ABSTRACT
This chapter undertakes an examination of the Babelian information currently circulating through cyberspace and determining the general significance of networked computer systems. It traces the origin and purpose of the desire for universal understandability, locates the computer within this tradition, and asks about the underlying assumptions and consequences of this project. The inquiry is directed toward not only computer technology but also the various discourses that have reflected on and shaped the meaning of this technology. In short, the examination attempts to understand the rather cacophonous babble concerning Babel as it has been deployed within the networks of cyberspace. The computer and the technologies of computer-mediated communication manifest the most recent version of the supposedly universal endeavor. The computer promises to become the technological equivalent of the miracle that provides the means of instant translation of any code or language into any other code or language. The computer-mediated mind-to-mind connection is facilitated by brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies.
