The Stream-of-Consciousness Technique in the Novel: Simulating a Stream of Concurrencies

Abstract

The stream of consciousness gives the effect of flowing in three dimensions of space through time, of containing not only language, but also a variety of images and orientations, and of functioning at several levels of abstraction. The stream-of-consciousness novelist, however, has available only language, which is additive and linear. Recent developments in computer science suggest that one may soon be better able to simulate the psychological stream of consciousness in the computer than on the printed page.