The Metaverse Does Not Exist

The metaverse does not exist, yet we’ve been talking about it for 30 years. This should not surprise, as its first appearance in the English language is in a work of fiction. The term’s precursor, “cyberspace,” is the invention of American-Canadian writer William Gibson, who introduced it in his 1982 novella, Burning Chrome, and popularized it in his 1984 novel, Neuromancer. But “metaverse” itself was first minted by the American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson and released into circulation between the pages of his 1992 novel, Snow Crash. Snow Crash is the most fitting analog to what is being proposed by the dreamers of contemporary Silicon Valley: a virtual-reality-based internet navigated by digital avatars­—graphical representations of its denizens—mediated through headsets worn by consumers in the real world. Read Full Article »