Shaping Identity in William Gibsons Neuromancer Essay -- Numbers Gibs

Shaping Identity in William Gibsons NeuromancerThe number one is not a thing. Math has no classical reality. Numbers are a social construct, a system of symbols intentional to express the abstractions through which properly developed societies explain aspects of reality. It follows that, as public seeks to render more of what it is to exist, bigger numbers are needed. Soon, we need machines to understand the numbers. Society plants a base on information technology, efficiency, and a windup(prenominal) precision that is startling. What is desirable in a product is distilled to a formulaic essence and packaged neatly. Humans, too, are boiled down to science. Glossy shots, rosy lipstick, concrete biceps, and an ever-decreasing waistline set the standard. People are reduced to minuscule more than the sum of their parts, a pair of matchstick legs, a rippled midsection, the right hand shoes and right make-up. Information technology makes the dissimilation of these trends mercilessl y prospering In response to the Atkins Diet, tens of thousands of Americans strike carbohydrates from their diets. A cell phone that patently calls someone is archaic at best people need innumerous text messaging and a built-in digital camera (with no roaming charges) so that they can e-mail pictures of their new car to their friends in California, in the altogether York, or Antarctica. Jessica Simpson mistakes canned tuna for chicken and millions of viewers laugh at her in unison. Still, one is not a thing. These societal constructs chip external at the very gentlemans gentleman of the people who live amidst them. In William Gibsons Neuromancer, a motley cast of characters face this cold steel reality, that their humanity is being systematically stripped, and that even attempts to take advantage... ... as perceived in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and William Gibsons Neuromancer. 1996. Retrieved November 16th, 2004. http//www.geocities.com/Paris/5972/gibson .html.Meyer, Chuck. Human Identity in the Age of Computers cyberpunk Identity. April 1997. Retrieved November 20th, 2004. http//fragment.nl/mirror/Meyer/CyberpunkIdentity.htm. Myers, Tony. The Postmodern Imaginary In William Gibsons Neuromancer. 2001. Retrieved November 20th, 2004. http//www.postanarki.net/myers.htm. Saffo, Paul. Consensual Realities in Cyberspace. Phrack Magazine. 1989. Retrieved November 16th, 2004. http//www.phrack.org/show.php?p=30&a=8. Shaw, Debbie. THEREFORE I AM - TECHNOLOGY & humankind IDENTITY. Updated January 1997. Retrieved November 16th, 2004. http//learning.unl.ac.uk/humanIT/cybersf/ident.htm