational or appreciative experience than you could by just looking at a work of art never mind actual access.
Yeah, I got to see the Mona Lisa. It's behind bulletproof glass. If you don't go first thing when the Louvre opens, the room containing the Mona Lisa becomes a mosh pit. Oh, there was the arranging of accommodations. There was flying to Paris after making the connection thru London. Packing. Or I can go to the link above or any other reference I can find online and learn much more about this painting without throwing one elbow while jockeying for room. Without leaving my home. Without losing my luggage!
Hmm... I enjoy the anticipation of a journey. I also enjoy learning something new or different. Of course, I grew up in a generation where you had to go out into the World (or at least the library). Now, the World is at my fingertips via a computer or smartphone - it's a different kind of journey.
The World is constantly changing - blink and you may miss something. But the way we experience the World is also constantly changing. There will come a time that technology will improve to the point where permission slips may not be required for a school field trip or making a journey will not be the production it is currently. But for now, just go...
However you choose...
