Internet Relationships - Pattern Recognition

"She looks at the phone and wonders who Parkaboy is. Other, that is, than Parkaboy, acerbic obsessive theorist of the footage. What does he do when he's not doing this? She has no idea, and no idea what he looks like, or really, how he came to be as devoted as she knows he is to pursuing any further understanding of the footage. But now, in some way she can't quite grasp, the universe of F:F:F is everting. Manifesting physically in the world" (Gibson 206).

This part of the book really caught my attention, especially with all the online dating services that are out. Even myspace and facebook have been used to meet people, maybe for a possible relationship. In my own experience, I have met people in person that I met online, and they never look the same... Similar to SecondLife- you can make an avatar that looks nothing like you. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced some sort of online relationship, like Cayce, even if it is just friendship. Would meeting that person face to face change that relationship? In what ways is the technology of online relationships affecting how we relate to people face to face in society? Do you act the same?

Pattern Recognition Blog 2

Observation:

Since I've been reading this book, 'Pattern Recognition' I am noticing how many labels and logos there are.....and they're everywhere! Trademarks have alot of research and development that have gone into them. So much psychology that has been taken into consideration so that humans will behave in a way that makes them identify with the product and continue to buy it over a long period of time. Given all of the nuance that is associated with these labels I can understand how a person such a Cayce could be so overwhelmed by certain symbols.

Question:

What is Gibson saying so far about 'pattern recognition'? What does he mean by this?

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1st reading - Patten Recognition

Gibson blends technolgy, society and self until there’s no separation. The self has found comfort in forums and chat rooms (pg5). Life, love and business takes place in the “mirror world” which closely resemble objects and behaviors taken place in the real world.

On (pg8) Damien labeled Cayce’s fashion sense as, “CPU’s” Cayce Pollards Units. That’s the type of clothing she wears. CPU’s are either black, white, or gray and ideally seem to have come into this world without human intervention.”

While Cayce works in the world of marketing, branding and logos, why does her character make it a point of being a minimalist by having all the trademarks sanded down on jeans and watches?

Teleport your Soul

 “Souls can’t move that quickly, and are left behind, and must be awaited, upon arrival, like lost luggage.” (Pattern Recognition, pg 2)

Genius Gibson.  Imagine if we could Teleport ourselves to any place instantly. Do you think that we would have the same relations between humans? Would feelings like fear, or loneliness, or attachment be found so frequently in our lives? How would it affect our souls?

…October 5^th. She woke up in a dark street in Italy. The day before, she had lost her purse in a coffee shop in Paris. Without her home keys, she kept going back to this one place where she thought that she would have lost it, a furniture store in Budapest.  Back home, in Chicago, she didn’t find any sign of life from her husband, and she imagines where would he be? His phone was off. Maybe he was in a conference in one of those countries that did not have the facilities of Global Signal. They haven’t seen each other since her birthday in July, and she wondered how nice would be if she could see him everyday. They were married in a contract of physical freedom, and for the first time, she regrets it…. 

Pattern Recognition ch. 1-2

I find it very interesting how Gibson shows the relationship between the self, society, and technology. The narrator often refers to the "Mirror-World," or the new society (England) where everything is different for Cayce, the main character. A lot of the differences described in the "mirror-world" that feel "alien" to Cayce are technology related: how the plugs on appliances are huge, cars are reversed, telephones feel different, lamps click on in a different way. Interestingly, it is also technology that brings Cayce a sense of home: "It is a way now, approximately, of being at home. The forum has become one of the most consistent places in her life, like a familiar cafe that exists somehow outside of geography and beyond time zones" (Gibson 4-5). That last line is what really stuck in my mind. In what ways does technology allow you to feel as if you're home when you're not? Are there certain technologies that have become consistent for you, such as the forum has for Cayce? Why?

Pattern Recognition: Reading & Blogging Schedule

Week 6: W Group A blogs

Th 10/8 Reading: Pattern Recognition, William Gibson pages 1-25 (chapters 1-3)

Week 6:

T 10/13 NO CLASS MON SCHEDULE

W Group B blogs

Th 10/15 Reading: Pattern Recognition 26-141; ch. 4-15

Week 7:

W Group C blogs

Th 10/22 Reading: Pattern Recognition pp. 142- 262 ch 16-31

Week 8:

W Group D blogs

Th 10/29 Reading: Pattern Recognition pp. 263-367; ch. 32-end