Television Tuned to a Dead Channel
Gibson's Neuromancer is the book that really launched Cyberpunk as a genre (sorry, Bruce Sterling) and set a lot of the modern ideas of the internet, including usage of the term cyberspace. Interestingly, Gibson wasn't way ahead of his time in terms of actual technology usage, he wrote the book on a typewriter.
Gibson's Neuromancer is the book that really launched Cyberpunk as a genre (sorry, Bruce Sterling) and set a lot of the modern ideas of the internet, including usage of the term cyberspace. Interestingly, Gibson wasn't way ahead of his time in terms of actual technology usage, he wrote the book on a typewriter.
"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."
- William Gibson, Neuromancer
This innocuous quote has always been one of my favorite opening lines in literature. It says so much about the world of Neuromancer in a very simple way. It's also a marker for how technology has changed over the decades since the book came out.
When Neuromancer released in 1984, TVs would show static when there was no signal coming in. After everything went digital, TVs started to show a deep blue color as the default when there was no input, which changed the meaning of this line for anyone born into that era. I've seen a few memes floating around that talk about how now TVs show ads when there's no input, a trend that is only increasing, as this Ars Technical article discusses.
What do we see now, when there's no input? Are we ever really in a state of emptiness, or do we have constant input coming at us? Do we ever let our brains rest and just look at the static, or is there always a new ad, a new "social" media notification, or something else coming in to fill our screen?
Most cultures have some practice of emptying the mind, like meditation or yoga. Many of these practices have been co-opted, appropriated, and watered down into modern 'wellness' ideas. But a true meditation practice, learning to actually empty your mind, is invaluable. It may take years of study and work (it's not called a practice for nothing) but the benefits can be huge, and I think it's one of the most important things you can do to maintain your own peace of mind.
In a world that's constantly trying to capture our attention and sell us something, the ability to completely silence your mind is basically a super power.