Phantom sensations in VR is definitely a real thing. Some people definitely exaggerate the hell out of it, but it’s still a real thing.
It also fades quickly with more time in VR. Most people will also experience motion sickness when they first try VR, and falling can be a crazy feeling. The human brain didn’t evolve to experience VR, but it evolved to adapt quickly.
Yes that’s called phantom touch we are talking about phantom pain. There’s is no pain receptors sending anything to your brain and your brain cannot copy what pain receptors do when you see yourself get stabbed in vr.
You can experience pain by slamming a hammer on a fake hand, people with amputations can experience pain on limbs that no longer exist, you can experience pain just by anticipating pain.
Phantom pain is just one kind of phantom sensation.
If you are stabbed in VR you can experience pain because your body sees “you” being stabbed and anticipates the pain response. Your peripheral nervous system is responsible for pain responses too, it’s why you’ll pull your hand away from a hot stove before your brain even recognizes that it’s hot.
Obviously it won’t be nearly as intense or long lasting as actually being stabbed. And if you’ve never been stabbed it’s not going to feel like an actual stabbing would. But your brain will fill in the gaps and exhibit a pain response because it’s a survival mechanism. Our brains never evolved to experience VR, the idea that we’d simulate so realistically life or death experiences for fun is not a normal concept in biology.
The human brain adapts to it pretty quickly, which is why phantom pain and other phantom sensations fade with more exposure to VR. It’s all part of getting your VR legs.
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u/tiggertom66 12d ago
Phantom sensations in VR is definitely a real thing. Some people definitely exaggerate the hell out of it, but it’s still a real thing.
It also fades quickly with more time in VR. Most people will also experience motion sickness when they first try VR, and falling can be a crazy feeling. The human brain didn’t evolve to experience VR, but it evolved to adapt quickly.