Internet Dreams: Archetypes,
Myths and Metaphors
by Mark Stefik
ISBN 9-780262-193733
Mark Stefik has written an intriguing
new book, exploring the place where "ancient myths meet modern networks".
Included is a whole chapter dealing with dreams on the internet, complete
with a verbatim transcription of one of Jeremy Taylor's on-line dream groups.
From the inside cover of the book jacket: "Carl Jung and others maintain that
our dreams speak to us in terms of archetypes and symbols. These symbols are
often universal, and they reveal much about our common humanity and how we
see ourselves. these symbols also appear in our patterns of speech, reflecting
in our choice of metaphor how we shape our understanding of things. The Internet,
the emerging embodiment of the modern information infrastructure, isnow entering
our social consciousness. So what metaphors do we use in talking about it
and thinking about it? The 'information superhighway' metaphor...gives only
a limited sense of what the Internet is and what it could be. Mark Stefik
explores some of the most provacative writings about the Internet to tease
out the deeper metaphors and myths. He finds four persistent metaphors --
digital library, electronic mail, electronic marketplace and digital world.
These metaphors are based on ancient myths and archetypes that have influenced
human thinking for thousands of years: keeper of knowledge (digital library),
communicator (lectronic mail), trader (electronic marketplace), and adventurer
(digital world). Recast in the setting of high technology, they are still
powerful guides, capable of refreshing our sense of direction and purpose
in creating the Internet."
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