Re: Internet Brain Plug

[mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM]

The concept of an "Internet Brain Plug" can probably be traced to William
Gibson's _Neuromancer_, an SF novel from the early eighties that coined
the word "cyberspace", and inspired much of the current virtual reality craze.

The word "cyberpunk" was coined somewhat later, by a critic whose name I
unfortunately forget, to refer to the literary movement that more or less
started with _Neuromancer_.

While I'll give Gibson credit for cyberspace (a VR representation of
real-world, real-time worldwide connected data), both virtual reality and
brain-machine connections have a long history in science fiction, which
considerably predates _Neuromancer_.  Off the top of my head, Clarke's
_The City and the Stars_ (early sixties) and Zelazny's _The Dream Master_
(seventies) both contain virtual reality sequences.  Brain plugs I'd have to
research a bit, but I'm pretty sure I've seen ref's in older novels/short
stories (from the sixties/seventies).  If nothing else, there's the bionic
man's bionic eye.

The idea of a direct connection with the brain, btw, is a looong way from
any kind of implementation.  Sight is the most understood of the senses;
interfacing with touch, hearing, kinesis, and smell are likely to be
even more problematic.  VR via suit and goggles is already here, but VR via
plug-in unit is a whole different ball of wax.

Later,

Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.