The book was written in 1992, less than a decade after the first MacIntosh was released. These computers would sometimes “Snow Crash” where their screens would turn blue with a white fuzz; this served as Stephenson's inspiration. Stephenson was a visionary, for things like the Internet did not become popular until late 1992.
In 1992, America's economy was not doing well, and the Cold War still haunted people’s minds. Technology, however, continued to advance at record speeds. 2G mobile phones were just launched, although fax was the main form of electronic communication; CD sales surpassed those of audio cassette tapes for the first time, and photo CDs were just launched; Microsoft had just released Windows 3.1, and the internet — the World Wide Web — had just been created a year ago, though its explosive growth wouldn’t happen yet for another year.
Stephenson spun these new devices with a science fiction edge, predicting that cell phones would get smaller and more powerful, and that the Library of Congress would eventually turn to digital books and videos as their main way of storing information. While he first coined the now widely used term ‘Metaverse’ in this novel to depict a virtual reality space where people can interact with each other through the Internet he also predicted the need for digital copyright and Google Earth. The distrust of government post Cold War led Stephenson to predict a government like Fedland that was even less efficient that organized crime syndicates like the Mafia.
Stephenson relied heavily on the Tower of Babel story and Sumerian mythology to form the premise of his novel, and although the story has its roots in ancient myths, Snow Crash remains eerily close to reality even now. While virtual reality systems as complex and refined as the Metaverse are still a work in progress, they seem as close on the horizon as the collapse of American economy and government in Stephenson’s work.
As more of the technologies and ideas from Snow Crash become a reality, the lessons and warnings in the novel become increasingly relevant. This novel is a must read for anyone in the modern era, as society deals with complex social and moral issues including hacking, digital privacy, dangerous and malicious computer viruses, corporate influence in government, and fake news. We think that Snow Crash will continue to be read in the future as long as digital technologies are an important factor of our lives.
As more of the technologies and ideas from Snow Crash become a reality, the lessons and warnings in the novel become increasingly relevant. This novel is a must read for anyone in the modern era, as society deals with complex social and moral issues including hacking, digital privacy, dangerous and malicious computer viruses, corporate influence in government, and fake news. We think that Snow Crash will continue to be read in the future as long as digital technologies are an important factor of our lives.
