4.1 KiB
[HSF] Dr. Stone 041
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Author: u/xamueljones My arch-enemy is entropy*
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Score: 26
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Created: 2017-12-30T17:30:00
Post:
Comments:
u/storybookknight [+7] (6 hours later)
So, this is a manga that I've never heard of before. Not particularly rational at first glance (humans get placed in sensory deprivation for 3,000 years but they're still mentally fine when they wake up because of SHONEN FEELINGS AND DETERMINATION) but there might be some more rationalist exploits later in? Doesn't appear to take itself very seriously... not seeming like my cup of tea personally as far as rational fics go. Is there anyone who has read more of it interested in giving me a reason to read further?
u/None [+21] (7 hours later)
The main appeal is seeing the main character trying to bootstrap modern science from a stone age level of tech, and also the generally cool premise and characters. It's not really very rational, but it is fun, clever, and nerdy.
u/storybookknight [+3] (7 hours later)
Cool, thanks!
u/Kuiper [+10] (16 hours later)
Not particularly rational at first glance (humans get placed in sensory deprivation for 3,000 years but they're still mentally fine when they wake up because of SHONEN FEELINGS AND DETERMINATION)
I don't think it's inherently irrational to accept the premise that people are turned to stone and then survive with their mental faculties intact when they manage to escape thousands of years later. Most rational fiction falls into the category of speculative fiction, and generally more attention is paid to how internally consistent a universe is than how realistic it is. e.g. we're okay with wizards firing magic missiles or conjuring fireballs so long as these adhere to some kind of internal logic (as they do in Harry Potter and many other fantasy stories), even though these things are "impossible" in our own universe.
At first blush, the mechanism by which the protagonist seems to escape his petrification does stray away from this a bit (as the rules surrounding it are somewhat vague, making the idea of an "internal consistency" a bit harder, though it is actually explained a bit later), but again I don't think there's anything inherently irrational about something like "emotions" being a mechanism that can effect things in a fantasy universe, again with the stipulation that these adhere to some kind of internally consistent logic. For a good example, see the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie where the heroes defeat the villain using spoiler, something that in a different context might look like a goofy and sappy cliche, but executed in a way that completely makes sense given what the film has communicated to us about that universe's magic.
u/GaBeRockKing [+9] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (a day later)
The premise isn't particularly rational, but as with most rationalfics, I take it as sort of a gimme. Aside from that, plots are resolved pretty rationally, and characters' abilities are consistent and follow logically from what they have available to them.
However, I find it helpful to also add one more thing to the "gimme" of the premise: that every person in the manga has the superpower of MAXIMUM COMPETENCE. That is to say, if the thing they're doing is theoretically possible for them to do, then they can do it, ignoring that in real life you get weird variability due to elements people can't control. So they do stuff that is theoretically but not practically possible, but they don't do stuff that's not theoretically possible.
The shonen stuff is really just (fun) window dressing.
u/None [+1] (7 hours later)
[deleted]
u/storybookknight [+1] (7 hours later)
Thanks for letting me know, my mobile app told me that the post didn't go through so I tried again before just giving up - looks like it eventually worked, unbeknownst to me.