GLOSSARYSF TROPE
Metaverse
IN PLAIN ENGLISH
In plain English
A persistent, shared virtual world where people meet and interact through avatars, a term that comes from Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992).
WORKS
See it in the wild.
ON THE SHOW
On the show.
- Ep 2 — Did science fiction invent our future? (05:06–07:30, 09:14–10:31): Caitlin connects Meta's rebrand to Snow Crash. Rob calls the book's metaverse "kind of a neutral place," notes the real-world version hasn't caught on, and asks whether that's an implementation problem or a fundamental human rejection. Caitlin's take: people may be rejecting Mark Zuckerberg more than the idea.
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