Jean Baudrillard's book 'simulacra and simulation' is one of the many books I tried to read on and off for a long time, my attempt always thwarted by some freakish chain of coincidences. It's an interesting book that defies classical genre specification (I think). The closest I can classify what's in the book would be a disposition of philosophy coupled with some degree of psychology. Some others would say that the book is a treatise on the nature of the modern society that titters on the boundary between the real and the simulation of the real. I haven't read through the book yet of course, but the general gist of the text seem to flow towards analysis of the modern civilization built on the production and availability of massive amounts of information.
The whole thing is very relevent with the kind of world we live in right now (though the book itself was written some time ago). This book provided a lot of background for much of the popular culture phenomenon we know and love today, like the matrix and the ghost in the shell. I can't look it up right now (virtue of tapping out a blog post with a blackberry while in a bar) but I'm sure there are a lot more references out there. The coming era will be the day of fantasy and reality intermingled, as humanity continues to build on their perception and knowledge of the world and technologies inch us ever closer to seeing our imaginations and collective manifest in reality. If the tools to shape the reality remain in hands of a chosen few such future will be the new dark age. If the tools can be used by anyone with sufficient force of will the future will becomeb the new Renaissance. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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