Disjointed Spaces

Jeff Pack '99, Brown University (English 112, 1996)

Cyberspace and Literary Theory

Spaces within cyberspace are noncontiguous; they don't overlap into one another, but instead remain entirely separate until linked together. Even when linked, spaces are far more self-defining than in the analog world (though, like space in the analog world, digital space also inherits its meaning from what users make of it). You are in one space to the exclusion of others (though one can always multitask); there are very few thresholds in cyberspace. Nowhere is the tautology "Wherever you go, there you are," more true than in the digital universe. All spaces are created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain inviolable laws (though these may vary from space to space, and often do)

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Cyberspace Web Digital Redefinitions Places