3 ms·

Why does one assume the Internet is in its final form? I'm about 99% certain the phase we are in is a transitional phase. Upon the arrival of ubiquitous immersi

by gfodor 7y ago

Why does one assume the Internet is in its final form? I'm about 99% certain the phase we are in is a transitional phase. Upon the arrival of ubiquitous immersive computing, it will go through what may be its final phase shift, but right now it'll be looked back upon similar to the previous eras.

cwp 7y ago
Yes! What's interesting about Gibson's vision is that he assumed connectivity would be hard, but VR would be easy. It's a world of payphones, fax machines, and "simstim" where you can receive someone else's sensory input and ride along inside their head as they move through the world. That's not where we are now, but we'll be a lot closer to it if and when we nail VR.
- germinalphrase 7y ago
  Simstim is - at least in part - being worked on by a company called Openwater[0]. Mary Lou Jepsen did a talk at the Long Now Foundation a while back that speaks to the ambition of thought/memory recording via an MRI-like device and the "insertion"/playback of the same in other people [1]. [0]www.openwater.cc [1]www.longnow.org/seminars/02018/oct/29/toward-practical-telepathy/
  - cwp 7y ago
    Yeah, I was at that talk. A little out there, but pretty awesome.
    - LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
      Have you seen Brainstorm from 1983? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085271/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085271/
      - cwp 7y ago
        No, just the clip that Lou showed at the talk.
        LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
        I asked because the world of Brainstorm consisted of payphones too, and they did that 'telepathy' with headsets which could replay recorded experiences over that modem line. Hard to classify that movie, at its time it was pure science-fiction, now it is a technothriller from the past. But very watchable, i think.
umvi 7y ago
Its final form is an ultra-regulated space where you need to apply to the government in order to put up a website, etc, and your website-permit can be revoked if you violate the law (i.e. copyright strikes)

by gfodor 7y ago

cwp 7y ago

Yes! What's interesting about Gibson's vision is that he assumed connectivity would be hard, but VR would be easy. It's a world of payphones, fax machines, and "simstim" where you can receive someone else's sensory input and ride along inside their head as they move through the world. That's not where we are now, but we'll be a lot closer to it if and when we nail VR.

germinalphrase 7y ago
Simstim is - at least in part - being worked on by a company called Openwater[0]. Mary Lou Jepsen did a talk at the Long Now Foundation a while back that speaks to the ambition of thought/memory recording via an MRI-like device and the "insertion"/playback of the same in other people [1]. [0]www.openwater.cc [1]www.longnow.org/seminars/02018/oct/29/toward-practical-telepathy/
- cwp 7y ago
  Yeah, I was at that talk. A little out there, but pretty awesome.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
    Have you seen Brainstorm from 1983? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085271/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085271/
    - cwp 7y ago
      No, just the clip that Lou showed at the talk.
      - LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
        I asked because the world of Brainstorm consisted of payphones too, and they did that 'telepathy' with headsets which could replay recorded experiences over that modem line. Hard to classify that movie, at its time it was pure science-fiction, now it is a technothriller from the past. But very watchable, i think.

umvi 7y ago

Its final form is an ultra-regulated space where you need to apply to the government in order to put up a website, etc, and your website-permit can be revoked if you violate the law (i.e. copyright strikes)