Thoughts of the Age

When I think of diamond age, I think of the ages of Greek history, in which every age set forth the coming of a new era. Upon reading Diamond Age I get the feeling that this is not a diamond age at all. When I think of diamonds, unlike silver, gold and bronze, I think of perfection, but the age in which Nell grows up in is very flawed. The drummers are weird. The primer that Nell and the other girls use to learn from is a very interesting technology though it is not always useful.

The society in Diamond Age is more technically advanced than the society we live in today, but with that technically advanced society it seems as though the world has spun into a more chaotic place than our own. Nanotechnology and computer literacy thrives in the world Nell lives in and it is normal for people to use it, but it seems as though the more technology people have, the world goes further and further into a dystopia. Tribal societies at war, thetes pillaging the streets using guns that are smaller than their hands, and an abundance of orphans that do not have anywhere to live. Peace and harmony exists very little in this world and it doesn’t seem like the problems between people have changed much, only the technology. Although the technology seems fantastic in some ways than others, it seems as though it could be more dangerous and risky to have.

The colony of the drummers is very interesting. It was difficult to understand exactly what they were doing because their strange culture was stunned me as I read through some of the words. The rituals used by the drummers was very unique and I could not understand why exactly they were doing it. Only in a technically advanced age would they people to hack other people’s minds and that’s what I think I’ve concluded to. The drummers would use their bodily contact to hack into other people minds through nanotechnology, which almost ingenious, but the rituals honestly seemed mildly outrageous.

I also thought it was interesting that the girls that given the primers did not grow up the same way. The best affect of the primer happened to Nell. She grew up to be extremely smart, and a great leader, thanks to the primer and the ractor that stayed with her named Miranda. The effect was not the same coming from Lord Finkle-McGraw’s granddaughter, Elizabeth. She actually wasn’t very interested in the stories the primer were teaching her and grew out of them quickly, thus becoming a member of the CryptNet later in the story. The primer also worked differently with Fiona Hackworth as well. Three different girls leading three different lives. Not to mention the orphans that obtained the primers, who eventually became an army for Nell. I think what effected these girls the most was the people that were around them and how they were being taught through the primer that changed their lifestyle the most.