I am re-reading peak Stephenson cyberpunk (Snow Crash, Diamond Age) and it just hits different when you feel like you’re reading from inside the prequel.
this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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Cyberpunk
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What is Cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as “low-life and high tech,” Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks aren’t actively fighting against a megacorp, they’re still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology.
Cyberpunk characteristics include:
- Dystopian city setting where mega-corporations rule
- Full integration of technology into society, featuring cybernetic implants
- Outsider protagonists (punks) who often are very familiar with the technology around them
- Hard boiled detective and film noir vibes and influence
- Themes dabbling in trans-humanism, existentialism, and what it means to be human.
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Diamond Age is pretty optimistic in the efficacy of automated education yet is centered around the existential threat of print-at-home nukes. I feel like weʼll get the print-at-home nukes long before at-scale education of government-raised babies works out.
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Cyberpunk's also a manual, but to break the megacorp machinations, not comply with'em.
"but all the corporate espionage will be sooo cool"
the problem is william gibson's seedy underworld does genuinely seem cool. but i take that to mean cool people will always do cool shit. punks will always resist authorities. but the technoligarchs had a different takeaway: "we need to bring about this nerdy tech future because it's cool"
they don't notice nuance, subtlety, or context
This isn't just limited to the game. Tech Bros seem either incapable of interpreting the nuance, subtlety, or context and any of the cautionary tales of science fiction.
My favorite example is how Elon Musk often cites Isaac Asimov's Foundation series as a major influence on his worldview, especially regarding the way in which he uses his wealth to promote his own beliefs about what the long-term goals for humanity should be. It seem like he hasn't actually finished the series, or at the very least, didn't understand its message. While the first 2 books set up the idea of saving civilization through authoritarian rational planning and scientific foresight, the rest of the series explicitly challenges and ultimately rejects the idea that one person (or system, for that matter) should guide humanity’s destiny.
The series does not end with an endorsement of Elon's belief in central planning or empire-building, but with a clear message that we should move toward a more collective society. It directly contrasts and critiques the manipulative tactics of the first two books. The final conclusion couldn't be a more clear rebuke of top-down technocracy and the idea that a singular genius can or should steer the course of civilization.
When Musk points to Foundation as a model for how he wants to guide humanity, he is missing the point (based on his actions, at least). The series ends with the realization that societies dominated by control and order are ultimately limited and dangerous. The series isn't meant to be a roadmap for becoming a galactic engineer of society (building the torment Nexus), but a cautionary tale warning humanity against one person or system guiding all of humanity.
If Musk stopped reading after the first or second book, then his actions make sense. However, if he DID finish the series and STILL walked away with his shitty takeaway, then it’s hard not to believe that he didn't get it or didn't read the other books. I feel that, just as with his actions surrounding The Age of Exile, he’s more interested in promoting his own brand of genius than the burden of actually understanding the philosophical message of the series.
I don't think Musk reads books. I think he's stupid. Intellectually deficient. Maybe he read a couple pages, then got bored and read half the wikipedia summary.
dude claims douglas adams as his biggest influence. douglas adams would hate the world's richest dickhead
Thank You!
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See also: "I liked Star Trek before it was woke."
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1984 wasn't intended as a manual
I see it more like it's Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. The Internet is Soma and we're all addicted. Trading our data (our Collective Digitised Souls) CDS for a chance at fame, or clout, or genuine human connection while they strip-mine our planet for resources and commit ecocide.
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As suspected, society falling apart really boils down to a bunch of shit heels with poor reading comprehension.
Plantir
Yeah, Peter Thiel didn't even try to hide his agenda. He just straight up announced himself as Sauron.
I feel like anyone would be pissed off if some hack 'journalists' spilled the beans that you were gay while you were physically inside a country which murders homosexuals.
I don't have the context to process this, but I'm very much for civil rights as a minimum standard. Thiel should be banished to a small island off the shores of Antarctica, but not because he's gay.
The first time I heard about the guy it was because some online journalists for a tabloidish publication posted a story exposing him as being gay while he was in Saudi Arabia for some meetings.
That's pretty crappy, yeah. If it makes you feel better, he's capitalist first and gay second. He's funded various anti-LGBTQ politicians and supports things like Praxis that are working toward a new kind of plutocracy/feudalism.
We'd probably be in a better timeline if Thiel hadn't survived his trips to Saudi Arabia, then. The man's a real scumbag.
Admittedly, yeah, but I'd rather see him go down for his anti-social agenda rather than some random immutable trait.
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Hah! Last week I remember this conversation I was having. I was talking about augmented reality glasses that some company had put out and using a cyberpunk book to illustrate the points:
Trauma Team just seems like the logical extension of what we have now.