Cyberspace

From JargonWiki

Jump to: navigation, search
The Jargon File

Parts of this article are based on the Jargon File, v. 4.4.7,
a public domain document of hacker jargon.

Image:Glider-small.png
cyberspace
/si:´br·spays`/
Usage: n.
Antonym(s): meatspace

See Also: the network


cyberspace: /si:´br·spays`/ n.

  1. Notional `information-space' loaded with visual cues and navigable with brain-computer interfaces called cyberspace decks; a characteristic prop of cyberpunk SF. Serious efforts to construct virtual reality interfaces modeled explicitly on Gibsonian cyberspace are under way, using more conventional devices such as glove sensors and binocular TV headsets. Few hackers are prepared to deny outright the possibility of a cyberspace someday evolving out of the network (see the network).
  2. The Internet or Matrix (sense #2) as a whole, considered as a crude cyberspace (sense 1). Although this usage became widely popular in the mainstream press during 1994 when the Internet exploded into public awareness, it is strongly deprecated among hackers because the Internet does not meet the high, SF-inspired standards they have for true cyberspace technology. Thus, this use of the term usually tags a wannabee or outsider. Oppose meatspace.
  3. Occasionally, the metaphoric location of the mind of a person in hack mode. Some hackers report experiencing strong synesthetic imagery when in hack mode; interestingly, independent reports from multiple sources suggest that there are common features to the experience. In particular, the dominant colors of this subjective cyberspace are often gray and silver, and the imagery often involves constellations of marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines and angles, or moire patterns.

Sources

Source: cyberspace, in The Jargon File, version 4.4.7.


Public Domain

This article is in the public domain and is not subject to copyright, trademark, or any other legal protection of intellectual property.
Any and all user contributions to this page are also immediately dedicated to the public domain.
Editors of this page must accede to these terms as special conditions of the standard editing privileges.

Image:Public_Domain_sm.png
Personal tools
Toolbox