Becoming Me in Second Life
Technology is an extraordinary tool used in all fields but until recently I had never used it to transform myself into someone completely different. It is quite amazing how a box full of wires and chips and a flat screen can take you into another world and paint a picture of you as somebody else. Second Life is the tool I have experimented in and Leonardo da Vinci was my test subject. In this paper, I hope to explain my experience with Second Life and how I was able to transform into my role model.
Before there ever was a Project Two there was a Project One. The first project was an in-depth writing, about our true role model. It was a descriptive look at whom I saw as a role model for my life and how I can strive to be like him. I found inspiration in Leonardo da Vinci, the artist and all around seeker of truth. Leonardo did so much in his life, he grew up with art and it was always something he found extremely important to everything he did. He became a historic figure in the art community and he was able to stay true to what he felt important. I am an artist myself and I find inspiration when learning of his many accomplishments. His paintings were some of the first in his field to really connect to the viewer and he really felt the importance of knowing his subjects and how they work. Also, Leonardo was an amazing inventor and he used his artistic eye to create many complex things. He was a man of extraordinary talent, making him a great role model. Not only was he these things, Leonardo da Vinci was my role model because I connect with him in one profound way. Through art, I see the great impact Leonardo had and it inspires me. He was a leader in everything he did, making him the perfect basis for my projects.
The Second Life logo
All these things were the base
factors in Project One, which when compared, sounds highly different from
Project Two. The brief summary of instruction for Project Two were much more
advanced than that of Project One. Project Two was based upon Second Life, an
online computer world where one can transform into anyone he desired. Our
initial assignment was to set up an account in Second Life and create a
character. We were not allowed to create just any character, we had to
transform into out role model from Project One. The process of creating my
character was a discovery project in itself.
Before anything we were able to customize our character. This process was the building blocks for the transformation into our role model. It was especially important for me because it was taking me back in time, with each new addition to my role model, I jumped back a century until I found myself in the Renaissance. I also found that as I customized him, I found myself being transformed into Leonardo da Vinci. As I placed his beard upon his chin I could almost see myself as him, stroking the long patch of hair. As I picked his clothes, I felt as though I was Leonardo, going through a dresser choosing his outfit for the day. By the end, I was in his shoes, looking through his eyes and seeing the Second Life world around me. After I transformed my character and myself, I was left to explore the world within Second Life, which was limited to U.T. Island. The island is a wonderful place within itself, where all the role models are left to live and be amongst each other. I was first left with the challenge of how to get about, and unlike the real Leonardo da Vinci, I was able to fly (though he did design many flying crafts in his lifetime). Also, I discovered, as it is in the real life U.T., the Tower is the main focal point and meeting place for the distinguished minds of its inhabitants. Many times through the course of my Second Life experience, everyone would meet at the Tower. Eventually I was able to move about freely and become accustomed to my new world, then it was time to become my role model and converse with other role models.
The
next process was the real experience behind the project. I found myself having
a conversation with whom my fellow classmates found as leaders and influential
figures in their lives. My intellectual chat was held between myself, Margaret Iwish, Randall Fizzle, Catherine
Chesnokov, Ralph Felisimo, and Yukioshi Takaai. Our main goal was to answer the
question, What makes one a leader? and more importantly, What defines a
leader or leadership? My first reaction stated that, I believe that a true
leader is someone who strives for perfection.[1]
This statement cause many discussions about the idea of perfection, through our
learning I discovered most believe perfection is unreachable but the attempt at
perfection is one that will better a person. Many agreed that the process of
reaching perfection is what truly defines someone as a leader. Yukioshi later
brought up the point of the impact of a leader with his statement, A leader
can be on a very small scale, such as the leader of a boy scout troop, all the
way up to the leader of a nation, such as the President of the United States.[2]
This phrase was met with positive reaction among the group and is something I
found to be quite true in every way. A leader can be anyone, from a single
mother to a king or a queen, it is their character that defines them, not their
status. Throughout the entire conversation I noticed that very rarely was there
ever a disagreement over our thoughts. It was amazing how so many different
people from different times and backgrounds found that their idea of a leader
was primarily the same thing. The main thing I took away from my first chat was
that; through all the diversity and differences, all of us shared leadership
qualities, and it is these qualities which allows us to stand out amongst the
masses.
My first Second Life
group discussion, Group 2, I am the one sitting in the maroon chair.
