I’ve never read Neuromancer, but in reading the article from The Guardian and thinking about the line
between real and digital spaces, I was particularly struck by two sentences that appear close to the
end of the article.
between real and digital spaces, I was particularly struck by two sentences that appear close to the
end of the article.
“The characters are themselves fixated on technology, and wonder aloud at how its powers
might be stretched even further” (Mullan).
might be stretched even further” (Mullan).
This idea is particularly relevant to humanity’s ongoing relationship with technology. As technology
continues to advance, there will always be someone looking to advance it even further. There will
never be a conclusion to the advances of technology. There will always be someone working on
developing the newer, better, faster, bigger version of any given piece of technology. And in the
modern world, this obsession is not necessarily limited to niche communities anymore; instead,
the connection to technology is a daily norm for most people. In the general public, people clamor
for the newest, biggest, fastest technological device available still wonder at how it could be improved.
continues to advance, there will always be someone looking to advance it even further. There will
never be a conclusion to the advances of technology. There will always be someone working on
developing the newer, better, faster, bigger version of any given piece of technology. And in the
modern world, this obsession is not necessarily limited to niche communities anymore; instead,
the connection to technology is a daily norm for most people. In the general public, people clamor
for the newest, biggest, fastest technological device available still wonder at how it could be improved.
“The natural has been subsumed into the artificial” (Mullan).
With the obsession with social media “likes” and “follows” (among other things), this sentence rings
very true in regard to modern society’s relationship with technology. Facebook friends and online
friendships are now just as common as “real-life” friendships. For many people, there is no distinction.
For a long time things that happened online weren’t considered “real life.” However, over time, as
technology has become more and more integrated into the day-to-day life of people, the distinction
between events in “real life” and events online has become blurred. At this point, it could possibly be
argued that the line that separates the two no longer even exists. For many people, the digital spaces
that exist online are just as “real” as the physical spaces that people occupy.
very true in regard to modern society’s relationship with technology. Facebook friends and online
friendships are now just as common as “real-life” friendships. For many people, there is no distinction.
For a long time things that happened online weren’t considered “real life.” However, over time, as
technology has become more and more integrated into the day-to-day life of people, the distinction
between events in “real life” and events online has become blurred. At this point, it could possibly be
argued that the line that separates the two no longer even exists. For many people, the digital spaces
that exist online are just as “real” as the physical spaces that people occupy.
In considering the Digital Humanities (DH), the ideas behind these two passages are very important.
The digital humanities acknowledges and understands the role and value of technology in the modern
world. By embracing the advances in technology, DH has created a space to study, share, analyze the
very old fields of the Humanities in new, engaging, and technologically advanced ways. In doing this,
DH is also able to connect and build communities of people that may not have existed without the
technological connections that are now possible.
The digital humanities acknowledges and understands the role and value of technology in the modern
world. By embracing the advances in technology, DH has created a space to study, share, analyze the
very old fields of the Humanities in new, engaging, and technologically advanced ways. In doing this,
DH is also able to connect and build communities of people that may not have existed without the
technological connections that are now possible.
Work Cited
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ReplyDelete"At this point, it could possibly be
ReplyDeleteargued that the line that separates the two no longer even exist"
Agreed. In fact, I think that it could be argued that the line that seperated was arbitrary and artificial from the outset, like state lines and national barriers.
"Real" as a category is much less defined than we have been conditioned to believe, and the growing impact of the "virtual" world on the traditional one is evidence of that.
There are certainly potential pitfalls with an uncritical embrace of cyber/virtual reality. The obsessive desire to advance technology, I believe, is at least in part a product of Modern ideology coupled with 21st-century ability. Wendell Berry says it is as if our culture has lost the ability to subtract, thinking that all "progress" is progress--all addition is inherently good. That mindset is, anthropomorphic analogy aside, the mindset of cancer cells. Keep adding and adding, expanding and expanding, until the host eventually dies.
Technological advancements are all well and good, but we need to be mindful of dangers and side-effects and willing to question whether we *should* just because we *can*.