cyberspace

jargon /si:'ber-spays/ 1. (Coined by William Gibson)

Notional "information-space" loaded with visual cues and

navigable with brain-computer interfaces called "cyberspace

decks"; a characteristic prop of cyberpunk SF. In 1991

serious efforts to construct virtual reality interfaces

modelled explicitly on Gibsonian cyberspace were already under

way, using more conventional devices such as glove sensors and

binocular TV headsets. Few hackers are prepared to deny

outright the possibility of a cyberspace someday evolving out

of the network (see network, the).

2. Occasionally, the metaphoric location of the mind of a

person in hack mode. Some hackers report experiencing

strong eidetic imagery when in hack mode; interestingly,

independent reports from multiple sources suggest that there

are common features to the experience. In particular, the

dominant colours of this subjective "cyberspace" are often

grey and silver, and the imagery often involves constellations

of marching dots, elaborate shifting patterns of lines and

angles, or moire patterns.

[Jargon File]

(1999-02-01)