Unpublished, 1990

          Abstract--   Meta-Ornament: Identity Vectors in Cyberspace

    I am a jewelry artist, and as such am concerned with the esthetic and 
    psychological issues of self, and the augmentations of self (ornament) 
    inherent in this most personal of all art forms. I believe the same 
    motivations which result in ornament and style in the "real" world will 
    be operant in cyberspace as well, manifesting as a kind of meta-
    ornament that I call "Identity Vectors". It is my contention that this 
    Identity Vector (IV) paradigm can model useful, as well as decorative 
    functions in cyberspace. 

    A well-defined sense of self is a vital basis for all interactions 
    within social structures, and to the extent that cyberspace will be a 
    multi-participant system, there will be complex social interactions 
    evolving. Likewise, a coherent self-sense will provide a degree of psy-
    chological familiarity, which might free long term voyagers in cyber-
    space from "simulator sickness" brought on by close, but not close 
    enough, analogs to real experience. As in the "real" world, much of our 
    self-sense in cyberspace will be derived from the reactions of others, 
    and those reactions will be shaped largely by the kinds of signifiers 
    we choose for representing ourselves in the cyberspace environment. 
    Cyberspace presents the old notion of "crazy from too much choice"; 
    when it is possible to represent oneself in almost any way one chooses, 
    then one's choices become critical or arbitrary, depending on one's 
    point of view.  I believe these choices are important. 

    Human voyagers in cyberspace will be represented by actors, and these 
    actors will need to have some degree of standardization within each 
    cyberspace system, both for purposes of communicative value and to min-
    imize computational strain.  Identity Vectors are customizable aspects 
    of these actors, which will enable the embodiment of a sense of style 
    and individuality.  Beyond the essentially practical function of IVs to 
    facilitate self-sense, this style-encoding capability will enable a 
    whole panoply of creative social interactions based on role playing and 
    psychodrama, which will greatly enrich cyberspace as an arena for human 
    intercourse. 

    Ornament is a concept unique to our species, with psychological under-
    pinnings far more subtle than, say, the exaggerated display behaviors 
    of certain birds.  Although lost in the mists of prehistory, the 
    origins of ornament are most certainly associated with the shamanistic 
    practice of identification with totems representing a higher mythic 
    reality.  This unique quality, which underlies its more obvious func-
    tion as a signifier of wealth, social status, etc., can be reemphasized 
    in the cyberspace environment to create sophisticated forms of psycho-
    logical involvement in an unfolding new paradigm for human existence. 

    Identity Vectors will involve modification of selected aspects of the 
    cyberspace actor, and should ideally control a large enough number of 
    parameters and/or states that identical IVs would be unlikely in a 
    given cyberspace system.  Certain aspects, such as limb configuration 
    and body size, might be a systemwide constant, while allowing color and 
    patterning, for example, to vary.  Dynamic varying of "face" analogs, 
    while computationally heavy, would be an excellent way to convey emot-
    ional states.  For minimum computational drag, it might become common 
    to assign a particular place or area on actors for this sort of person-
    ality expression, a concept not far removed from that of jewelry in the 
    "real" world. 

    Obviously, the ultimate manifestation of meta-ornament will be found in 
    those cyberspace systems dedicated to role playing and fantasy games, 
    where a high premium will be placed on actor configurations. Even in 
    applications as conservative as business negotiations, however, IVs 
    could provide important cues, both true and false, about intent and 
    motivation. 

    I believe that the penetration by humankind into cyberspace will be one 
    of the most interesting and fruitful voyages in the history of our 
    species. I hope that my concept of "Identity Vectors" can provide a 
    basis for preserving, and even expanding our human qualities, as we 
    explore virtual reality.