NOT MY FIRST METAVERSE

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg might be getting excited about the metaverse, but the idea is nothing new

- ALEKS KROTOSKI

You may have heard the word ‘metaverse’ recently, perhaps for the first time. The big tech companies are propelling it forward with vigorous press releases and starry-eyed hot takes bordering on the messianic.

Briefly, a metaverse is a virtual reality that exists in a layer above the physical, and yet reflects and replicates the things that we need for society to function: economies, hierarchies, judicial systems, and so on. In other words, it’s what we do now, only online with avatars, VR headsets and augmented reality. Perhaps the reason I didn’t see it coming is very simple.