The+Diamond+Age+by+Neal+Stephenson


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= **Book Summary** = John Percival Hackworth is a nanotech engineer on the rise when he steals a copy of "A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" for his daughter Fiona. The primer is actually a super computer built with nanotechnology that was designed to educate Lord Finkle-McGraw's daughter and to teach her how to think for herself in the stifling neo-Victorian society. But Hackworth loses the primer before he can give it to Fiona, and now the "book" has fallen into the hands of young Nell, an underprivileged girl whose life is about to change.

= About the Author = Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized science fiction, historical fiction, maximalism, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk. Stephenson explores areas such as mathematics, cryptography, philosophy, currency, and the history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as Wired Magazine, and has worked part-time as an advisor for Blue Origin, a company (funded by Jeff Bezos) developing a manned sub-orbital launch system. Born in Fort Meade, Maryland (home of the NSA and the National Cryptologic Museum) Stephenson came from a family comprising engineers and hard scientists he dubs "propeller heads". His father is a professor of electrical engineering whose father was a physics professor; his mother worked in a biochemistry laboratory, while her father was a biochemistry professor. Stephenson's family moved to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in 1960 and then to Ames, Iowa in 1966 where he graduated from Ames High School in 1977. Stephenson furthered his studies at Boston University. He first specialized in physics, then switched to geography after he found that it would allow him to spend more time on the university mainframe. He graduated in 1981 with a B.A. in Geography and a minor in physics. Since 1984, Stephenson has lived mostly in the Pacific Northwest and currently resides in Seattle with his family. Neal Stephenson is the author of the three-volume historical epic "The Baroque Cycle" (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World) and the novels Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Zodiac. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

= Discussion Questions = 1. Consider the title of the novel, including the subtitle. Why is it significant that it is the “Diamond Age,” specifically? What is a primer, and why is it important, thematically?

2. Keep the epigraph in mind as you read through the novel, and note where it applies to the characters of the novel.

3. This novel is science fiction, of course. However, science fiction writers aren’t merely writing about some imagined future (at least not Stephenson). Note significant places in the novel that you can compare to today as well as those you can contrast. Why do you think Stephenson draws particular comparisons or contrasts?

4. What are phyles, and why are they important in the novel? What do you think Stephenson has to say about cultural divisions?

5. Note all the things that are Victorian about the novel (including the Vickys). Why does Stephenson use so much from this period?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">6. Like Beloved, this novel centers on a female protagonist, and it certainly has some things to teach us about gender. What are they?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">7. Note the differences between things that are real (hand-made) versus those that are produced by the feed.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">8. Note the areas where education is discussed. What do you think this novel has to say about contemporary education? Do you agree with it?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">9. What is the difference between the “feed” and the “seed” we learn about later in the novel, and why is the difference important?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;">10. There is a difference between Nell and the orphan girls (who we learn about later in the novel). What is the difference and why is it important?--

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