Moving Toward a Virtual Arena

Born and raised for my first 15 years of life in a small town on the banks of the Pardo River, in Brazil, I learned to understand and appreciate the simple life of small communities - their survival rules, their values, their difficulties, their joys and sorrows, and the solidarity among their members. Dreams and ambitions used to be smaller and more realistic when I lived there 63 years ago, before the advent of television, the internet, mass communication, and the digital world. Life was peaceful, and we walked to school alone. We were not afraid of living people, only of the dead and ghosts. In the decades that followed, the world underwent a transformation that changed the pace of development from linear progression, which we adapted to with some effort, to exponential growth, which is strange and intimidating to us. In a few years, we went from being fascinated spectators of science fiction movies to being their protagonists. Our children are becoming less patient and prefer the immediate gratification that comes from games and electronic devices. Timeless forms of expression such as poems, letters, articles, novels, and love stories are increasingly giving way to text messages, emails, and social media posts. On social networks, people often hide behind avatars and doctored images. In 1969, I was invited to be valedictorian of my class, the second graduating class of the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) School of Medicine, in Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. At that time, I could not foresee that I would live to complete 50 years after graduating (still working), nor that during this journey I would witness so many transformations in the world we live in. I begin the book with my valedictorian speech and recount the experiences I have had throughout my professional and scientific career working as a medical geneticist at University of Campinas, Brasil, University of Miami, NIH, CDC, etc. In the second part of the book, I analyze the impact of technological development from the 4 industrial revolutions, speculating on their potential consequences in the field of medicine and medical practice. Finally, I propose a virtual return to communities to seek ideas and solutions. The title "MOVING TOWARDS A VIRTUAL ARENA" refers to an imaginary community, a "Virtual Arena" where I would like to return, not as a character, but as an observer of a platform for multiple trials aimed at preparing communities for the major personal, professional, and social transformations we are experiencing because of technological acceleration and the potential extension of our lives.