Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is as much as a philosophy as it is also a theme used in fiction, fashion, music, and technological design.

The idea behind cyberpunk culminates from the idea that technology, philosophy, religion, intelligence, and human interaction will someday meld together in cyberspace, a digital realm created expressly for the purpose of hosting every aspect of your life virtually: meetings, conversations, games, emotions, communication, research, and so on.

The origin of the cyberpunk concept is usually credited to William Gibson, and his book Neuromancer, although other books have indulged into this concept and have defined particular realms within. The actual first appearance of the word "cyberpunk" occurs in Bruce Bethke's short story "Cyberpunk", first published in AMAZING Science Fiction Stories, Volume 57, Number 4 of November 1983.

Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson is probably the second-most referred to body of work that integrates the idea of existence in both the modern and highly commercialized real-life universe and a hacker-oriented metaverse where society continues as an extension of itself.

Visually, Ridley Scott's theatrical interpretation of Blade Runner (written by Philip K. Dick as a short story entitled "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep") gave birth to an environment ideal of the cyberpunk universe.

Integration of technology

Part of the core idea behind cyberpunk was the idea that technological influence would be almost seamless, ubiquitous and relatively advanced. Much of the digital computer and communications equipment actually available during the early eighties and nineties was not as much advanced or compact, but there were items available that allowed this merge to happen primatively: virtual worlds, helmet-mounted displays (HMDs), and virtual reality simulators. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the advancements made in cell phones and cellular communication technologies started a trend toward the realization of wireless mobile computing.

Modern Cyberpunk

Although the idea behind "cyberpunk" peaked in the early to mid 1990s, movies such as The Matrix trilogy, Lawnmower Man, and anime shows such as ".hack" have continued these themes that were established during its popularity

Most material produced now is sometimes called "post-cyberpunk" science fiction, because it is produced after the height of cyberpunk. But it still retains the title due to the highly advanced nature of the product and the ideas involved (for example, the neural interface conveyed in the Matrix: the concept of "jacking in" through a direct link between the communications network and the brain; see wetware).

External Links

• Cyberpunk Information Database