Re: Idoru

Andreas Johansson writes:
 > Tim May wrote:
 > >
 > >Andreas Johansson writes:
 > >  > William Annis wrote:
 > >  > > >From:         Andreas Johansson <and_yo@...>
 > >  > >
 > >  > > > If "idoru" isn't some version of "idol" (which my brain sorts as
 > >/ido:l/
 > >  > > > however you anglophones may mangle it), then what does it mean?
 > >  > >
 > >  > >         Well, Gibson knows nothing about computers, but doesn't let
 > >  > >that stop him from writing about them.  Perhaps he takes the same
 > >  > >approach to Japanese, and Idoru is his spelling of 'aidoru.'
 > >  >
 > >  > That'd mean he knows enough to know what an "aidoru" is, but not how to
 > >  > spell it. Sounds slightly unlikely to me.
 > >  >
 > >  >                                              Andreas
 > >
 > >It's not impossible.
 >
 > That's why I wrote "unlikely". Am I wrecking havoc with English semantics
 > again?
 >
No, I'm just being vague, I guess.  I wasn't implying that you'd said
it was impossible, I was just ruling out the possibility that it was
impossible, which is left undefined by "unlikely".  Reducing the range
of possibilities covered from the other direction, and thus shifting
the center value upwards. :)

 > >I don't know if you've read the book or not, but the term idoru refers
 > >essentially to artificial, computer generated aidoru (although the
 > >term aidoru is not used in the text).  There has been at least one
 > >such in reality (http://www.wdirewolff.com/jkyoko.htm), which no doubt
 > >inspired Gibson.  Possibly idoru is a contraction of e-aidoru (the
 > >prefix e-, for electronic, being popular in '90s English product
 > >names, although I'm not aware of its use in Japanese).
 >
 > Have read the book - that's why I'm asking! There are a number of
 > "e-aidoru"s to be found nowadays.

Well, it defines it as 'idol-singers' in chapter 6, (page 44 of my
copy) which would seem to make the derivation from 'idol' self
evident, although perhaps not the route...  Incidentally, if it is an
error, it's exactly the same error as made on the audio book - he
pronounced it 'hanaiwa'.  But that was some time ago, and you'd expect
him to know enough about Japan by now to get the vowels right.

Have you read "Virtual light" and "All Tomorrow's Parties", which make
a trilogy with "Idoru"?

To put this vaguely on topic, I've often thought that Gibson's
attempts to create futuristic jargon were more believable than most
other sf writers, although this may be partly because so many of his
terms had already been adopted by the time I read them.

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