Rainbows End

1) Although most of the book seems to look at technology as a kind of scary and potentially devastating thing to society and old ways of literacy, I believe Vinge accepts the ways in which technology is changing our world.  I think this is less of a book about the pros and cons of technological advances and more of a story about what might happen to society and attitudes towards literacy in the future.  I say this because Vinge doesn’t seem to be demonizing or supporting this new way of life through augmented reality and mediated commonplace, rather the book takes an almost satirical and neutral stance on these topics.  I think the better question to ask is whether or not this type of world is better for information gathering, culture and education?  Even though the reality of what Vinge describes will most likely not be reached in our lifetimes or our children’s, it is interesting to think that our world is slowly moving towards this type of augmented reality that is so every prevalent in Rainbows End.  We see the beginnings of this with Facebook check- in’s and Googles Goggles; in addition to some kinds of AR advertising through mobile phones.  More and more, we are seeing a world being looked at through mobile and stationary devices such as a computer or smart phone.

8) Robert Gu is the perfect protagonist for many reasons and represents a kind of person who is stuck in the past and has to (almost unwillingly) adjust and adapt to this new kind of technological world dominated by third party devices.  Vinge did a great job at creating a situation that was both new to Gu and to the reader.  Essentially allowing the reader to understand and learn about this new and complicated world, just as Gu does.  It allows for a more vivid and interesting story as the reader isn’t trying to play catch up with what is happening.  The evolution of Gu’s character almost mirrors that of someone who begins to slowly accept his or her new environment and finds a way to fit in as Gu did when he develops an algorithm that helps fix some of the bugs involved with the haptics system used in video games. 

I thought the way Vinge portrayed Gu was great because it gave the audience something to relate to and understand.