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

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It also defined cyberspace (or the matrix as it is also called) has “a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts… A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights receding…" <ref> Myers, Tony (2001). The Postmodern Imaginary in William Gibson’s Neuromancer. MFS Modern Fiction Studies, 47(4)</ref>. The current Virtual Reality technology of our world may not be as advanced as that in the book, where people interact with the network directly through their nervous systems with full sensory stimulation, but that may be just a matter of time <ref name=”4”>. Virtual Reality seems to be finally at the cusp of penetrating our world and becoming common norm with the Oculus Rift and other types of headsets.

The book reflects, ultimately, the increasing presence of technology in our lives, having in its core the direct integration of man and computer. Indeed, development in this direction has already started <ref name=”1”> <ref name=”2”> <ref name=”3”> <ref name=”4”>. The VR headsets are getting better and providing a greater immersion into their virtual realms. Direct brain-to-brain communication between human subjects has been achieved - a sort of technological telepathy – with the aid of electrodes attached to a person’s scalp and the use of the internet to transmit the information <ref> ScienceDaily (2014). Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication Demonstrated in Human Subjects. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140903105646.htm</ref>. Real-time brain control of a computer cursor was already done back in 2002 <ref> ScienceDaily (2002). Researchers Demonstrate Direct, Real-Time Brain Control of Computer Cursor. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020314080832.htm</ref>. There’s a real tendency to merge computers, the Internet and our own wetware <ref> Wikipedia. Wetware (brain). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetware_(brain)</ref> that is evocative of the world William Gibson created.

The book reflects, ultimately, the increasing presence of technology in our lives, having in its core the direct integration of man and computer. Indeed, development in this direction has already started <ref name=”1”></ref> <ref name=”2”></ref> <ref name=”3”></ref> <ref name=”4”></ref>. The VR headsets are getting better and providing a greater immersion into their virtual realms. Direct brain-to-brain communication between human subjects has been achieved - a sort of technological telepathy – with the aid of electrodes attached to a person’s scalp and the use of the internet to transmit the information <ref> ScienceDaily (2014). Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication Demonstrated in Human Subjects. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140903105646.htm</ref>. Real-time brain control of a computer cursor was already done back in 2002 <ref> ScienceDaily (2002). Researchers Demonstrate Direct, Real-Time Brain Control of Computer Cursor. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020314080832.htm</ref>. There’s a real tendency to merge computers, the Internet and our own wetware <ref> Wikipedia. Wetware (brain). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetware_(brain)</ref> that is evocative of the world William Gibson created.

With all these developments there is always the risk of abuse, addiction, as escapism – a subject also dealt with in the book. Either way, our connection with the technology we use is already affecting us <ref> ScienceDaily (2009). Is Technology Producing a Decline in Critical Thinking? Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128092341.htm</ref> <ref> <ref> ScienceDaily (2016). Kids Who Text and Watch TV Simultaneously Likely to Underperform at School. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160518102746.htm</ref> and only time will tell if we will achieved that full integration with the machines that was envisioned in Neuromancer.