“He kept the schedule as a way to stay sane. Structure was important to keep the human mind from getting lost...Schedule or no, his mind was indeed starting to get lost.“
Reading about this society brings forth the meme, “I don't want to live in a world such as this...or raise children.“ Also, the setting of “Isolation“ like Beckett's Genesis. It is most emotionally depressing and anxiety-inducing, much more than most.
He wondered how Mozart, Beethoven, and those guys did it. He had some good movements, but unifying the whole was a mother---he wasn't going for Copland's Billy the Kid here. He was going for beauty, a mournful melancholy like that inside him. But he seemed to lack the vocabulary. He had to admit that for all his talents, music was not one of them.
'I could never get used to all this high-tech crap. But it's like they say: Anything before you're thirty-five is new and exciting, and anything after that is proof the world's going to hell.'
'Certain innovations serve as catalysts for each other---creating a positive feedback cycle. Eventually a technology becomes inevitable. It's managing the transition that's critical.'
Contemp commentary urges us to reflect: how have we done managing these transitions the 19th century catalyzed? Arguably, not well. Late philosopher Bernard Stiegler makes the point regarding the psychosocial stakes in coping. Chalmers reflects on consciousness here
Wow, this chapter was a doozie to get through emotionally. I'd like to hear others' thoughts on world-building vision of it and if it struck them as a punch to the gut; as the scientist was trying to cope and rationalize its starkness. Think Matrix + Matt Damon's Elysium + Adjustment Bureau.
'You've been through a traumatic experience, I know. It's never pleasant, but neither is being born. And yet both are necessary to go on to greater things.'
I figured it out, it's David Chalmers!
'Well, it looks like the universe is as crazy as you are, Jon.'
'That's a frightening thought.'
'Agreed. And yet you succeeded'
...
'This ridiculous hair. You know, the first time I met you, I told Greta that a dirty hippie was stalking me.'
'Hey, hair is nature's calendar.'
(Seriously, check out his incredibly articulated interviews on the soft vs hard problems of consciousness.)
Attention! Calling upon the Litsy welcome train to welcome my friend @puzzledbooks
Let's show her what kinds of reading and other challenges we have in this community, please.
I hope you enjoy the community here, Faydra!
'Just an observation: You're using enough energy to light a hundred thousand homes---to levitate a mouthful of malt liquor six feet off the ground. That's about as cost-effective as using a Boeing 747 to clean a throw rug.'
'You're not realizing the potential significance of this discovery, Mr. Marrano.'
'Significance is great, but it's not gonna make the economics work any better.'
'Do you even know what chiral superconductors are, Mr. Marrano?'
'No, and it's not for a lack of trying. But I do know the government invested in this place. So someone somewhere must understand it.'
'And thus marches Wall Street.'
...
'Okay. And how does that relate to chiral superconductors?'
'It doesn't.'
'That's fraud.'
'Fraud's an ugly word. Anyone reading the business plan able to comprehend our math would clearly understand...'
'Fraud.'
Orienting dedication:
“The future is already here---it's just not very evenly distributed.“ William Gibson
I wish the reference was more specific of which work of his it came from! Maybe someone on here has read enough Gibson to know of the reference.
This is what most of Chapter 1 read like: I understood nothing. I was ready to DNF, & leave the book to be enjoyed by astrophysicists. But I read on, and am now enjoying this SF thriller. I think all you really need to know from Chapter 1 is that they invented something Very Important.
Just started INFLUX by Daniel Suarez. Already an interesting paragraph on page 18. It reminds of all the ways we test our students nowadays- think inside the box to excel at state testing! Think outside the box and you certainly won't get that elusive perfect score. I think I'm gonna like it......
Any thoughts on this?
I'm thinking about making it a part of the family and I've been reading Illuminae, so I think I'm a science fiction fan after all.
#readingrocks
#sciencefictionismad
Influx | 
