Jon Bing


Jon Bing was a Norwegian writer and law professor at the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law, and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo. Bing was considered a pioneer in international IT and information law. He held honorary doctorates from the Stockholm University and the University of Copenhagen, and was a visiting professor at King's College London. Bing was part of The Protection of Privacy Committee. From 1979 to 1981 he was head of Norsk Filmråd. Between 1981 and 1982, he was the head of The Council of Europe Committee on Legal Data Processing. Between 1993 and 2000, he headed Norsk kulturråd.

Biography

Bing grew up in Trondheim, Norway. After graduating with a degree at Trondheim Cathedral School, Bing began studying at the University of Oslo. Bing was awarded his PhD in law in 1982. Together with Tor Åge Bringsværd and other students at the University of Oslo, Jon Bing started the Aniara society, a club for science fiction fans. He was often profiled in the media around the topic. He published several books, both fiction and non-fiction specialist literature. His first published work was the short story collection Around the sun in a circle co-written with Bringsværd, and published in 1967. Bing was a prolific author, and he often collaborated with other authors. He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
Bing was engaged with many subjects, especially in the field of technology. He was featured on television on the anniversary of the first Personal Computer in Norway, for example. He was a much-loved public figure, often offering opinions on digital media, copyright, science fiction, etc. He was outspoken about cases concerning ethics in technology, copyright, and the future in general.
He published numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction. His style of writing was calm, and at times dreamy. He wrote about people who stand outside of ordinary society but attempt the impossible. In the short story Riestopher Josef from Around the Sun in a Circle he wrote about a boy who can't leave his house due to skin disease. The short story is about Riestopher who builds himself a spaceship and goes to the sun to capture a sunbeam.
His first drama was staged at Det Norske Teatret in 1971. In 1975 he received the Dammprisen and the Ministry of Culture's award for best youth book for Azur - Planet of the Captains and in 1979 he received The International Board on Books for the Young People Award, and the Ministry of Culture's award for best translation of children's book. Bing and Bringsværd received the Rivertonprisen, given annually to the best work of Norwegian crime fiction, in 1979 for the television series Marco Polo and the 1980 Ministry of Culture's award for best comic story.
He died at the age of 69 in 2014.

Fiction

  • 1967 - Around the sun in a circle
  • 1969 - Komplex
  • 1969 - To lose a spaceship: a game of chance
  • 1969 - Lunarium: the book of the moon
  • 1970 - The soft landscape
  • 1970 - Red planet
  • 1972 - Sesam 71
  • 1972 - East of the sun" and "West of the moon
  • 1972 - Scenario
  • 1972 - Electrical Fairytales
  • 1973 - Me - a machine: cybernetic fables
  • 1974 - Knotted Writing
  • 1975 - Azur - Planet of the Captains
  • 1976 - Zalt - Planet of the Steamlords
  • 1976 - The Mad Professor
  • 1977 - Backwash: a science fiction anthology
  • 1980 - The new adventures of Marco Polo
  • 1980 - Shooting Stars
  • 1982 - Mizt - Planet of the Ghosts
  • 1984 - Flood
  • 1984 - Doppelgangers
  • 1984 - The book is dead! Long live the book!
  • 1985 - Tanz - Planet of Riddles
  • 1986 - Hvadata? Pieces of literature for the information society
  • 1988 - As sure as data
  • 1988 - Shadows of the moon
  • 1988 - Dust to dust
  • 1991 - Cases of Doubt
  • 1992 - The accounts of an old astronaut
  • 1992 - Rosenvy and the corporation who knew too much
  • 1995 - The girl that went missing
  • 2004 - ''Oslo 2084: four fables of future crimes''