We live in a mirrored world. But our world is not a circus fun house, full of contorted caricatures and infinite reflections. Instead, our narcissistic technologies of communication provide the structural framework for a universal human cathedral of perfect simulation.
Cybernetic technologies, those tools which use feedback to extend or disrupt consciousness, give us the ability to watch ourselves. To watch ourselves–in data, liquid crystal displays, machines–is to know ourselves at every level from the personal to the universal.
We see our selves reflected in Facebook, Last.fm, digital address books, and fashion.
We see our communities reflected in peer-to-peer networks, social news sites, and wiki.
We see our species reflected in particle physics, neuroscience, and the simulation of science.
So what happens now?
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