What’s “Immersive”? (Pt. 2)

My research prep for an appearance on an immersive art podcast became ten insights — that changed how I think about what I do.

These were the first five:

1. Immersive is a slippery word.
2. Immersive is trendy, yet ancient.
3. Immersion is evergreen.
4. Immerse originally meant “to dip”.
5. Immersive is temporary.

Here are the last five:

6. Actually, any new space is immersive.
Any time we are “dipped” into new “fluid” we are immersed. New surroundings demand attention.

7. Immersion is also mental.
The original Latin began to refer to mental absorption in a subject by the 16th century. (And to language study in the 1960s.)

8. Physical > sensory > mental.
One type of immersion causes the next, in that order.

9. Immersion works through awe.
Sensory immersion triggers awe, an emotion related to fear. Awe holds attention and increases recall.

10. More senses, more immersion.
Drinking at a forest stream engages all our senses. Hard to do in a gallery. But you don’t need them all. Sight and sound are a powerful pair when both are immersive.

Here’s the thing:
“Immersive” is a slippery word today. But it’s old, and real. When we look past the hype, we find that immersion means a temporary sensory “dip into a fluid”. It is awe-driven, which captures attention and powers recall. And that’s something to build on.

Warmly,
Jonathan