“Excuse me for being blunt,” Deb said pointedly, “but you have completely missed my point.”
The words hung over table for a moment, as the waiter stopped by and collected the now-empty plates. In the dim background, the occasional clink of dishes floated on a gentle murmer of conversation. James examined Deb’s face carefully for a sign of humour, but found none. Once again, he realized, he’d have to endure one of her condescending rants about some arcane geek topic.
Deb took a sip of water, and began. “When you create a simulated world, the first thing you do is establish a maximum level of detail. Look around you,” she gestured expansively, and James felt obliged to do what he was told.
“What do you see?” Deb asked him.
James considered not answering. After all, there could be no correct answer, but to not play along would sour the mood, so he responded. “Well, I see a restaurant. People eating. Talking. Plates of food. Drinks–”
“Yes, yes,” Deb cut him off quickly. “That’s the obvious stuff. Now look closer. At this candle, for example.” James complied. “See the way it flickers? And the imperfections in the glass? And closer still, do you see the tiny ripples of wax?”
Confused, James answered, “Yes. It’s very pretty.”
Deb let out an irritated sigh. “No. Well, yes, it’s pretty, but more importantly it’s infinitely detailed. We are surrounded by infinite detail. You can look as closely as you like, and there’s still more detail to be seen. You can’t do that with a computer.
“When you create a simulation,” she continued, “you have to establish a maximum level of realism. Okay, now look at that woman walking past out the window.”
James looked. “The one walking and reading?”
Deb nodded, “One of her feet is obviously larger than the other. If I created a computer model of a person and one foot was larger than the other, people would think that I made a mistake.”
“You know,” James pointed out, “she really shouldn’t wear sandals. That’s nasty.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t bother her,” Deb shrugged, then popped another shrimp in her mouth. “But she should try some conditioner. Her hair is totally limp. Want another?” she gestured to her shrimp cocktail.