Bridging technology and culture gap

RECENTLY, a "virtual reality accelerator" of a large multinational corporation had a question on its online application asking about "years of VR experience". The pulldown menu offered three options: "<1 Year", "1-2 Years" and ">2 Years".

For someone working in the field for several decades, this was a bit alarming, and I contacted the head of the initiative, a friend, to let him know. The next day, the pulldown menu had six options: "<1", "1-2", "2-5", "6-10", "11-20" and "20+ years". Better, but nevertheless reflecting a rather innocent perspective about time frames.

Cultural institutions, by contrast, have at their very foundation a depth of understanding about time frames. Archives and museums with permanent collections need to decide what's worth preserving in perpetuity.