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David Hillel Gelernter

Mirror Worlds: Or: The Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox...How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean First Edition

by David Gelernter (Author)

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Technology doesn't flow smoothly; it's the big surprises that matter, and Yale computer expert David Gelernter sees one such giant leap right on the horizon. Today's small scale software programs are about to be joined by vast public software works that will revolutionize computing and
transform society as a whole. One such vast program is the "Mirror World."
Imagine looking at your computer screen and seeing reality--an image of your city, for instance, complete with moving traffic patterns, or a picture that sketches the state of an entire far-flung corporation at this second. These representations are called Mirror Worlds, and according to
Gelernter they will soon be available to everyone. Mirror Worlds are high-tech voodoo dolls: by interacting with the images, you interact with reality. Indeed, Mirror Worlds will revolutionize the use of computers, transforming them from (mere) handy tools to crystal balls which will allow us to
see the world more vividly and see into it more deeply. Reality will be replaced gradually, piece-by-piece, by a software imitation; we will live inside the imitation; and the surprising thing is--this will be a great humanistic advance. We gain control over our world, plus a huge new measure of
insight and vision.
In this fascinating book--part speculation, part explanation--Gelernter takes us on a tour of the computer technology of the near future. Mirror Worlds, he contends, will allow us to explore the world in unprecedented depth and detail without ever changing out of our pajamas. A hospital
administrator might wander through an entire medical complex via a desktop computer. Any citizen might explore the performance of the local schools, chat electronically with teachers and other Mirror World visitors, plant software agents to report back on interesting topics; decide to run for the
local school board, hire a campaign manager, and conduct the better part of the campaign itself--all by interacting with the Mirror World.
Gelernter doesn't just speculate about how this amazing new software will be used--he shows us how it will be made, explaining carefully and in detail how to build a Mirror World using technology already available. We learn about "disembodied machines," "trellises," "ensembles," and other
computer components which sound obscure, but which Gelernter explains using familiar metaphors and terms. (He tells us that a Mirror World is a microcosm just like a Japanese garden or a Gothic cathedral, and that a computer program is translated by the computer in the same way a symphony is
translated by a violinist into music.)
Mirror Worlds offers a lucid and humanistic account of the coming software revolution, told by a computer scientist at the cutting edge of his field.

ISBN-10

0195068122
ISBN-13

978-0195068122
Edition

First Edition
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

November 14, 1991
Language

English
Dimensions

6.44 x 0.85 x 9.56 inches
Print length

237 pages
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

With evangelical fervor, Gelernter's book-length essay paints a future where software technology, now isolating people, brings them into impersonal proximity through "mirror worlds." These computer models of reality let users descend to greater depths of detail at will, meet other explorers, and generally get the "big picture" of what's going on. However, Gelernter's own appraisal of the value of computers seems inconsistent and extreme: he claims they are valuable just sitting unused on the coffee table but then insists that the uninitiated will be forced to "sink or swim" (i.e., learn to use computers) in the information sea computers create. His casual style gives the book the feel of a lecture transcript, and his metaphors (e.g., "jettisoned floating landscapes in tuple space") demand considerable hardware and software knowledge to link them with reality. For collections emphasizing computer science.
- Doug Kranch, Ambassador Coll. Lib., Big Sandy, Tex.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Within ten years, Gelernter (Computer Science/Yale) predicts here, scientists will deploy computer systems able to capture extensive data about a particular ``reality'' (hospital, city, etc.), and to present a constantly updated model on a desktop computer. ``A Mirror World is some huge institution's moving, true-to- life mirror image trapped inside a computer--where you can see and grasp it whole,'' Gelernter writes. Citizens will be able to visit these computer models like public squares, gaining unprecedented access to data on what's going on (and the officials in charge, the author intimates, will presumably welcome a chance to have their performance monitored). Building such mirror worlds will be extraordinarily difficult: streams and rivers of raw data need to be constantly flowing; thousands of computers must process the data in parallel fashion; and tying it all together will demand new kinds of software of immense complexity. Gelernter explains clearly the problems to be solved and describes pieces of the technology already working in research labs. Left unchallenged is his assumption that such technology will remain benign--giving honest folk a way of grasping an ever-more complex world instead of providing the powerful owners of such technology a superb way to distort and control ``reality.'' Plausible but potentially frightening view of what the future could hold if those who view ``reality'' as merely a vast array of numbers waiting to be crunched have their way. (Twenty illustrations--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; First Edition (November 14, 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 237 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195068122
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195068122
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.44 x 0.85 x 9.56 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,045,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #628 in Human-Computer Interaction (Books)
- #3,747 in Video & Computer Games
- #22,303 in Mathematics (Books)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

21 global ratings

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Mark Hatzilambrou

Very interesting and very predictive of much of what has ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 9, 2015

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Very interesting and very predictive of much of what has come to pass. Sketches out a broad framework of cyber-architecture without getting stuck in low-level implementation details. I read it because I am designing a tool to operate in today's cloud ecosystem, and this framework is chock full of guiding principles.

