''Cyberia'' is a book by

Douglas Rushkoff Douglas Mark Rushkoff (born February 18, 1961) is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture and his advocacy of open-source ...

, published in 1994. The book discusses many different ideas revolving around technology, drugs and subcultures. Rushkoff takes a

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

'' Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'' style (or ''

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

''), as he actively becomes a part of the people and culture that he is writing about. The book goes with Rushkoff as he discusses topics ranging from

online culture Internet culture refers to culture developed and maintained among frequent and active users of the Internet (also known as netizens) who primarily communicate with one another as members of online communities; that is, a culture whose influence i ...

, the concept of a

global brain The global brain is a neuroscience-inspired and futurological vision of the planetary information and communications technology network that interconnects all humans and their technological artifacts. As this network stores ever more information, ...

as put forth in Gaia theory, and

Neoshamanism Neoshamanism (or neo-shamanism), refers to new forms of shamanism, where it usually means shamanism practiced by Western people as a type of New Age spirituality, without a connection to traditional shamanic societies. It is sometimes also used fo ...

. In the preface of the 1994 edition, Rushkoff describes his book as "about a very special moment in our recent history – a moment when anything seemed possible. When an entire subculture – like a kid at a rave trying virtual reality for the first time – saw the wild potentials of marrying the latest computer technologies with the most intimately held dreams and the most ancient spiritual truths. It is a moment that predates

America Online AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo! Inc. The service tra ...

, twenty million Internet subscribers, ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'' magazine,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, and the information superhighway. But it is a moment that foresaw a whole lot more"."Rushkoff."
Web log post. The book, with its introduction titled "Surfing the Learning Curve of Sisyphus," captures a pivotal moment in history when endless possibilities emerged. It delves into the lives and experiences of individuals who recognized the impending cultural shift into uncharted territory. People mentioned include: Craig Neidorf, Ralph Abraham, John Barlow, Dan Kottke,

David Gans David Gans (; ‎1541–1613), also known as Rabbi Dovid Solomon Ganz, was a German-Jewish chronicler, mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer. He is the author of "Tzemach David" (1592) and therefore also known by this title, the ...

Jaron Lanier Jaron Zepel Lanier (, born May 3, 1960) is an American computer scientist, visual artist, computer philosophy writer, technologist, futurist, and composer of contemporary classical music. Considered a founder of the field of virtual reality, La ...

, Bruce Eisner, Fraser Clark,

Mitch Kapor Mitchell David Kapor ( ; born November 1, 1950) is an American entrepreneur best known for his work as an application developer in the early days of the personal computer software industry, later founding Lotus Software, Lotus, where he was instr ...

, Phiber Optik,

Howard Rheingold Howard Rheingold (born 1947) is an American critic, writer, and teacher, known for his specialties on the cultural, social and political implications of modern communication media such as the Internet, mobile telephony and virtual communities. B ...

, R. U. Sirius,

Terence McKenna Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946–April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, ...

John Draper John Thomas Draper (born March 11, 1943), also known as Captain Crunch, Crunch, or Crunchman after a toy boatswain's call whistle once given away in boxes of Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal that for some years could be used to make free long d ...

, Neysa "Earth Girl" Griffith,

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmi ...

and

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...

. Rather than offering a comprehensive analysis of the entire cyber landscape, the book provides a guided exploration of select areas within this nascent culture, to which the author gained privileged access. The work is organized into five sections: "Computers: Revenge of the Nerds," "Drugs: The Substances of Designer Reality," "Technoshamanism: The Transition Team," "Cut and Paste: Artists in Cyberia," and "Warfare in Cyberia: Ways and Memes." Rushkoff's first book was originally penned in 1992 but was not published until 1994 due to publisher concerns that electronic mail and the Internet were still obscure topics unlikely to gain traction. In ''Cyberia'', Rushkoff emphasizes a "cyberian counterculture" out to redefine reality, where people begin to comprehend the systemic, cultural, and spiritual implications afforded by building a technological civilization. Armed with new technologies, familiar with cyberspace, and daring enough to explore unmapped realms of consciousness, his efforts in ''Cyberia'' represent the Promethean spirit intrinsic to countercultures throughout the ages."Altering Consciousness: Multidisciplinary Perspectives."
Cardeña, Etzel and Winkelman, Michael J. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print.

References

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External links

*The full text of ''Cyberia'' used to be freely available o
Rushkoff's website
Non-fiction Cyberpunk media 1994 non-fiction books 1990s in Internet culture HarperOne books