We use avatars all the time, even outside of our computer screens. The advent of playing roles to fit in and navigate other worlds is not exclusive to gaming, though that is where we hear the word “avatar” thrown around most. Once you enter a game of soccer, and are pitted against another team, you take on the role of a player from your own team. The rules of your world have … [Read more...] about Avatars and Our Perception of Self in Digital Worlds
Articles
All My Life: The Importance of Community
All my life is a 2020 romance movie that was directed by Marc Meyers, written by Todd Rosenberg, and based off of a true story. The movie follows our main characters, Jenn and Sol, as they make the most out of Sol’s last couple of months to live. Jenn and Sol are getting ready to start their lives together when Sol gets very sick. He wakes up one night in excruciating pain and … [Read more...] about All My Life: The Importance of Community
The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Sham Study
Any student who has taken an Introductory Psychology course has read about the Stanford Prison Experiment. Philip Zimbardo, the researcher from Stanford in charge of the study, randomly assigned participants into groups of ‘guards’ (11 participants) or ‘prisoners’ (10 participants), each with corresponding roles and levels of power. Participants were paid for each day in the … [Read more...] about The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Sham Study
The Mathematics of Aerospace Engineering: Part 3 (Sequences, Series, & Taylor Polynomials)
In this week’s blog post, we continue our discussion of the mathematics of aerospace engineering (and all engineering fields in general). We will combine fundamental concepts in differential calculus with mathematical structures called sequences and series to create nice functions that can allow engineers and mathematicians to approximate the values of weird and wonky … [Read more...] about The Mathematics of Aerospace Engineering: Part 3 (Sequences, Series, & Taylor Polynomials)
XR and Accessibility
One of the biggest contentions most critics have with Extended Reality is its lack of attention to accessibility. The fact of the matter is, it is not guaranteed that we can all use our senses to the same extent as everyone else around us; we will all therefore experience XR in different ways. Some are at an even bigger disadvantage due to issues in motor, visual, or auditory … [Read more...] about XR and Accessibility