4 people found this helpful

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JFoster

Classic book predicting cloud computing back in the 80's!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 22, 2013

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This is an oldie that predicts the coming wave of cloud computing... David outlines a framework for how information flows into the lattice work supporting a virtual world

3 people found this helpful

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Steve Davis

Still a good read from a visionary technologist

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 3, 2015

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Very dated material. Still a good read from a visionary technologist.

One person found this helpful

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Storebrand

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 23, 2015

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Good book of course, but seller sent quickly and in perfect condition. Better than expected. Thanks!

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B. Scott Andersen

Interesting ideas endure

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 9, 2001

Mirror Worlds
Gelertner
3 stars
The book, first published in 1991 by Oxford University Press,
must be read in the context of its day to be fully appreciated.
At that time, in the pre-web world, there was a great deal of
discussion devoted to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the
Fifth Generation Project driven by the Japanese. If Gelertner
had limited his offering to only those topics this book could
be left in the pile of such books from that era without loss.
Luckily, Gelertner gave us more.
While there is much of the book relegated to the AI ideas of
that time, there are also insightful and practical observations
that have a more lasting appeal. For example, Gelertner delves
into the question "What is a program? What does 'software' mean?"
Such questions are explored in some detail and other observations
are made in the discussions. "Managing complexity must be
your goal... we can call it the pursuit of 'topsite'. Topsite--
the understanding of the big picture--is the essential goal of
every software builder. It's also the most precious intellectual
commodity known to man."
We've all heard talk about someone who "sees the big picture."
That, according to Gelertner, is "topsight": having perspective,
clarity, and a sense of proportion. Why is this important? If
we want to have machines (programs) help us see and understand
our world (in a "Mirror" of our world), we'll need to teach
these machines how to make sense of the information. Minimally,
they'll need to be able to sift through the volumes of data
and find that data which is "interesting." The very best programs
will be able to find those interesting things and present
them in a compelling way. All of this demands "topsight."
To drive this ideal, Gelertner and his colleagues created
"Linda" which serves as the basis for the
machinery of such a Mirror World system. The idea is simple:
create a Space where information (called a Tuple)
can be put, taken, or simply read or examined. Many programs
put information in the space. Other programs notice items
in the Space, take them, and perform some processing, and
put a different item back into the space in its stead.
This part of the book, the very practical nuts-and-bolts
part, is alive and well today and in active use. While
Gelertner's system Linda may not have achieved widespread
acceptance, the same idea in another form is quietly
thriving: JavaSpaces. The same notions described by
Gelertner to support his Mirror World now serves as the
heart of many commercial applications.
Gelertner has a lot to say. Yes, some of it now appears
dated and some of the ideas he touts have been
discredited. But, nobody said predicting the future was
easy business!
My recommendation is thus: forgive Gelertner the detours he
takes (that we all took) and find within the book all those
things which have inspired--and will continue to inspire.
There are ample enough thoughts within those pages to make
the time invested in a careful reading well worthwhile.

23 people found this helpful

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Olga Werby

For Sci-Fi Fans & Product Designers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 2, 2010

David Gelernter's visionary, although dated, book, "Mirror Worlds: or the Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox...How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean," is a must for science fiction fans as well as product interaction designers. Dr. Gelernter thinks big and comes up with a futuristic model of computers embedded in the very fabric of society. The book was written in 1993, and he has published a few books since then, but for scope of technological futurisms, this one is my favorite.

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4 people found this helpful

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michael.casey@gartner.com

Excellent tools for imagining future worlds.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 25, 1998

"Mirror Worlds" sketches, on a broad canvas, what we will be able to do with (virtually) infinite bandwidth and storage capacity. Gelernter's book provides key concepts and mental models for envisioning technological futures.
We're never quite prepared for the future when it arrives. Exponential technology curves yield thousand-fold gains in capacity and speed, but humans can't imagine thousand-fold improvements. One solution: remove the limits completely. For example, assume that infinite bandwidth and data storage capacity are available to everyone for free. What would this enable us to do? Explore the new applications -- the new ways of organizing work, communication, commerce, thought, and art -- that would become possible. Then work back from that vision of the future, to find the paths that will take us in that direction.
Example 1: Put video cameras everywhere, and record every moment. -- Remember, infinite and free storage and bandwidth! Why throw anything away? -- Use that real-time data to build a virtual model of your city - a mirror world. Then have your software agents roam through all those data/video streams and flag - or respond to - events that might impact your neighborhood or your decisions. The value is in the filtering!
Example 2: Any human with a PC and a net connection can become a television broadcaster. The TV broadcasting infrastructure becomes obsolete, just as the telephone companies' infrastructure does in the Stupid Network vision With millions of producers creating and broadcasting content streams into infospace -- and all prior broadcasts stored for viewing as well -- a highly selective "TV Guide" will be a key to survival in the post-literate society.
Higly recommended reading for visionaries, product planners and science fiction writers. END

34 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Stelios D

Interesting book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 28, 2012

Verified Purchase

Very interesting book, taking also into consideration that it was written 20 years ago. Strongly suggest it, if you like this kind of books

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