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A couple of web guys are doing a version of the Bible as IRC-style chat. This, for example, is the end of Genesis; God has just arrived after Adam and Eve eat the apple:
* Jehova has joined #Eden
‹Jehova› what have you done?
‹Eve› it was the serpent!
‹Jehova› Serpent, schmerpent!
‹Adam› really!
* Jehova sets mode: -v Serpent
‹Jehova› fs
* Jehova sets mode: +b Adam!*adam@host1.10.1.genesis.com
* Jehova sets mode: +b Eve!*eve@host1.10.2.genesis.com
* Adam was kicked by Jehova (Get out!)
* Eve was kicked by Jehova (Get out!)
* Jehova changes topic to “and stay out!”
* Flamingsword has joined #Eden
* Jehova has left IRC (signed off)
Here endeth the lesson.
All joking aside, the Bible actually ports astonishingly well to the language of the Internet, partly because the central metaphors and conceits of each are oddly similar: Rooms opening and closing, access to elite areas granted or denied, obsessions with naming and true names, and everywhere the presence of language as an affective force. Computer code fits perfectly into the psychic headspace of Christianity, since it is a form of language that does things — like the word of the almighty, it’s both a metaphor and metonym. Northrop Frye called the Bible “the great code”, and only now am I realizing what a massively geeky in-joke that actually is.
(Thanks to El Rey for this one!)
I'm Clive Thompson, a writer on science, technology, and culture. This blog collects bits of offbeat research I'm running into, and musings thereon.
Currently, I'm a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired magazine. I also write for Fast Company and Wired magazine's web site, among other places. Email or AOL IM me (pomeranian99) to say hi or send in something strange!
The “Milky Way Transit Authority” map
Should automobile software be open-sourced?
My Bookforum review of Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not A Gadget”
Molecular secrets of the “iron-plated snail”
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January 31, 2010 » 07:29 PM
V. A. To me death seems to be an evil.
M. What, to those who are already dead? or to those who must die?
A. To both.
M. It is a misery, then, because an evil?
A. Certainly.
M. Then those who have already died, and those who have still got to die, are both miserable?
A. So it appears to me.
M. Then all are miserable?
A. Every one.
January 24, 2010 » 03:22 PM
One of the more interesting trends is family, which came in at number five. Specifically, discussion about family, moms, dads, daughters, etc. jumped during 2009. With Facebook users getting older, this isn’t a big surprise. However, the fact that the mention of “kids” jumped by a factor of five this year is rather dramatic. It’s tough to know what this means, though. (via Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009
)
January 15, 2010 » 01:36 PM
BEYOND AWESOME. They are announcing a recall of the Plush Uterus “due to a potential choking hazard for children”. To apply for it, “Please send an email to the address below with the subject line, ‘UTERUS OPT OUT’”.
January 14, 2010 » 10:04 PM
“To order, please TYPE “YES” IN CHECKBOX BELOW TO AGREE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PLUSH MUST BE KEPT AWAY FROM KIDS (it is a sex organ, after all). If it is not checked, WE WILL NOT SEND THE UTERUS.” (via @ibogost)
January 11, 2010 » 01:45 PM
I watched Space: 1999 back in the day, but I swear to god I do not remember this scene.
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