Born may 3rd 1960, Jaron Lanier is primarily a computer scientist and composer. He has more recently come to acclaim as a notable author.
His 2010 release of 'You are not a gadget' achieved critical acclaim being included as 'one of the top 10 Books of the year in 2010' by the Miciko Katutani of the New York Times. In the same year Lanier was named in the top 100 most influential people by Time Magazine. Before his success as an author Lanier is often referred to as being a pioneer of 'virtual reality', a term he himself is said to have coined during a period of intense research in 1987. Lanier separates himself from many other technology authors through his style of writing, quoted directly from his own site Lanier says he's 'charting a humanistic approach to technology appreciation and criticism.' |
Early LifeLanier was born in New York city to Jewish parents, he was raised in Mesilla, New Mexico.
His mother was involved in a fatal car crash when he was just 9 years old, however a mere 4 years later Lanier attended New Mexcio State University, at the impressive age of just 13 he studied Mathematics which then lead him into the world of Computer Programming. |
|
Farther of VRIn 1984 Lanier, together with Thomas Zimmerman founded VPL Research, a pioneering company based in San Francisco Bay that developed some of the original virtual reality products. Including the DataGlove, a devise that uses a glove as a form of input, and the EyePhone, a devise which uses a head mounted display to immerse it's user in a virtual environment.
The Company was the first of it's kind to sell virtual reality (VR) products. His research and development into virtual reality products and software solidifies Lanier's name in history as one of the farthers of virtual reality, even the term it's self is said to have been coined by Lanier himself during research in the 1980's. |
Authored WorkJaron Lanier's writings have received critical acclaim world wide, both of his releases the 2010 'You Are Not A Gadget' and the 2013 'Who Owns The Future', his books have been the recipient of awards and included in many best book lists.
'Who Owns the Future?' won the 2014 Harvard's Goldsmith Book Prize, its members are quoted below have chosen [Lanier] to pay tribute to a true pioneer in the digital world – one who has always recognized the inherent risks contained in this new world with regard to each individual's right to shape his or her own life. In the same year Lanier received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
Lanier's next book is due for release during Autumn 2017, entitled 'Dawn of the New Everything: A Journey Through Virtual Reality'. The Book is currently available for pre-order through Water Stones. |
Unconventional StyleFor a documented farther of the digital age, Lanier is a voice against the status-quo, a social media recluse, having not a single active social media account.
Up on viewing his own web page, Lanier looks to still be in the dark ages of web design, however this style is obviously intentional, Lanier yearns for a more simpler time. In 'You Are Not A Gadget' he mentions how the world wide web was once a place of individual expression, a place where anyone with an interest would make these weird and wonderful web pages following little or no set standard, and this is reflected in the design of his own site. |