Theory as Food
Much
like the console cowboys in Neuromancer, the act of connecting
to slashdot.org offers a reality that few can fully appreciate
and that many despise, i.e. the search for perfect/useful Technology.
The content offered on slashdot often is relevant to few and
requires interpretation and manipulation, which reminds me of
how Gibsons writing style often asks us to let loose and use
our imagination in order to think about technologies which do
not exist yet, or exist in a form which we hadn’t quite
thought of. For example on Slashdot.org there are many posts
where new technologies who’s usefulness and identity are
yet to be determined, this reminds me of Molly’s claws
in her hands; on the one hand, we obviously see them as a weapon,
but how you get from the concept of metal in your body to claws
is where I feel slashdot and Neuromancer often cross paths. This
blending of reality vs. the virtual is quite interesting, not
only through the aspect of whether the technologies are a reality;
but also from the point of view where one thinks about the fact
that all of this information is being disseminated in silence.
Where the only thoughts offered on the website are silent in
word, but often loud in text.