NB: This is a repost . The initial post was removed as it was missing a "submission statement".

The concept of the metaverse has gained significant attention in recent years, with many speculating about its potential to revolutionize, in the future, the way we interact and engage with the world and with each other. However, there are still questions about whether it is more hype than substance, and whether it will truly live up to its promises.

One argument in favor of the metaverse is it can offer immersive and augmented experiences stimulating our senses in a way classical settings may not be able to achieve. This makes it a good fit for certain activities such as attending live events with a sense of presence and interacting with remote friends and co-workers in a way that feels like in-person meetings.

But the key questions are:

Does it make sense for people to be in an immersive 3D world for all regular day-to-day activities?

For example, having to enter a virtual branch of a bank to make a wire transfer would not make sense. The same is true for tasks such as stock trading, booking flights, summoning a ride-sharing service, … to only cite a few.

If we consider the argument that the metaverse is not only about VR but also about a blended version of virtual and physical worlds through augmented reality (AR), will it then be more likely to get a wide adoption in the future?

There is room for augmented experiences where not completely disconnecting from reality may be more effective than fully immersing ourselves in a virtual world. For example, learning the piano could be done by using a real instrument and having visual guidance overlayed on the keyboard, showing which key should be hit next

Still, some questions remain for AR:

Do we see a future where this will be our preferred primary way of interacting with the world for all day-to-day activities?

Will our delicate brains be able to handle a permanent visual stimulation directly projected onto our eyes?