Artificial Nature: An Oxymoron

What is the source of novelty in digital replications of nature? Is it that we accept the natural notion of nature as the real, physical, tangible version of it that any attempt to repurpose and reimagine it seem foreign and curious? Or is it an authentic admiration of the technical complexity involved? Perhaps we are finding a sense of consolation and connection to our mother earth in a highly modernized, synthetic urban space by visiting the slightly degraded rendition of a “knock-off” nature. In any case, so long as it is not emblematic of our growing proclivity towards a digitized space as I fear with the godforsaken metaverse, I may be able to swallow this one.

And maybe, just maybe... we may preserve just enough amount of sanity to remember that pixel waves can never replace the real, cold, salty, wet water waves.

…Neither can pixel anything, for that matter.