Snow Crash: Difference between revisions - VR & AR Wiki - Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Wiki

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He is the author of several other books like Zodiac, the Hugo award-winning The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, and the three volumes of the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World). Stephenson also writes under the pseudonym Stephen Bury <ref name =”9”></ref><ref name =”14”> Mustich, J (2008). Neal Stephenson: Anathem. Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/neal-stephenson-anathem/</ref>.

==Influence of Snow Crash==

There is no doubt that Snow Crash has a great impact in inspiring a lot of people and their outlook on technology. Indeed, much of the current VR industry is inspired by Stephenson’s novel. The author is also excited about VR and augmented reality (AR). He has shared his general outlook on technology and the future saying that “you can argue that there’s a social impact that’s not so great, in that people can be so fixated on their phone or their laptop that they’re not looking up… I would hope we find our way that we kind of get both, that we continue to get access to all the cool information that’s available on the Internet but maybe do so in a more social way, a more shared way and kind of get back in the habit of looking at each other.” <ref name =”13”></ref>

One of the main concepts responsible for the impact of the novel was the Metaverse - the “dreamy virtual domain that is free of physical constraints and societal status, filled with boundless possibilities limited only by our imagination and creativity.” <ref name =”15”> Bozorgzadeh, Amir-esmaeil (2017). A primer on the Metaverse: The next iteration of the Internet. Retrieved from https://venturebeat.com/2017/04/09/a-primer-on-the-metaverse-the-next-iteration-of-the-internet/</ref> While the internet has been compared to the Metaverse, it still is not the fully realization of that idea. Nevertheless, technology seems to be moving in that direction <ref name =”15”></ref>.

WebVR is a free JavaScript API developed by Mozilla that lets the user have VR experiences through a web browser. Bozorgzadeh, writing for Venture Beat, declared that WebVR is the undisputed missing link that will spark the next iteration of the internet, bringing it closer to the concept of the Metaverse. Due to the increasing focus on the “immersive web” by companies like Google, Oculus, Samsung, and Microsoft, WebVR has had a surge of support. It delivers immersive online experiences without downloads or installs. It also maintains the rights and freedoms of the internet like open and affordable access <ref name =”15”></ref>.

Sean White, SVP of Emerging Technologies at Mozilla, described the next version of the internet - the Metaverse - as “part of the natural evolution, an extension, of how we connect with computation, with each other, and with the world around us. The last several years have seen a proliferation of interaction paradigms that are moving out of pure research and are unified through the Metaverse, and as this happens, we want positive actors in the space — ones that put people first. This has the potential to truly empower learning, creative expression, critical thinking, and connection across the globe.” <ref name =”15”></ref>. Some believe that gaming engines will be the platforms for building the Metaverse, while others think that the concept of the Metaverse goes beyond the capacity of gaming engines, being a protocol supported by multiple platforms from different vendors. WebVR seems a good candidate to bring the next evolution of the internet. It is an open protocol, and can serve as a binding force that connects different mediums. It enables the Metaverse instead of attempting to preconceive and contrive its form, design, and rules. Like the internet, the Metaverse must be a big decentralized and democratized experiment that is organically crowdsourced <ref name =”15”></ref>.

The WebVR developer community is building core metaversal functions like traversal “deep” linking, in which users travel seamlessly between one virtual space to the next without having to remove their headset. Another core construct being built to support a Metaverse are Backpacks. These are portable storage units that allow users to take data from one experience to the next. There are other essentials being developed like security, defining and enabling social interactions, and developing avatars or other forms of identity that are constant or change according to the different virtual worlds <ref name =”15”></ref>.

==Predictions==

Snow Crash is a novel known for its foresight. While Neal Stephenson wrote it in 1992, he described in it a lot of the aspects of our modern day internet and society <ref name =”8”></ref>. Bijan Sabet, a partner at venture-capital firm Spark Capital, said that "we are living in Neal Stephenson's story. The thing about Snow Crash is that every few years something happens that makes the story come alive again and again for me." Others have made analogies between sections of the Metaverse and interactions on Twitter, certain characters and the search capabilities of Google, and compared Hiro’s pizza delivery methods with the current pervasive use of GPS <ref name =”16”> Anders, C. J. (2013). Did Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash predict the world of today? Retrieved from http://io9.gizmodo.com/did-neal-stephensons-snow-crash-predict-the-world-of-t-511697336</ref>.

One of the major predictions was that of the internet. In the novel, users connect to a global network of computers through VR goggles. In the network they interact, trade data, go to what can be considered 3D websites, and play games. The physical components of the network involve large fiber-optic lines all over the world, but the users can also connect to it wirelessly. This Metaverse is where the majority of the story takes place and there are clear parallels with the internet currently available. Another prediction was that of cell phones. In 1992, the cell phone technology was still bulky, but in the novel characters have cell phones that are very similar to the ones that exist today - small and powerful <ref name =”17”> Fife, R. (2011). Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash: ’92’s eerie cyber-prophet. Retrieved from http://www.tor.com/2011/04/14/neal-stephensons-snow-crash-92s-eerie-cyber-prophet/</ref>

Other predictions involve mobile computing - in Snow Crash there is a group of people called Gargoyles that have mobile computers that can jack into the network -, digital libraries, Google Earth, and Digital Rights Management (DRM) <ref name =”17”></ref>.

==References==