William Gibson on the novelty of cyberspace

William Gibson, whose new novel Spook Country is out soon, is interviewed in the Seattle Times. One interesting observation:

Fifteen or 20 years ago, the time we spent in digital systems was a special time. We spent less time there and we noticed it more. Now that's reversed. The increasingly rare time we spend is that which is not in the system. That's how it turns itself inside out.

That's why a term like "cyberspace" starts to go the way of all those things in the 19th century that started with the word "electro" — electro-water, electro-toothbrush. Electricity was a novelty. But as everything is increasingly transacted in what we used to call cyberspace, cyberspace ceases to exist. What becomes special is the world that's not in it.

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