Abstract:
In the broadest sense, Mixed and Augmented Reality experiences mix sensory
and conceptual elements both externally in the world and in the minds of
their users. The question of how participants in these experiences derive
meaning from these hybrid realities is important for both analysis and
design. By focusing on MAR cultural heritage walking tours, this paper
develops a theory of meaning-making based on the aboriginal walkabout that
accounts for both physical and conceptual experience. Through an interweaving
of concepts from anthropology, architecture, design, cognitive science and
MAR itself, I demonstrate that his theory is compatible with known principles
of brain function and human behavior and thus it serves as a more general
theory of meaning-making applicable beyond the MAR walking tours from which
it was derived.