The information age and the intermediary: John Brockman, new media and science writing since the 1960s

历史学家越来越多地调查科学家被提升为名人的机制，但很少考虑代理人的作用。名人科学家的背后、之间和之外是像约翰·布罗克曼（John Brockman）这样的智力、社会和金融调解人，他的文学机构代表了当今科学技术领域一些最著名的作家。布罗克曼从艺术经理人到网络文化专家的蜕变故事经常被重复，这是一组重要的原始资料--他作为经纪人的实践利用了新闻界制造神话的潜力--但严重缺乏分析。布罗克曼的第一个职业生涯作为一个媒体理论家和实验艺术的推动者，必须充分探讨，以了解他的偶像实践作为一个代理人。他的非营利研究网络的发展也是如此，通过这个网络，布罗克曼在大科技慈善家和杰出科学家之间建立了重要的关系。与此同时，他和他的客户的声誉是通过动员反文化和网络文化叙事周围的知识先锋。通过探索和语境化的这一最有影响力的中介在他所有的矛盾，我将展示布罗克曼如何塑造科学，科学家和科学作家，因为我们知道他们今天。

Historians are increasingly investigating the mechanisms by which scientists have been elevated to celebrity but haveseldom considered the role of the agent. Behind, between, and beyond celebrity scientists are intellectual, social, andfinancial mediators like John Brockman, whose literary agency represents some of the most prominent authors in thefield of science and technology today. The oft-repeated story of Brockman's metamorphosis from art impresario tocyberculture maven is important as a set of primary sources - his practice as agent exploited the myth-making potentialof the press - but is severely lacking as analysis. Brockman's first career as a media theorist and promoter ofexperimental art must be fully explored in order to understand his iconoclastic practice as an agent. So too thedevelopment of his non-profit research network, through which Brockman cultivated important relationships between BigTech philanthropists and prominent scientists. At the same time, his and his clients' reputations were buttressed bymobilising countercultural and cybercultural narratives surrounding intellectual vanguards. Through an exploration andcontextualisation of this most influential of intermediaries in all his contradictions, I will show how Brockman shapedscience, scientists, and science writers as we know them today.