tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5518122161715399657.post8402930913401644037..comments2023-08-06T10:03:00.038-05:00Comments on POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS: Where Writing, Christianity, and Speculative Fiction Interact : POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: Wild Dividers on the Information Superhighway and the Coming of the Information ApocalypseGuyStewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01268114053763665577noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5518122161715399657.post-10623370868445695942012-06-27T05:56:58.536-05:002012-06-27T05:56:58.536-05:00Though with all of the metaphors, despite the best...Though with all of the metaphors, despite the best directions and rerouting, people still get lost, memories get lost -- and data get lost. At what point does the lost data become significant? I can certainly stand to lose BORED OF THE RINGS -- I don't think much will be lost in the world if it falls by the wayside (though even that book might serve as an important window into the attitudes of the time it was written). The question then might be -- can the internet ever COMPLETELY lose information or will all information be available somewhere? And again -- what about those who have no internet and computer access?GuyStewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01268114053763665577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5518122161715399657.post-13599060403820675182012-06-26T08:42:08.932-05:002012-06-26T08:42:08.932-05:00The thing about networks--interstate highways, the...The thing about networks--interstate highways, the internet, the human brain--is that when damage happens, it's possible to route around it. It may take a long time to regain efficient transportation, communication, or body function (or it may never come back), but activity does continue; the <i>entire</i> network doesn't need to be rebuilt at once. It doesn't seem to me that the kinds of damage you're envisioning, serious though they are, would be comprehensive enough to necessitate a full restart.<br /><br />From a story point of view, though, maybe partial damage would be more interesting. If large chunks of the internet, but not the whole thing, could be taken out, who would have access to what remains? To what degree would they control how, or whether, access is returned to those who once had it but no longer do?Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18403516317404356011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5518122161715399657.post-53198372865807435022012-06-24T21:20:07.631-05:002012-06-24T21:20:07.631-05:00Though from what I hear about the current Intersta...Though from what I hear about the current Interstate System -- it's pretty much wearing out at the same time. Also, while an EMP is an imaginable kind of catastrophe, I'm thinking more along the lines of intentional assault (hacking), bureacratic meddling, external competition (outside of the "control" of regulartory bodies) hacking at and weakening the structure to a point where it collapses. In addition, as the system has mostly GROWN in ways few people could have imagined, let alone PLANNED for; who are we to say we could predict how it might collapse? I disagree that the collapse of the internet and electronic world would necesitate the rebuilding of SOCIETY. Maybe OUR society, but my guess is that despite the media's implication that "We Are The World"; there are more people OFF-line than there are ON-line...but that's just my opinion. You're the one who lives in the web!GuyStewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01268114053763665577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5518122161715399657.post-30137300816700025022012-06-24T14:03:21.420-05:002012-06-24T14:03:21.420-05:00As long as we have all of the redundancies that ar...As long as we have all of the redundancies that are currenly in place, I don't think there's too much danger that the entire internet will need to be rebuilt from scratch (just like an entire superhighway <i>system</i> would like never need to be rebuilt in one go). The kind of catastrophe that would destroy the whole thing (e.g., a <b>giant</b> EMP), it seems to me, would wreak so many other kinds of havoc that we'd be spending most of our time trying to rebuild society, or even simply survive. Rebuilding the internet would be rather far down the to-do list.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18403516317404356011noreply@blogger.com