A Perspective of Neuromancer by William Gibson

Neuromancer by William Gibson is heralded for bringing in the cyberpunk age. Also, in a sense, he is credited with accurately depicting the internet age. Not to the tee, at least not yet, but the idea is becoming more and more clear with every advancement we see. A society run more and more by technology and less and less by sheer human involvement. What makes this novel even more interesting is that the novel is a prediction of the future, as opposed to a depiction of the past. Books have been written about the future, but not many have been able to depict the social changes that will take place in that time. It reminds me a bit of Rasputin, except William Gibson writes books, and doesn't get shot several times and thrown into rivers.

What makes Neuromancer interesting is that it is a prediction of the future, which could be considered today, seeing as the book was written in the 1980's. Being just a prediction, it's just an opinion. William Gibson's opinion of the future is very bleak; the coming of the information age creates social and moral dilemmas. Technology is supposed to make life easier, making work more efficient. The problem is that as technology gets more and more advanced the lifestyle that people become accustomed to rises along with it. With the lifestyle everyone expects getting higher and higher, less and less people can actually maintain that quality of living. Gibson suggests that people are going to become so entranced in needing technology that it will actually become addicting. Case is addicted to jacking into cyberspace that he actually becomes suicidal when he can't have it. Taking this interpretation of the information age and holding it up to today's society, some common similarities can be drawn. Every company tries to top each other with a new technological advancement that seems just as hip and necessary as the last. Having so many companies in competition with each other for dominance, technology advances at an incredibly rapid rate. People want to be up-to-date so they can feel like they aren't missing anything. Not being ahead of the curve leaves a feeling of being obsolete, and a need to update them selves. Not even using the technology isn't a valid option. Society is so intertwined with the information age, that it's not just a want to be updated, it's a need.

Another aspect of Neuromancer which deems itself relevant in today's world, is the idea that people prefer getting lost in technology, rather than the real world. Less and less do people enjoy going camping or hiking, or anything else that involves indulging in the beauty of nature. I would be the first to admit that this is the case. I hate going camping, because it seems like taking a step back in the evolution of man. Now days, people are more likely to spend their leisure time playing more and more involving video games, movies on high definition televisions, or surfing the internet. The idea isn't to escape the nuances of technology anymore; now the idea is to be immersed so deeply in the fruits of the information age that the self is almost lost. In the book, Case loves being jacked into cyberspace because he feels trapped inside his own body. He can do and be anything while in cyberspace, but in real life he's trapped inside his physical and mental limitations. This happens today a lot, especially with people who deal with the internet and computers on a regular basis. Often times, people who have low self-confidence, or believe they don't have what it takes to find true happiness in real life, escape to fake lives in video games and cyberspace to satisfy themselves. But this doesn't just include those people, most everybody in societies that have the technological capabilities want to or actually indulge in them. No one is completely secure with them selves, there is always something nagging at the back of every ones minds. The vastness of the internet and technology makes it so there is always a solution, so be it probably temporary. The trick is that cyberspace can't actually fix the problems of real life; it can only suggest or mask them. It is still up to people to do the work.

That very issue is something that is apparent in William Gibson's novel and in society today. An entire aspect of Neuromancer is the fact that cyberspace is very overwhelming, and often times as real as anything can be, but it isn't. Case can escape into cyberspace as often as he wants, but he can't stay there forever, and when he leaves he will still feel just as empty and confined. The information age has brought with it a plethora of knowledge, obviously, but also a false sense of security. The knowledge is quick to be absorbed and learned. The internet is constantly called upon to divulge knowledge spanning from all depths of trained thought, but it can't physically fix problems. Just knowing is only half the solution, human will needs to take that knowledge and apply it. But with the rise of technology being so rapid, people's wills are fading. People want technology to solve everything for them, so they don't have to deal with it themselves. There is a need for more and more leisure time, and less time dealing with the problems of society. Leisure time consists of escaping from ones self, and forgetting about the problems that plague their real lives. So in turn, people are craving the leisure time that technology can expand upon so they can escape from real life. By escaping from real life they forget about the problems they have, and wanting to leave those problems to be fixed by the same technology that provides the increase in leisure time with its more efficient handling of their work. Technology isn't a real solution; it's only supposed to be an aid in the solving of problems. William Gibson proposes that the information age is bringing around the thought that people are leaving more and more up to technology, and less to them.

One of the more prominent ideas put forth is the idea that information is power. The people with the information in Neuromancer are able to mold and form society into whatever they want. The characters in the book are often cold and insensitive, not wanting to let them selves be hurt by other people's heartlessness. Case and Molly have a relationship, but it is not nearly identical to a relationship that might be seen normally. Society in the book had been shaped so that the showing of emotions isn't normality. Though not as extreme as in the book, the notion that information is power is definitely true in today's world. Media conglomerates are like giant dams of information, they can filter and treat any piece of news they want to get the desired response. If a news station doesn't think something isn't important enough to put on the news, then a mass number of people will never even know that it ever happened. If they want to put a biased spin on a story, society will eat it up without so much as a second glance. An example of that today is how the American government is feeding the media with news so that the media can keep society scared. It was especially evident prior to the election. Bush was trickling stories into the media about the dangers of terrorism, and the media spun it to make it seem direr than ever. This kept the American people scared, and less eager to take Bush out of office. Society has been told how to think, what to think, and what to feel. We have become so dependent on the people who have the information to tell us it that they have all the power to dispense that information however they see fit. And this power leaks into other areas, not just news and information. The people with the information are spokespeople for what is good and what is bad, because they always seem to have the right thing to say. Businesses have to stay on their good side or bad "information" might be let out to the public. The government has to comply or the news can let out some less than dignified information about some of the sketchier government involvements, and everyone knows they are there. The people with the information definitely control a vast amount of power.

William Gibson definitely hit several aspects of the information revolution directly on the head, others we're in the general vicinity, just not to the same degree. To discount his book, Neuromancer, would be to discount his credibility, which is not possible seeing as his influence is undeniable. And the commentary is not finished, because the information age has a long way to go before it closes for good.