# Is there an activity that'll allow me to see another universe instead of my own surroundings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 25, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322 "2013-02-25T05:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/21 "2013-02-25T11:04:28Z")
I think I recall reading an article in The New Scientist about a woman (IIRC) who had a leprechaun following her around everywhere. She wasn’t ‘crazy’, because she knew he wasn’t real, and he wasn’t causing any trouble - he just followed her around. I won’t bother trying to find any cites or further info for that unless it is of any interest to you. I don’t remember what it was that caused him to appear, but the little dude was a hallucination, just not a drug induced one. Is the easy answer just to tell you to go to Disneyland? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/22 "2013-02-25T12:10:28Z")
Attend science fiction or comic book conventions, preferably dressed as a character. Become a rabid fan of a given sports franchise. Immerse yourself in a detail-obsessive hobby such as stamp or butterfly collecting (extra points if you specialize in stamps with pictures of butterflies). Or (my personal favourite due to budgetary constraints) sleep and practice dreaming. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/23 "2013-02-25T12:34:04Z")
> [@Snerky\_Snerk](#): > > I think I recall reading an article in The New Scientist about a woman (IIRC) who had a leprechaun following her around everywhere. She wasn’t ‘crazy’, because she knew he wasn’t real, and he wasn’t causing any trouble - he just followed her around. I won’t bother trying to find any cites or further info for that unless it is of any interest to you. I don’t remember what it was that caused him to appear, but the little dude was a hallucination, just not a drug induced one. > > Is the easy answer just to tell you to go to Disneyland? One of my favorite fringe theories (Which I know wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny) is that people with ‎Schizophrenia are stuck between two realities. Ours and some other reality. And it’s the being able to observe both is what drives them crazy. If you could find a way to push them completely into either one, they would be fine. Because who knows, maybe in that other world it’s perfectly normal to have your own personal leprechaun following you around. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/24 "2013-02-25T13:16:33Z")
Audition for _Barney & Friends_? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/25 "2013-02-25T13:23:18Z")
> [@ac05](#): > > Is there an activity where I won’t be seeing my own surroundings, but rather another universe/world/reality instead? Wait - you’re a film major, aren’t you? You were fishing for a “Go to the movies” answer, right? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/26 "2013-02-25T13:31:18Z")
Try staying up for like 40 hours playing video games and then fall asleep - in my experience, you’re almost guaranteed to dream about it. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/27 "2013-02-25T13:32:02Z")
The most serious and original answer I can think of is augmented reality. Or maybe geocaching. So you want to look at, say, a coffee shop, and see it’s really a spaceship repair station? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/28 "2013-02-25T13:37:38Z")
Mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/29 "2013-02-25T13:42:27Z")
Brain damage? You have to be careful though as it might turn the brain off altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/30 "2013-02-25T17:15:46Z")
Schizophrenia. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/31 "2013-02-25T17:22:45Z")
[moderating] I’m not sure quite where to put this, but it definitely isn’t General Questions. I’ve moved it from GQ to MPSIMS. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/32 "2013-02-25T18:05:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Mushrooms. Mushrooms might cause small visual abberations but seeing another universe? Not in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/33 "2013-02-25T18:38:43Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Mushrooms might cause small visual abberations but seeing another universe? Not in my experience. Depends on the specific 'shroom, your own “imagination”, dose, and other drugs concurrently in the system. But I understand your point. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/34 "2013-02-25T18:49:26Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Wait - you’re a film major, aren’t you? You were fishing for a “Go to the movies” answer, right? Whether he was fishing for that or not, it’s probably the best answer to the question. We’ve all had the experience of being so immersed in a movie that we forget that we’re sitting in a theatre. It can take you to all sorts of fantastical worlds, it’s relatively healthy (if you avoid the popcorn), it’s pretty inexpensive, it’s reliable and easily accessible, and it enables millionaires to give other millionaires gold statues. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/35 "2013-02-25T20:52:08Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > The most serious and original answer I can think of is augmented reality. Or maybe geocaching. So you want to look at, say, a coffee shop, and see it’s really a spaceship repair station? I think that’s probably as close to a right answer as can be. Augmented reality could introduce illusory beings into your environment, or could map certain easily-recognisable objects as something else (say, change phone boxes into space rockets). But any such system can’t change so much as to put the user at risk - if it converts your reality into one where there are no cars visible, you’ll get squished trying to cross the road. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/36 "2013-02-25T22:13:02Z")
Why? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/37 "2013-02-25T22:27:09Z")
Find a golden ticket. It’ll take you to a land of pure imagination. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/38 "2013-02-25T22:28:20Z")
The Oculus Rift, coming out later this year I think, will be a VR system with head tracking and 3D full-field-of-view immersion. You’ll be able to play some video games as if you were actually inside the game in many ways! ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/39 "2013-02-25T23:33:03Z")
There are quite good virtual world servers - I recommend [InWorldz.com](http://InWorldz.com). You could wear a head mounted display if you have one, but even on a flat computer screen, they are quite immersive. If you like the concept, but aren’t sure how to get started, I’ll be glad to show you (or any dopers) around. It’s free (if you like it you will probably buy extra content, but you don’t have to). ---
**Author:** ![ac05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@ac05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ac05)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/40 "2013-02-26T00:12:19Z")
> [@Zjestika](#): > > Why? Because I’m bored. Best way to escape boredom is to escape reality. It’s called escapism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322.md?page=3)