7 ms·

this is one of those moments where i really, really feel like we are all characters living in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash

ISL 7y ago
It might be time for the Hiro we need. Still hands-down my favorite first-chapter of a book.
frikk 7y ago
It's truly too on the nose.
pstuart 7y ago
It's been years, but this prompts me to re-read it. Thanks!
abhgh 7y ago
Was going to just say this!
snovv_crash 7y ago
Pizza reference and all. That book (along with a lot of his other writing) has really influenced the way I see group social dynamics, and the way technology influences them.
toomuchtodo 7y ago
Boston Dynamics’ Spot is even pretty darn close to Rat Things (minus the onboard nuclear reactor). Quite the timeline.
xiphias2 7y ago
Domino's pizza was one of the fastest growing big companies in the world with a 30 minutes guarantee. It's quite similar to the pizza chain in Snow Crash actually. I would say Snow Crash predicted it before it became so successful.
- teachrdan 7y ago
  I think you may have it backwards. Domino's was well known for their 30-minute guarantee when Snow Crash was written in 1992. Indeed, Domino's was in the midst of a lawsuit regarding it while the book was being written; it resulted in a $78 million verdict against Domino's. [0] I give Stephenson credit for taking that guarantee to its logical extreme. And while I love the book, it's funny how basically none of the predictions in it came true. No computers that project images on eyeballs, no 'poon guns, no losers walking around scanning retinas with backpack-mounted lasers, and book features working payphone booths! 0. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/22/business/domino-s-ends-fast-pizza-pledge-after-big-award-to-crash-victim.html https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/22/business/domino-s-ends-fa...
  - ansible 7y ago
    > No computers that project images on eyeballs... Actually, we have something close to that now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiltfive/holographic-tabletop-gaming https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiltfive/holographic-ta... It doesn't use lasers though. The tech is basically working, and they're ramping up to production this year. And no, you can't just walk around arbitrarily, but you couldn't do that in the book either (you could walk out of range). Also, Stephenson didn't worry about just turning your back to the laser projector...

ISL 7y ago

It might be time for the Hiro we need. Still hands-down my favorite first-chapter of a book.

frikk 7y ago

It's truly too on the nose.

pstuart 7y ago

It's been years, but this prompts me to re-read it. Thanks!

abhgh 7y ago

Was going to just say this!

snovv_crash 7y ago

Pizza reference and all. That book (along with a lot of his other writing) has really influenced the way I see group social dynamics, and the way technology influences them.

toomuchtodo 7y ago

Boston Dynamics’ Spot is even pretty darn close to Rat Things (minus the onboard nuclear reactor). Quite the timeline.

xiphias2 7y ago

Domino's pizza was one of the fastest growing big companies in the world with a 30 minutes guarantee. It's quite similar to the pizza chain in Snow Crash actually. I would say Snow Crash predicted it before it became so successful.

teachrdan 7y ago
I think you may have it backwards. Domino's was well known for their 30-minute guarantee when Snow Crash was written in 1992. Indeed, Domino's was in the midst of a lawsuit regarding it while the book was being written; it resulted in a $78 million verdict against Domino's. [0] I give Stephenson credit for taking that guarantee to its logical extreme. And while I love the book, it's funny how basically none of the predictions in it came true. No computers that project images on eyeballs, no 'poon guns, no losers walking around scanning retinas with backpack-mounted lasers, and book features working payphone booths! 0. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/22/business/domino-s-ends-fast-pizza-pledge-after-big-award-to-crash-victim.html https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/22/business/domino-s-ends-fa...
- ansible 7y ago
  > No computers that project images on eyeballs... Actually, we have something close to that now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiltfive/holographic-tabletop-gaming https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiltfive/holographic-ta... It doesn't use lasers though. The tech is basically working, and they're ramping up to production this year. And no, you can't just walk around arbitrarily, but you couldn't do that in the book either (you could walk out of range). Also, Stephenson didn't worry about just turning your back to the laser projector...