The Floor is Made of Lava

The term Sfyxopalphasia has been affixed to a rare, yet troubling neurological disorder. Sfyxo, the Aramaic term for, interior, and phasia, a Celtic phrase meaning to redesign by way of destroyer, are joined together by an imaginary modifier, pal, for aesthetic purposes. Many have questioned this term. Both its etymology, and whether or not the term appropriately describes the disorder are regularly called into question.

Originally coined by a children's psychologist by the name of Dr. Ackerman in 1991, only several other professionals have brought the term into the public square. Ackerman, a PHD in psychology, and self tutor of ancient languages, created the term to describe the affliction of one of his patients. The child seemed to be suffering from some form of brain trauma as a result of playing virtual reality games. Ackerman noted that social communication had become difficult for the child, and that his perceptions of the world seemed to be skewed. He noted that the child was uninterested in traditional skill building games, such as catch, or yahtzee, but that the boy excelled at rearranging furniture so as to traverse a room without touching the ground. He demonstrated these skills impressively in a series of controlled tests.

In 1994, Dr. Ackerman published his controversial book, "The Floor is Made of Lava: An Investigation of the Affect of Negative Feedback From an Imaginary Construct on the Ever Developing Mind". His book was met with skepticism, but garnered some acclaim outside of the intellectual circles. In it, he posits that repeated actions, even those made within a virtual reality, will program the brain. Usually this programing is something small, such as a program which instructs one to eat with a fork. However, when a certain action is repeated often enough, and for long enough durations, a large portion of the brain can be rewritten so to speak. In the case of his patient, the brain we reprogrammed so that it would be useful for avoiding pits of lava.

Since this publishing, Several other cases have been diagnosed, but the disorder of Sfyxopalphasia is denounced by the professional community at large. Dr. Ackerman has remained largely silent on the subject. He gave just one lecture at the University of Applied Science and Design at Denton, Texas in 2007. He spoke about virtual reality, and the evolution of human consciousness.

"A decade ago, children were thinking in terms of platforms and pitfalls. Already we see the affect this is having on the world and society at large. I tremble to think what will become of the world once the children thinking in portals reach maturity."
-Dr. H. Ackerman