Comments on: Paper #1 Topics

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:07:35 +0000

I’m interested in the actual technology of Snow Crash. Similar to “rofl” I’d like to explore what we are actually working towards in real life. The question is basically: ‘Will the metaverse and tools used for connecting to it be technologically possible in the relatively near future, and what would it mean to real society?’

By: Mindy

Mindy — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:40:04 +0000

I’m interested in exploring the blurring of the virtual and the real…I guess the question I’d like to ask in forming my thesis is, ‘Can the virtual and the real blend to the point where neither is recognizable?’ In many of the readings we’ve discussed, the physical world is still there as an anchor to prove the the virtual illusory. What happens when we begin to cross the boundary of the ‘real’ world with the virtual? Is this even possible?

By: holyroflcopter

holyroflcopter — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:27:32 +0000

I’m not really sure what I would like to be the focus of my paper. What I’ve been most interested in is the technologies described, specifically in Neuromancer and Snow Crash, and if they’re really so farfetched. Some of the leaps made in terms of the technology described in these texts are beyond walking before you can crawl, these are a full sprint.

By: Corey

Corey — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:16:46 +0000

My paper will focus on a theme most explicitly expressed in “Metropolis,” that the heart (or soul, spirit, etc.) needs to mediate between the brain and the hands. Much of what we have read has dealt with the idea of living in a world where technology has advanced beyond our imaginations, but people still seem miserable, or their creations have gotten out of control. The 3 most obvious examples to me would be “Frankenstein,” “Nueromancer,” and “Snow Crash.”

By: Tom H.

Tom H. — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:36:47 +0000

The idea that I would like to discuss is around Gibson’s works and the effect that his works have had upon the creation of Cyberspace as we know it today. Gibson’s works are very well known thoughout the community and I’m curious as to how much Gibson’s works are predicting what the internet has become, and/or to what extent it has created what the internet has become.

By: Kimberly McGuire

Kimberly McGuire — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:42:07 +0000

The ideas in which i would like to discuss in the essay are gender roles, the internet as a (communist) Utopia, and Soul (do cyborgs have souls?) The texts in which I will refernece are City of the Sun, Frankenstein, and The Souls of Cyberfolk;Posthumanism as Vernacular Theory (thomas foster).

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:13:06 +0000

I like talk more about time traveling. I like to talk in depth of the parallels of time traveling. Possibly the themes of the different worlds. I would like to compare the difference between time traveling and cyberspace.

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 23:13:04 +0000

In my paper, I’d like to further explore the idea and possibilities of multiple threads of time simultaneously occurring. The Garden of the Forking Paths would play a major part in my research, as well as the ideas I discussed in Response Assignment #3 regarding hypertext. Multiple windows are opened and follow different paths, but both end up in the “History” file. I would also like to delve deeper into The Hunter Out of Time and explore what Comerford sees when he looks through the black oval. He mentions being able to see other worlds and I would like to read more to see if it has any correlation to the ideas in The Garden of the Forking Paths.

By: Paul Morris

Paul Morris — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 23:06:47 +0000

I would like to compare the mentality/ideas of early cyberspace pioneers and hackers..the modem, phone phreaks, with their literary counterparts. Kevin Mitnick, The Mentor, etc.. It is just an idea in the development stage. I’m trying to think of a more specific focus concerning literary characters.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:37:41 +0000

The topic that I want to cover is the utopian society and how we are attempting to achieve it through cyberspace. Several of our readings so far will be easily and extensively referenced.