Could man live in a computer program?

Does your life ever bore you, to the point, that you wish you could live in a computerized program? Well, according to Michael McGuigan, a scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, technology is "just a few years away" from allowing you to get in touch with your inner Neo (?). How McGuigan hypothesizes that computers will be able to generate lifelike images is interesting, yet unsubstantiated.

As told to newscientist.com, McGuigan explains that computers are ready to produce artificial scenes and textures that can pass themselves off as real to the human eye right now. Right now!? Evidently, it is the case, but presently, it takes hours to render such detailed images. To fully create a passable virtual reality, McGuigan claims that this ability must be sped up to the point that computers can render these scenes in real-time.

Think of the possibilities of such a program. You'd like to go golfing, but you get off work too late; go to the VR golf course. Don't have the time to go on vacation, spend an evening at a VR tourist spot. This technology could revolutionize how leisure time is spent. Potentially, it would also allow those strapped for money to be able to visit exotic locales at discounted rates.

However, we shouldn't get too carried away with ourselves. After all, it is easy to set up an arbitrary timeframe for, but hard to actually come through when the time comes. And by a few years, does McGuigan mean two to three, like most people would take "a few" to mean. Or does he mean that in the absolutely perfect scenario, this type of virtual world could be available in such a short time. Maybe the more realistic expectation is within a few decades. At any rate, everything attached to this story is mere speculation. Perhaps it is better to leave it at that, opting to dream of the possibilities instead.