unforum

[Sunny du Pree]

[surfloser]

i think self expression has been lost not because of technology but because of the powers that hold that technology
major corps... the media and at least for my experience in public schools
all of the things that matter now in life(just speaking right now from life exp.) at least to me didnt matter to those in charge.
it takes at least some self-expression to have meaning.
but alot of that is lost in the pop culture sorry not raggin on fans but thats my take

[illuminati_dk]

If anyone has the time i would strongly advise that they read "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, a really good crime novel, where the clues in the book is a lot like this game using anagrams and symbols, all real historic types dating back to the templars and da vinci, the grand master of hidding symbols and clues in his pictures like our ceasar.

i could'nt put down when i started, a must read for all ARG's

[ParityBit]

[Insomniac]

It is my belief that the matrix is inevitable, as humans gradually incorporate more and more technology into their lives constantly upgrading it and depending on it eventually things will change and instead of man competing for new technology, man will start to compete against new technology. This "new technology" (or A.I) would be far faster and more efficient at bettering itself thus becoming the most dominant "species" on the planet and eventually introducing more and more sytems of control over us untill one side strikes against the other (probably man out of fear as a desperate last attempt) and we all end up plugged into the matrix.

[Ahriman]

[King Mob]

Of course, though, in order to have, or even use, the technology, you have to have the money to obtain it first. Whilst some governments have taken steps to establish Internet cafe's and educate their computer illiterate populations, many still go by without computer access.
And yet, are they any less creative, any less thoughtful?
I think it's a matter of degree; depending on the society you live in, the culture that surrounds you, your creativity and intelligence will be able to be expressed in different ways/forms.
There is always an outlet, and no matter how much someone might try to suppress it, art, philosophy and the like will always exist, even if it's only in an underground form.

[King Mob]

Has anyone else ever read Peter F. Hamilton's 'The Night's Dawn trilogy'? It's a great sci-fi read, although I'd recommend by the version chopped up into bite size books since the trilogy is actually three massive books each the size of a brick!
Anyway, there are some characters in there (the name of their 'species' escapes me right now), but they were an 'evolved' form of human in that they had rejected religion completely and embraced technology to the point that not only did they it spliced into their genome, but that their consciousness continued on, long after their body died, in a type of massive computer mainframe. Each consciousness could break away from the whole for personal contemplation, or join the consciousness to form a massively powerful, highly intelligent computer that was in fact the government of that society.
A fascinating study of the potential development of the human species, and the extent to which he details technology (most of which hasn't even been invented yet) would put a lot of Star Trek writers to shame.
Just thought I'd put it out there for anyone who wanted a good holiday read.

[Ahriman]

[King Mob]

Sorry about that Ahriman; I wasn't actually replying to your quote specifically, just talking in general. But I do agree with you that technology can benefit (although it can also be harmful).

[joebrent]

Regarding Beth's little IM marathon last night, I just thought I'd give you guys a recommendation on a play you might want to check out. It's called Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard, and it's about...well, it's about abstract mathematics, chaos theory, landscape gardening, Gothic Romanticism vs traditional English Classicism, sex and literature, and as it relates to a murder mystery involving Lord Byron...whew, I know, pretty far out. But the thing that particularly reminds me of this ARG is the part that involves a 13 year old girl named Thomasina who may or may not have described Non-Euclidean geometry and Feynman-style chaos mathematics in an English manor in 1809. Specifically, her speech in the 3rd scene, speaking with her tutor Septimus:

[King Mob]

For all the young geeks in us, I cannot more highly recommend 'The Invisibles' comicbook by Grant Morrison; a rollicking ride of conspiracy theories, sci-fi, technology, culture references and the like, it's a brilliant piece of work. And the artwork is done right brilliant!
Oh, yeah, it's also where I got my username , so maybe I'm a bit partial.

EDIT: You'd like it bakntime - it's got time travel! By the way, I don't suppose you know where I can get my hands on Marty McFly's real working hoverboard do you? I always wanted that thing!