After the first conversation, each character was required, once again, to meet with his peers in the Second Life world. The second conversation was much like the first, only this time the group had a second question to answer, What is the relationship between diversity and leadership? The chat consisted of myself, Betty Questi, Shakespeare2 Iwish, and Randall. This chat was quite interesting and it brought up many good arguments and discussions. I started by asking my colleagues what they thought a leader was, and like the first conversation, the idea of a leader was similar amongst everyone. One important insert was made by Shakespeare, which stated, Thou art a man or woman that faces a problem and performs great change with solutions.[3] So once it was clear what was believed to be a leader I took it a step closer by asking everyone was diversity meant to them, one response was, That is true, Wayne, when you lead someone to a place or idea that they are not use to, that is how diversity begins.[4] As with the definition of a leader, diversity carried a relative idea amongst the group. It was when we searched for a connection that we found our views were individual and somewhat different. Conflict began when I asked the question, Ah, but if a leader changes his belief, which he has a right to do, then what of the follower, what does he do then?[5] I found that this question would really help to define the connection between a leader and diversity, and also spark some disagreements between the group. I was correct in my assumption and ideas began to emerge, one of which was made by Betty Questi stating that, This is true. A leader can always introduce new ideas and show his followers his reasoning behind this change of view.[6] Others believed that discovering was a waste of time to which I thought the process of discovery was time well spent. All in all, the second conversation brought up many more disagreements than the first one. I learned that when individuals have to search for a connection, they are met with sometimes opposite ideas. But, through it all we did find many connections between leadership and diversity. I learned that it is a shared feeling; that diversity comes with leadership.
My
second group, Group 4, I am the man sitting on the left side of the screen
on the black couch.
All of these experiences helped me better understand the idea of sympathetic imagination. One definition of sympathetic imagination says it is, The act of identification consists not in reading into the object subjective feelings aroused by it in the observer, but in perceiving, by instinctive but sagacious insight, the essential character and reality of the object itself. Empahty or Einfuhlung emphasizes the dissolving of the boundary between the artist and his object and his identification with ity but signifies less an actual entering into the imaginative object, with the consequent perception of its true nature, than the unconscious attribution to it of qualities and responses known and felt by the imagination itself, i.e. the merging of the perceiving mind and the perceived object is largely the by-product of the working of the imagination, projected upon the object.[7] In other words it is becoming your subject, filling its place and discovering through their eyes. I became my role model through the project. I found myself talking like him and acting as he would. It was quite an experience and it was something I found quite easy to do. Second life allowed me to truly become Leonardo da Vinci. Through this project and the idea of sympathetic imagination, I was able to learn more about my role model and myself. I realized that I shared many beliefs with Leonardo. I believe the process of creation is in ways, more fulfilling than the final project. That belief is something I use in my artwork and in my schoolwork. By the end of the project, all the many steps and applications left me with answers to questions I had not thought to ask.
I had once been apprehensive about the Second Life experience, I wondered how I would ever be able to grasp the interface and really connect with my character. As the process went on I found myself becoming more comfortable in my new environment. I found that I was able to connect more with my role model when I was sitting and talking with other colleagues. I learned that my role model is different in his beliefs when compared to others, but the leadership characteristics he has are similar to those of others. I also learned that Leonardo would have been amazed at our technological advances. I learned many things about myself in this project as well. I learned that I was able to transform myself into a leader and also to overcome my rejection of computers. I was able to get over the interface hurdle, which had always stood in my way. In all, Project Two was very much a learning experience. It taught me many things about myself, my role model, and my peers. I feel as though the project was the connection I had been searching for, that brought my mind into its fullest. It was the meeting of the left-sided brain, and the right-sided. Also, I felt that I became those attributes I strived for in my role model.
Me at my computer in class, experimenting with the
program (I am behind Austin)
I had wanted
to be more like my role model in Project One. I wrote of why he was such an
inspiration to me, and how I strived to imitate his successes. In Project Two I
became my role model. I transformed myself into to who he was. I looked like
him, I talked like him, I was Leonardo da Vinci. I also interacted with, not my
classmates, but other role models. Each person was a leader in their own right
and the coming together of those minds was something truly great. I learned
from their teachings and customs and they from mine. Not only have I been able
to connect with my role model, I have grown as a person and I have done things
I would never have been able to do. The experiment with Second Life, and my
test subject Leonardo da Vinci, have led me to many solutions and a feeling of
triumph.
Word Count: 1840