Existence is achieved at the cost of creating oneself to be known to others not for losing the world outside. The virtual community of cyberspace is an actuality of time, spent expressing oneself to others, and this is not a denial of the world, but an acceptance of it. The domain of cyberspace is so large that it can't be measured at this time and even when we are able to measure it we (who use the W.W.W.) still won't be losing the world but gaining more of it. That is what the W.W.W. is a culture within a cultural-istic entity. Our history of trying to communicate faster has always been in the forefront. Such as during wars, hopital emergencies and just to say hello (Pony Express). The WWW has been around for quite a while and we can even locate someone through their IP address (country, state, etc.)
An entity could be viewed as a set containing subsets. In philosophy, such sets are said to be abstract objects. Sometimes, the word entity is used in a general sense of a being, whether or not the referent has material existence; e.g., is often referred to as an entity with no corporeal form, such as a language. It is also often used to refer to ghosts and other spirits. Taken further, entity sometimes refers to existence or being itself (Wikipedia).
Clearly, his focus against the virtual community is misdirected in my opinion. I think that our newly attained technological advances have enhanced our humanity not taken from it or stifled it.
I think the internet itself has rid communities of their geography. Since it connects many of us, and makes us essentially the same distance (a reference somewhere in the book). We don't see those boundaries on the internet. As easily as I can IM a person 10 feet behind me they can be chatting with a person in Africa. Each is as close as the keyboard. It's the connectivity that becomes the boundary moreso than geography.
ReplyDeleteAs for the WWW being culturalistic, I think I agree ONLY because there are so many people out there that haven't realized the need for the internet. Would the be less cultured? Are we, the internet savvy more cultured? Text isn't something they get and 24/7 connectivity isn't something they want. It's a phone call or a letter. Perhaps those are the real ghosts, which would be the fear of what's dying and not so much as what is to be?
Since not all of you (on Team Gibson) have an email in your profile to contact you with, I will post on each of the blogs to let you know my selection of Blog Assignment #4. I will write on William Gibson "Count Zero".
ReplyDeleteHey everyone so I think I will be writing on William Gibsons All Tomorrows Parties! I dont know what to expect but I'm excited to see what comes my way! Looking forward to reading this, and reading all of your blogs on Friday as well : )
ReplyDeleteI will be writing on Burnt Chrome-Gibson
ReplyDeleteHey all I am going to do Dogfight by Gibson
ReplyDeleteI think that you may have misunderstood what Robins was trying to convey.
ReplyDeleteThe context that Robin's uses geography in is directed between the virtual (cyber) and the real (human). All Robin's is trying to say is that many people want to get away from what is real and limiting in their human lives and interact without any limitations in a virtual environment.
Why do you interact on the WWW? Would you be able to aquire knowledge of something in...let's say Africa...without the WWW? The boundary between you and Africa is geographically limiting. You most likely won't travel to Africa to find information about something there. You may not even want to take the time to go to your local library to find the iformation.
When you have a computer and WWW access you're not limited (at least not as much) geographically. You can access the internet and find information on what you were lookin for in Africa with a few key strokes.
The physical geopraphical boundary becomes geographic freedom within a virtual realm.