Week 9 - Topic 9 - Cyberpunk

Lecture –

This week we discussed Cyberpunk and Burning Chrome, a book. We went into a discussion about Cyberpunk and reality. The Lecture discussed how technology has been viewed as a Utopia but nothing is really real in modern society, everything we do involves technology like SMS, television, Facebook, Email and virtual reality games. The concept of physical activity games (except for Wii) is becoming a thing of the past. The idea of playing Tennis or Football or games that would in reality require physical exhaustion are now available from the comfort of your living room. No physical activity required anymore. It’s a frightening concept. Off topic a bit there. After the discussion of Cyberpunk and the Matrix we watched another French Film.


Tutorial –

The tutorial activity this week was to discuss the difference between MSN and 3D programs. Without ever having used the programs I can only discuss what I know but as far I can tell MSN is a simple chat site where users are only able to write comments and use ‘smiley faces’ as an indicator of emotions. That is the only pictures available. However the 3D chat site involves choosing a character to represent you and choose a room or space to stand in. As far as I can tell it is more active and involves the use of a virtual universe where you can meet and chat with other users. The 3D environment doesn’t really make a difference on the outcome, it’s still a fake reality, and you don’t see the person that you are talking too. It’s only benefit is that it’s more exciting to use visually.


Reading –

The reading for this week was either a review of Burning Chrome or the actual book itself. I found it extremely hard to get into so I can’t really give much information as I didn’t understand it. When you first click on the reading ‘Allegory of Plato’s cave’ you are taken to a page with a drawing of the cave discussing prisons of reality. I then clicked on the second link taking me to Burning Chrome website. Without getting into a long discussion about a book I didn’t understand, I can tell you what the website says about Chrome and who she is. Burning chrome is a collection of short stories about a number of topics regarding technological advances – as far as I can tell. I’m not really sure…..