Tag: copies and originals
Finite
by Josh K-sky on Sep.04, 2009, under Books
Consider a book that is preoccupied with simulacra (copies without originals), with the relation of maps to territories, a book which uses “map” as a synonym for self. Consider that this book imagines an entertainment complex dominated by on-demand entertainment cartridges and the fuson of television and computing. Consider that one of the strands of this book that most resembles a plot hinges on the terroristic dissemination of one of these cartridges.
Now consider that in the book, published in 1996, this plan is slowed down by the discovery of a “read-only” copy when only a master copy can be used to make additional copies. The fuck is a read-only copy?
Infinite Jest gets a surprising number of predictions right. But it missed Napster.
(Caveat: I’m around p. 760. Perhaps I’ll revise this.)