History YMMV / Cryptonomicon

* OneSceneWonder: Two scenes, specifically; UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur, an unflappable DeadpanSnarker.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: G.E.B. Kivistik is basically a gag character, but once he's actually challenged on his statements, he stops being pretentious and points out that Internet access is a privilege not easily given to, say, the poor, and the advantages it can confer can leave large groups of society behind rapidly while granting enormous advantages to others, which depending on who you ask, has pretty much been what's happened in the ten years since the book was released. Even Stephenson, who is probably trying to load the deck, refers to Randy's defense as "an uncontrollable urge to be a prick."

** Randy argues that he is not privileged because he had to work hard through college and read books for self-training. He doesn't seem to consider how both of those are privileges.

* TakeThat: G.E.B.'s Kivisticks existance was clearly intended as a reference to the post-modernist side of the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_wars science wars]].

* TakeThat: G.E.B.'s Kivisticks existance was clearly intended as a reference to the post-modernist side of the then current
[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_wars science wars]].

** Randy argues that he is not privileged because he had to work hard through college. He doesn't seem to consider the fact that getting to go to college is itself a privilege.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: G.E.B. Kivistik is basically a gag character, but once he's actually challenged on his statements, he stops being pretentious and points out that Internet access is a privilege not easily given to, say, the poor, and the advantages it can confer can leave large groups of society behind rapidly while granting enormous advantages to others, which depending on who you ask, has pretty much been what's happened in the ten years since the book was released. Even Stephenson, who is trying to load the deck, refers to Randy's defense as "an uncontrollable urge to be a prick."

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment -- Big Lipped Alligator ''Erotic Short Story''.

* HoYay -- Alan Turing and Rudy. Or as Rudy put it, Alan would soon have an umlaut in him. Alan also propositioned Waterhouse, but was turned down politely.

* SciFiGhetto — The prologue to the Spanish translation makes it clear that "science fiction" also includes "fiction about science" (i.e. cryptography and information theory). The mass market paperback edition lists the book as "fiction" instead of "science fiction." Bookstores aren't convinced, however, and stock it in the "Science Fiction" section.

* TearJerker -- [[spoiler:Bobby Shaftoe]]'s death.

* TheWoobie -- Goto Dengo goes through arguably the worst the book can dish out. It helps that, unlike every other Japanese officer and soldier we meet in the book, he's not evil or holding the IdiotBall.

* OneSceneWonder: Two scenes, specifically; DouglasMacArthur, an unflappable DeadpanSnarker.

** Kivistik said that being able to understand technical books is a privilege conferred on members of an "elite class" of technocrats. Randy pointed out that he went to a public school, a state college, and was self-trained; hardly out of reach of your average American. At no point did he ever clarify his original metaphor, and only called Randy a "technocrat" by way of ad hominem. He only described what a technocrat even was ''after'' Randy said how he gained his knowledge. By his own definition, being poor has ''nothing'' to do with whether one can understand a technical manual. People learn a lot of that stuff by going down to the ''library''.

* AuthorTract: To almost Ayn Randian levels in some places, but most notable when Enoch Root becomes his mouthpiece.

* YellowPeril -- Granted that Stephenson is fully backed up by the research in terms of the behavior of Japanese soldiers during World War II, but it is somewhat awkward to realize that Goto Dengo is the only Japanese character during the World War II sections of the book who is not, at best, holding the IdiotBall and is not, at worst, an incredibly vile human being. Implying that their culture made them that way, while arguably somewhat true, [[UnfortunateImplications really doesn't help matters.]]

* TheWoobie -- Goto Dengo goes through arguably the worst the book can dish out. It helps that, unlike every other Japanese officer and soldier we meet in the book, he's not a CompleteMonster or holding the IdiotBall.

* TearJerker -- [[{{Taelor}} ThisTroper]] dares you to read the scene where [[spoiler:Bobby Shaftoe]] dies and not tear up.

* YellowPeril -- Granted that Stephenson is fully backed up by the research in terms of the behavior of Japanese soldiers during World War II, but it is somewhat awkward to realize that Goto Dengo is the only Japanese character during the World War II sections of the book who is not, at best, holding the IdiotBall and is not, at worst, an incredibly vile human being. Implying that their culture made them that way, while arguably somewhat true, [[UnfortunateImplications really doesn't help matters.]]

* AuthorTract: To almost Ayn Randian levels in some places.

* YellowPeril -- Granted that Stephenson is fully backed up by the research in terms of the behavior of Japanese soldiers during World War II, but it is somewhat awkward to realize that Goto Dengo is the only Japanese character during the World War II sections of the book who is not, at best, holding the IdiotBall.

** Cantrell's explanation of his feelings towards guns arguably counts.

* TearJerker -- [[{{Taelor}} ThisTroper]] dares you to read the scene where [[spoiler:Bobby Shaftoe]] dies and not tear up.

* SciFiGhetto — The prologue to the Spanish translation makes it clear that "science fiction" also includes "fiction about science" (i.e. cryptography and information theory). The mass market paperback edition lists the book as "fiction" instead of "science fiction." Bookstores aren't fooled, however, and stock it in the "Science Fiction" section.