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cover of episode "Snow Crashing Into The Metaverse" from Imaginary Worlds

"Snow Crashing Into The Metaverse" from Imaginary Worlds

2023/1/3
logo of podcast Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

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The episode explores how Neal Stephenson's novel 'Snow Crash' has influenced the creation of the metaverse, inspiring technologies like Google Earth and Oculus Rift.

Shownotes Transcript

This week, we’re sharing an episode of Imaginary Worlds. For the last 30 years, the real world has been catching up to Neal Stephenson’s vision of the future in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, which influenced the creators of Google Earth, Second Life, Oculus Rift and more. Now the centerpiece of the novel, a virtual world called The Metaverse, may become a daily part of our lives thanks to Facebook (renamed Meta) and other big tech companies. In this episode of Imaginary Worlds, host Eric Molinsky explores whether it’s a good idea to use a satirical cyberpunk novel from decades ago as a blueprint for the future.You can hear more episodes of Imaginary Worlds at https://www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org)

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