Physical Self Looks More Like Your Avie

Hello,

In RL, I got on the elevator this morning. The inside is covered with mirrors. I suddenly looked very closely at myself, noticing something, thinking, wondering, and then realizing, yes, it's true: I now look more and more like my avie. The shape of my face has changed slightly, a little thinner, a little more angular.

Maybe our bodies/minds/spirits/chromeosomes/whatever see our SL representations, and adjust our mental/physical selves accordingly to match our new image.

Of course, I'm saying this in jest. But then again, I do look more like my avie now than I did six months ago. Or maybe I had too many peyote buttons.

Avanti

>.> If I start looking like my avie all of a sudden people would freak out..thass quite a change...

"Second Life gives you wings!"

If I ever wake up one morning and look in the mirror... and find myself looking like my avatar... I'm going to pass out. (hmmm... not only that, with one of my regular avatars, I wouldn't even fit in the bathroom to look in the mirror).

Have you been playing with your shape in SL? Maybe it's that as time goes by we sort of subconsciously merge our SL shape with our RL shape. I'm always playing with my shape - maybe a little touch here, a little there - bring the hips out a little, soften the jawline...now the eyes aren't quite right...Just a little at a time. After all, for a lot of us, the person we portray in SL really is us, personality wise. My avatar has better hair and he's thinner, plus he gets to have way more fun than I do, simply because he doesn't have to worry about finances, the laws of physics or dying, but essentially, when you speak with me in SL, you are speaking with ME, not Trout. It sort of makes sense that over time, he would evolve to look like me.


...but I'm not giving up the hair, clothes or the toys. His toys and clothes are WAY cooler than mine.

Lol my av is shorter than me, skinnier than me, sexier than me, has bigger boobs than me, has wings sometimes, fangs always...everything is different.. would be interesting to see if people knew it was me if I started changing XD

Plus if I got like halfway between my av and me I might be shot cause people think I'm a mutant or something >.>

*sigh* If I only still looked that good...
/me makes a new year's resolution yet again to join a gym (not)

Exactly that, imho. I didn't discover that I'd done this myself until my RL pointed out that every time he saw my avvie, it looked more like me. You just keep adjusting things on the av, I think, until it "looks right" to you... which, as a representation of self, well... ^^

I find myself thinking, "Avion wouldn't eat that and keep his figure." or "Avion would do a few more lat pulldowns." I also sometimes find myself walking or standing a little more "Zhao" like. You become more aware of things like that when you spend so much time in-world seeing yourself from "outside."

Hmm. I've gotten a handle on my food addiction and have lost some weight. Looking at my avater who is more slender than I for a year could have been a factor. Also I am making more of an effort with my hair and wearing stylish clothes. I don't think I'll go for the mohawk, tho. Interesting.

I tried to make my avatar similar in the basic shape to my real life self (i.e. slightly pear shaped body), only better. And I have to say that since I started playing SL a few months ago, I have been inspired to stick to my diet and fitness plan that I started back in the spring. I would love to look more like my avatar and be able to wear some of the outfits my avatar wears. And after loosing 30 pounds, I feel like I'm almost there.

I'm pretty sure I've not gotten much younger.

Mari

You too? Thank god, I thought I was going crazy.

Excellent question and observation, Trout. Honestly, though, in my case I have not played with my shape or face for literally months. The only change I've made recently was obtaining new eyes that more closely resemble my RL eyes.

Thanks,
Avanti

It may simply be a matter of perception. We look different to others than we look to ourselves. A close analogy...have you ever listened to an audio recording of yourself? I'll bet it sounded a lot different than how you hear yourself from "inside".

As you become used to seeing yourself as your avatar, perhaps you're projecting a bit more of that self image onto the you that looks out of the mirror each morning.

over 6ft tall, built like a brick shithouse, brown scaley skin, dreadlocks and a large horn protruding from my forehead? i wish i could wake up like that one day in RL!!

i have found myself doing "Power walk: slow" sometimes in RL tho. at least i'm not the only one

-Crunch

Hah - Crunch. I remember meeting you in SL quite well. I certainly hope you don't look anything like that in RL, although it's a really cool look in SL.

Great idea! I'm hoping to use this effect in lieu of crunches to develop my abs.

I have read articles about experiments in creative visualization to help combat disease and to aid runners in achieving more. Who knows? Maybe we can also influence our posture and facial expression to nudge them a little closer to our avs. And what about the theory that people look like their pets?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neurons

That is a good point, and I had thought of that, honestly, and it may be true a little, but not a lot. . .and here's a little story:

In 2005, I went on a ten-week bicycling tour (fantastic experience). When I now look at the photos taken of myself towards the end of the tour, I am amazed how different I look! Of course I'm a little thinner from the exercise and more tanned, but there's much more. My face looks like that of a racing cyclist. It's hard to describe, a look in the eyes, how I turn my head, an intense but friendly expression. . .I dunno. . . something like that. It's as if the experience altered my expression and appearance. And now. . .it's mostly but not all gone. (I still cycle, but haven't toured in a long time.)

As we change RL careers, embark on our own adverntures, etc., the "look" of our faces may change to match what we are doing or our new image of ourselves.

In response to our SL world, maybe we do change to more closely match our avies or our experiences in the SL world.

I grew up in the 60s, so excuse my psychelic ramblings. This is all tongue in cheek, or . . . maybe not.

Avanti

LOL have you tried to do any of the SL dances in RL?