A major point of my book is that our concepts of space are changing. Douglas Rushkoff makes the point too, here. What he says:
Although modern mapping systems depend heavily on computers, some of the most fundamental maps we use daily are drawn and redrawn on an ongoing basis by our own wetware. From the moment we become aware of spatial relations, we begin a complex process of constructing personal thematic maps. Maps of our mommies, daddies, bottles, favorite albums, movies, books, food, friends, pets, conversations and experiences -- anything to which we can attach associations, meaning and relationships. But these maps live on an almost subconscious level. My map of, say, the best shopping in Stockholm or the spiritually resonant zones of cyberspace, may look very different than yours.
What I say.....
You cannot travel into a fresco because it remains a point in time and space, even if it does tell a story spread over the whole chapel. You can follow a film through a limited amount of time, say two hours – but in most circumstances only in one direction. Virtual reality however gives you – potentially - infinite space you can explore in your time. The idea of this has passed irretrievably into public consciousness. Once again, this changes the way we relate to each other and the world, and will have largely unpredictable consequences.
We can however already see one spatial change that digital media has brought to us: and that is the degree to which we are now implicitly and explicitly connected to each other. Mobile phones do this more than anything else, because now our connectedness travels with us everywhere we go. This is the profound force that is re-shaping us. The network of our connections is becoming woven into our physical lives. We had thought that a new digital landscape all of its own was springing into existence, one which existed in “hyperspace”, which had its own map. This was William Gibson’s vision in Neuromancer. To some extent via the Internet it is true. But now we have to factor in mobile too, and it looks like mobile is actually mapping the virtual on to the real world.
You changes sound great! Good luck to everyone in the election(s).
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