9 Mar 16
āVirtualā Reality?
āThe most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t being said. The art of āreading-between-the-linesā is the lifelong quest of the wise.ā
Alder
In every currently-popular video game that involves shooting, rifle optics always come effortlessly and perfectly sighted-in. And, the rifle is always absolutely steady, as if stabilized by a gyroscope, no matter how heavily one is breathing.
And as if by magic, your bullet ever establishes a trajectory that is perfectly straight (out to infinity), and perfectly aligned with, the reticle, no matter the range to the target.
Instead of traveling at 3,000 f/s, with its velocity constantly deteriorating as it goes downrange, your bullet magically travels at a constant 982,080,000 f/s (the speed of light), 327,360 times faster!
Gravity and air-friction never have the slightest effect, not to mention wind, rain, and ballistic drift! This applies to all firearms, even ābattlefield pick-ups.ā
Of course, the foregoing is nowhere near they way it works in the real world!
Accordingly, I sometimes find young shooters (fifty and younger), accustomed to playing such video games and actually thinking they have thus learned something useful, puzzled when establishing and confirming genuine rifle zero with real rifles, real ammunition, under real field conditions..
The real process involves far more variables and frustration than what they expect.
My good friend and colleague, Dave Grossman, has always been critical of video games, for a variety of reasons. Iām now coming to realize he has been right all along!
These games are, I suppose, endemic to our civilization, but like Dave, I donāt think they are doing anyone any good, as they surely donāt prepare their devotees for any species of reality!
āLife is just as deadly as it looks.
Fiction is far more forgiving.”
Richard Thompson
/John
