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Vernor Steffen Vinge

ヴァーナー・ヴィンジ

Vernor Vinge

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1944-10-02 （Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.）
Died
2024-03-20 （La Jolla, California, U.S.） age 79
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Waukesha, Wisconsin (birth) → San Diego / La Jolla, California (residence, work)

Career

Occupations
Author, Computer scientist, Mathematician, Professor
Active Years
1966-2011
Affiliations
San Diego State University (faculty)
Influenced By
Stefan E. Warschawski, John W. Campbell (editorial influence)
Influenced
William Gibson, Neal Stephenson

Education

Michigan State University
Mathematics
Degree: B.S.
Period: 在学〜1966
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: United States
Father was a member of the geography faculty
University of California, San Diego
Mathematics
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1968（M.A.）
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
University of California, San Diego
Mathematics
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1971（Ph.D.）
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: United States
Doctoral advisor: Stefan E. Warschawski

Awards

Hugo Award
1993
Work: A Fire Upon the Deep
Category: Best Novel
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Award)
Result: Won
Hugo Award
2000
Work: A Deepness in the Sky
Category: Best Novel
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Award)
Result: Won
Hugo Award
2007
Work: Rainbows End
Category: Best Novel
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Award)
Result: Won
Hugo Award
2002
Work: Fast Times at Fairmont High
Category: Best Novella
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Award)
Result: Won
Hugo Award
2004
Work: The Cookie Monster
Category: Best Novella
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Award)
Result: Won
Prometheus Award
2000
Work: A Deepness in the Sky
Organization: Prometheus Award (Libertarian Futurist Society)
Result: Won
Prometheus Award (Special Award for Lifetime Achievement)
2014
Organization: Libertarian Futurist Society (Prometheus)
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

True Names

1981 Science fiction (cyberspace / proto-cyberpunk)

Explores the idea of augmenting the human mind by direct connection to computerized data sources; among the first works to present a detailed notion of 'cyberspace'.

CyberspaceAugmented intelligenceIndividual vs. network

A Fire Upon the Deep

1992 Space opera / Hard SF

A large-scale epic involving humans and alien civilizations; introduces the 'Zones of Thought' concept which structures intelligence and technology across regions of space.

Diversity of intelligencesCivilizational dynamicsLarge-scale communication

A Deepness in the Sky

1999 Hard SF

A prequel to A Fire Upon the Deep focusing on competing human groups vying to exploit an emergent alien culture in the Slow Zone.

ContactTechnological emergenceEthics of knowledge

Rainbows End

2006 Near-future SF

Set in a near-future world of pervasive augmented reality, it deals with themes of retraining an older protagonist and societal adaptation to technological change. Shares setting with Fast Times at Fairmont High.

Augmented realityRetrainingCultural-technology conflict

Bibliography

  • Grimm's World
  • The Witling
  • The Peace War
  • Marooned in Realtime
  • A Fire Upon the Deep
  • A Deepness in the Sky
  • The Children of the Sky
  • Rainbows End
  • True Names (short fiction)
  • Fast Times at Fairmont High (novella)
  • The Cookie Monster (novella)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Hard SF, idea-drivenEmphasis on technical and conceptual rigor
Recurring Motifs
Technological singularityCyberspace and virtual identityHierarchies of intelligence and civilization

Health

  • Parkinson's disease
    晩年（発症時期は公表されていない）
    Affected his later life and activities; he continued creative work during some of the period.

Legacy

Popularized the concept of the technological singularity and produced early depictions of cyberspace that influenced later writers including figures in cyberpunk. Multiple Hugo Award winner and regarded as an important author in hard SF.

Archives

  • Library of Congress and multiple library catalog records

In Popular Culture

  • Frequently cited in discussions and documentaries about cyberspace and the singularity

Quotes

  • “Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence.”
    Source: Essay "The Coming Technological Singularity" (1993) (1993)

Trivia

  • Retired from San Diego State University in 2000 to write full-time.
  • Married fellow science fiction author Joan D. Vinge in 1972; divorced in 1979.
  • Multiple Hugo Award winner and multiple Prometheus Award recipient.