We’ve been able to delve deeper into Gibson’s book, and everything is really coming together. Once Flynne began interacting with the future, we got full explanations for concepts that had previously only been mentioned or described with little to no context. This is making the book much easier to read. And now we finally know what the title of the book refers to.
The in-class discussions have also been interesting. We’ve been able to connect the novel to a range of topics. In my first group, the book led to a discussion of self-driving cars and philosophical discussions regarding The Trolley Problem. In my second group, we examined similar themes in movies/television. The idea of uploading/transferring consciousness and the usage of robots has been explored across sci-fi, including works such as Avatar, Westworld, Black Mirror, and Inception. These have often been used to theorize a way to achieve immortality, or as a more cautionary tale. I think Gibson explores these themes in a very fascinating but practical/realistic way, at least making his scientific explanations plausible while working on his world-building (which I believe is his main focus). I look forward to continuing The Peripheral and participating in more discussions.
