As Malachi and Jena hoped for, and shared during the NHK tour, the move to Las Vegas brought with it many big changes: a new apartment and car, new jobs and schools, and a wedding! (photo top-right was taken by Malachi on their wedding day) The transition wasn’t easy. Early work opportunities proved turbulent, presenting…
Author: Stephanie
"A gush of wind intercepted my train of thought - and gave me a rest.
There is no frame for the universe, just our love."
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-Yoko Ono
Eiko Ikegami to Speak at SXSW Conference, Interactive Xprize Futurecasting Workshop: March 11, 11 a.m.
The press announcement ahead of Eiko Ikegami’s appearance during the popular film, music, and networking conference SXSW 2018 is now released! From the New School’s website: SOCIOLOGIST EIKO IKEGAMI RESEARCHES ADULTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD OF SECOND LIFE Ikegami, a faculty member at The New School, interacted with adults with ASD…
TV Interview: Appreciating Neurodiversity
In this video Dr. Ikegami elaborates on the diversity of intelligences she has come to deeply appreciate while researching autistic and other communities in virtual worlds.
An Adventure through Larre’s Fun House
Among Larre’s creative projects highlighted by NHK TV, is an enormous and intricate Second Life fun house, also featured in the virtual world’s Destination Guide. Larre became Kiremimi’s guide as they explored together, the 3D art that describes his inner world. Upon entering the maze, Larre’s world of 130 rooms, Kiremimi gasped. Dropping herself through…
Meet the Autistic Avatars
With the NHK documentary crew, Eiko/Kiremimi visited three “typists” (individuals behind the autistic avatars she met in Second Life) in real life: Cora, Larre, and Malachi, whose virtual lives as avatars are cited in her book in the Japanese language, Hyper-world, by Eiko Ikegami. The delicate black and while illustrations below graced the pages of…
NHK Arrival in New York, Autism in Real and Virtual Worlds
The NHK film crew arrived in New York City on June 13th, to begin shooting footage for an upcoming documentary about autism in virtual and real worlds. They spent time getting to know Dr. Ikegami in her home environment as a Professor of historical sociology at The New School, learned more about her extensive work…
6/16 – Gentle Heron, Virtually Undaunted (Rogersville, Tennessee)
The first avatar Dr. Ikegami visited with the NHK TV crew was Alice Kruger, founder and president of Virtual Ability Inc., known in Second Life as Gentle Heron. After all, it was meeting Gentle at a Second Life conference early on that inspired the expanded focus of Eiko’s research scope in virtual worlds to further…
6/19 – Yhouse Fest at IAS (Institute for Advanced Study)
YHouse Fest was held on June 19, at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The NHK crew came to film Dr. Ikegami’s presentation: “Consciousness and Culture in The Age of Diverse Intelligences.” Yhouse is a non-profit organization, research institute, and unique gathering space (“House”) based in New York City and dedicated to accelerating…
About this blog: Diverse Intelligences; Autism in Real and Virtual Worlds
This is a travel and research log of Dr. Eiko Ikegami’s journey into the virtual and real worlds of autistic avatars. She has studied the experiences of autistic people in the virtual world of Second Life since 2008, finding that many autistic persons communicate more easily through avatars – that their talents and personalities shine…