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Book review: Technology and terminology
書評：技術和術語
Reality check - an introduction to “The Metaverse” explains where the idea came from and where it might be heading
現實檢查——對《元宇宙》的介紹解釋了這個想法的來源和它可能的走向
The Metaverse. By Matthew Ball.
《元宇宙》馬修·鮑爾著
Do you remember the information superhighway?
你還記得信息高速公路嗎？
In the early 1990s pundits predicted that high-speed data networks would soon connect millions of people, letting them exchange information and linking them to “movies and television shows, shopping services, electronic mail and huge collections of data”, as the New York Times put it.
上世紀90年代初，專家們預測，高速數據網絡會很快將數百萬人連接起來，讓他們交換信息，并成為人們與《紐約時報》所說的“電影和電視節目、購物服務、電子郵件和海量數據”之間的紐帶。
Yet today millions use Netflix and Amazon, Gmail and Wikipedia, and no one talks of “cruising the information superhighway”—or ever did.
然而，如今數百萬人都在使用網飛和亞馬遜、谷歌郵箱和維基百科，沒有人在談論“在信息高速公路上漫游”--或者從未談論過。
The vision was prescient, but the jargon died.
這一愿景是有先見之明的，但這個術語已不復存在了。
Something similar may now be happening with the term “metaverse”.
“元宇宙”這個術語可能正在經歷類似的事情。
It is also the subject of feverish speculation—this time about the possibilities of 3D virtual worlds, and a sense that video-game technology and online communication are converging in interesting ways.
這也是人們狂熱猜測的主題--這一次是關于3D虛擬世界的可能性，以及一種電子游戲技術和在線交流正在以有趣的方式相融合的感覺。
But its definition is elusive, and none of the multitudes who congregate in virtual worlds today, such as players of the game “Fortnite”, actually use the word.
但它的定義很難捉摸，而且今天聚集在虛擬世界中的大多數人，比如《堡壘之夜》的玩家，其實都不會用這個詞。
It broke into public consciousness in October 2021, when Facebook renamed itself Meta, signalling its ambitions in this new arena.
公眾首次知道這個詞是在2021年10月份，當時臉書更名為Meta，表明了它在這個新領域的雄心。
People who had not previously heard the word “metaverse” assumed it was a new Facebook product.
以前沒聽說過“元宇宙”這個詞的人還以為它是臉書的新產品。
But the term has been used in tech circles for years, and other companies, including Microsoft and Roblox, had in fact already staked their own claims to be metaverse merchants.
但這個術語在科技界已經使用了多年，包括微軟和Roblox在內的其他公司實際上已經宣稱自己是元宇宙商家。
Metaverse is a relatively new name for an old idea, explains Matthew Ball, a technology analyst (and occasional contributor to The Economist), in his survey of the topic.
科技分析師馬修·鮑爾(偶爾為《經濟學人》撰稿)在他對這個話題的概述中解釋說，元宇宙是一個老想法的相對較新的名字。
The word was coined in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in his novel “Snow Crash”.
這個詞創造于尼爾·斯蒂芬森1992年的小說《雪崩》。
Mr Ball traces the concept of a parallel, synthetic reality back to “Pygmalion’s Spectacles”, a short story of 1935 by Stanley Weinbaum, and later tales by Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov and William Gibson.
鮑爾將平行合成現實的概念追溯到斯坦利·溫鮑姆1935年的短篇小說《皮格馬利翁的眼鏡》，以及之后雷·布萊伯利、菲利普·K·迪克、艾薩克·阿西莫夫和威廉·吉布森筆下的故事。
Strikingly, all their synthetic worlds are dystopias—a detail modern tech bosses have failed to notice, or chosen to ignore.
引人注目的是，他們筆下的所有合成世界都是反烏托邦的--現代科技界的老板們沒有注意到這一細節，或者選擇了忽視。
Mr Ball’s summary of the history of virtual worlds, in both fiction and computer science, provides helpful context.
鮑爾對小說和計算機科學領域中的虛擬世界史進行了總結，這提供了有用的背景信息。
But his book’s most valuable contribution may prove to be his definition of the metaverse: an interoperable network of 3D virtual worlds that can be accessed simultaneously by millions of users, who can exert property rights over virtual items.
但他這本書最有價值的貢獻可能是他對元宇宙的定義：一個可互操作的3D虛擬世界網絡，可供數百萬用戶同時訪問，這些用戶可以對虛擬物品行使產權。
This definition is interesting as much for what it leaves out as for what it includes.
這個定義很有趣，有趣的點不僅在于它省去的信息，同樣還在于它包含的信息。
It is not simply a rebranding of virtual reality: headsets are optional, and today virtual worlds are mostly accessed using flat screens.
這并非只是給虛擬現實換了個名字：人們可以選擇要不要戴耳機，而且如今的虛擬世界大多都可以通過平板屏幕進行訪問。
Nor are blockchains or non-fungible tokens mentioned, though Mr Ball concedes they may have a role.
區塊鏈或非同質代幣都沒有被提及，盡管鮑爾承認它們可能會發揮作用。
He insists that, just as there is only one internet, made up of many different networks and services that have more value for being connected, there should be only one metaverse, made up of many virtual worlds.
他堅持認為，目前世界上只有一個由許多不同的網絡和服務系統組成的互聯網，這些連接在一起有更大的價值，同樣，世界上也應該只有一個由許多虛擬世界組成的元宇宙。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
