The Fredösphere

You might expect me to link to news of Ananthem, the new novel by SF author Neal Stephenson, because I'm a fan of SF and a huge fan of NS, and, yes:   perhaps I will get around to it eventually.   Today, instead, I'd like to link to an interview with NS about the book because of this comment:

I asked Stephenson whether he felt that cell phones in our own world might represent a wrong turn, technologically speaking. He said:

I couldn't live without mine. But the etiquette and the interface are lagging behind the technology. Introduction of new technology often leads to disruptions in manners that can take a generation or more to play out. We're in one of those awkward times now.

I now own a cell phone, but only because the Wifeösphere bought it for me.   However, it is almost never on, and frequently I forget to take it with me.   I resent the appalling manners of many cell phone users--exactly why does a cell phone justify you cutting me off in mid-sentence just because it happens to be ringing?--and, to reinforce the point NS is making elsewhere in the interview, constant conversation is a distraction from serious thinking. Gee, you'd almost think people were looking for a distraction.

Labels: Culture, sci-fi