Computer network and hacker slang is filled with references to “being wired” or “jacking in” to a computer network, “wetware” (the brain), and “meat” (the body). The human body is becoming a hack site, the mythology goes, a nexus where humanity and technology are forging a new and powerful relationship.
Predictor: Branwyn, Gareth
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Wired, Gareth Branwyn writes: ”Computer network and hacker slang is filled with references to ‘being wired’ or ‘jacking in’ to a computer network, ‘wetware’ (the brain), and ‘meat’ (the body). Science fiction films, from “Robocop” to the recent Japanese cult film “Tetsuo: The Iron Man,” imprint our imaginations with images of the new, increasingly adaptable human-cum-cyborg who can exfoliate one body and instantly construct another. One might even speculate a link between the surprising popularity of modern primitivism (piercing, tattooing, body modification) and the emerging techno-mythology of ‘morphing’ the human body to the demands and opportunities of a post-human age. The human body is becoming a hack site, the mythology goes, a nexus where humanity and technology are forging a new and powerful relationship.”
Biography:Gareth Branwyn served as editor of Street Tech Labs and as the “Jargon Watch” editor of Wired. He wrote for Esquire, I.D., Yahoo! and other magazines. His books include “Jargon Watch: A Pocket Dictionary for the Jitterati” and “Jamming the Media: A Citizen’s Guide.” (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: September 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Human-Machine Interaction
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: The Desire to be Wired: Will We Live to See Our Brains Wired to Gadgets? How About Today?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/desire.to.be.wired_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney