Vernor Vinge, science-fiction author and professor who popularized the idea of an artificial intelligence singularity and the term “cyberspace,” has died at 79. He’s best known for his works “True Names,” “A Fire Upon the Deep,” “The Coming Technological Singularity” and “Fast Times at Fairmont High.”
Author David Brin shared the news of Vinge’s death Wednesday. He died in La Jolla, California.
“It is with sadness — and deep appreciation of my friend and colleague — that I must report the passing of Vernor Vinge,” Brin wrote. “A titan in the literary genre that explores a limitless range of potential destinies, Vernor enthralled millions with tales of plausible tomorrows, made all the more vivid by his polymath masteries of language, drama, characters and the implications of science.”