Digital mythologies : the hidden complexities of the Internet / Thomas S. Valovic.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Valovic, Thomas.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Information technology--Social aspects.

Information technology.

Internet--Social aspects.

Internet.

Computers and civilization.

Physical Description:

xv, 219 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, [2000]

Summary:

Digital Mythologies asks hard questions about where information technology is taking us. Through anecdotes drawn from his experiences as former editor-in-chief of Telecommunications magazine, the author gives readers a peek behind the scenes of the Internet industry. He explores the underlying social and political implications of the Net and its associated technologies, based on his contention that the cyberspace experience is far more complex than is commonly assumed. Valovic explores these hidden complexities, and points to fascinating connections between the Internet and our contemporary culture.

Contents:

Virtual Dreams 3

Virtual Folklore: Breaking the News about the Internet 4

Point of No Return: Crossing the Virtual Threshold 11

When Cultures Collide: The Internet versus the "Great Conversation" 22

Internet Economics: The Complex Synergies of Wealth Creation 26

The Evolutionary Implications of the Internet 33

Notes from Santa Fe: The Internet as a Complex Adaptive System 37

Virtual Nightmares 41

Work, Leisure, and the Overthrow of Matter 42

Tube Time: Power Cocooning for Fun and Profit 47

Quality of Information: The Human Bandwidth Problem 50

Information Overload: A Challenge for Human Productivity? 54

The Electronic Agora and the Death of History 60

Interiority: Our Most Precious Natural Resource 64

Electronic Mediation and Technological Dependency 71

The Psychopathology of Online Life 74

Yellow Alert: Massive System Vulnerability 81

The Electronic Polity 87

The Complexities of Role and Identity in Cyberspace 88

Spin Doctors Invade Net

Film at Eleven 96

The Strange Obscurantism of the Virtual World 107

Virtual Schmoozing: The Ever Popular Cocktail Party Effect 114

A Postmodern Dilemma: Are All Ideas Created Equal? 118

The Myth of Electronic Democracy: A Reality Check 121

Digital Culture 133

Why Wired Is Tired: The Transformation of Technology into Culture 134

Random Thoughts on the Defining Works of Cyberculture 147

The New Media: Tossing Out the Rules 156

The Internet and Spirituality: A Strange Brew Indeed 161

The EFF and Net Politics: Technocracy in the Making? 166

Telecom Unchained: Privatizing the Public Network 171

Science, Culture, and the Internet 177

Is Science Our National Religion? 178

Back to the Future: Science Fiction as Mythology 182

Mediated Society: The Cybersomething That Lies beyond Gesellschaft 187

Orwell Reconsidered: The Paradox of Decentralization 197

Is Cyberspace a Trojan Horse for Technocracy? 202

Science, Spirituality, and the Crisis of Epistemology 205.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-216) and index.

ISBN:

0813527546

OCLC:

41096133