Question 1
1. Why do you think Coupland's characters speak in computer jargon, and use technical expressions to describe their lives and environment? How does this compare to your experiences of the workplace and home? What effect does this way of speaking have on others?

When a person makes their career count for so much in their life it is difficult not to “take it home.” The characters in Coupland’s “Microserfs” make this fact evident. To the characters in this novel, computers and technology are all they know. It is not only their job, but their way of life. I think they do this because it is what makes sense to them. It adds a sense of familiarity to their day to day and it helps them to put their lives in a perspective that they can easily identify with. I myself can relate to this as I often catch myself using terms and phrases that really only apply in my work place. I would say it is for the same reasons. So much of our time is spent at work that it becomes ingrained in you and really becomes a part of who you are. This type of speaking can definitely leave people out. It makes it difficult for others to join a conversation and can really close circles to meeting new people, which in Microserfs, the characters rarely did.
Question 2
1. Karla says, "computers will continue to be developed . . . an 'entity is going to be created that has its own intelligence." What is Karla saying about artificial intelligence (AI)? What are your perspectives on AI?

I think Karla is simply stating that computers and technology are becoming so far advanced that the only place they have left to go is to become a sort of species of their own. Those computers are only what the people who build them put into them. She is meaning that artificial intelligence exists through the creators. Computer programmers and “coders” are essentially creating that intelligence. She even goes so far as to categorizing Mac as female and PC as male. She states “Windows is non-intuitive…counter-intuitive sometimes…WOMEN crave efficiency, elegance…” (Microserfs 120). Karla has an unusual, extremely analytical way of thinking. She also goes on to say “we cannot de-invent computers” (Coupland 35). Computers are what we made them, they will get as advanced as we will allow them to be.
Question 3
1. Daniel Underwood has been described as an "anti-hero" who is a "dull nobody." In what ways is this statement true? Why has Coupland used this form of an anti-hero?

Dan does not really do anything to qualify himself a hero. He rescues no one. He’s not much of a leader. He leads a rather unexciting life and he really does not seem to have any inclination to spice it up. He seems fairly happy with his meager existence, but you can sense that he wants more. I think Coupland chose to portray Dan in this light to illustrate that you don’t have to be a hero to desire more in life. The author wanted to show the growth than Dan goes through and that you can come from tragedy, (referring to his brother Jed) be “geeky” and still come out ahead. The turning point for Dan was when he confronted his father about his relationship with Michael. “Michael’s not Jed, Dad. He just isn’t. And neither am I. And I just can’t keep trying to keep up with him. Because no matter how hard I run. I’m never going to catch up.”(Microserfs 221) It was nice to see him grow as a person throughout this book, to finally open up about his brother and allow him-self to be vulnerable, not just the geek.

























Works Cited

Coupland, Douglas. MIcroserfs. New York, NY: Reagan books, 2005.