3.2 KiB
Greg Egan - "In the Ruins" - rational and rationalist.
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Author: u/ArgentStonecutter Emergency Mustelid Hologram*
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URL: http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/MISC/RUINS/Ruins.html
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Score: 20
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Created: 2015-07-30T14:51:05
Post:
Comments:
u/Rangi42 [+11] *
Heh, "Kardashian type-3 civilization."
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est.*
Rational Keeping Up. ...
u/None [+5] *
This is easily the most horrifying dystopian satire I've seen since Brave New World.
u/PeridexisErrant [+2] put aside fear for courage, and death for life*
Eh, it could be a lot worse. Clearly other parts of the world are doing OK, and scientists can still be found...
u/None [+1] *
Eh, it could be a lot worse. Well yes, but that's why it's satire rather than "Everyone's dead, Jim."
u/PeridexisErrant [+2] put aside fear for courage, and death for life*
I meant more that in most of the classic examples, you get a sense that this is the state of the whole world - eg 1984, Brave New World, etc - whereas here it's just a country that many people don't like anyway. I mean, there are already very large and powerful countries where things generally suck, and that's normal (for them, which is bad) not a dystopia.
u/None [+5] *
Actually, in 1984 we ever saw or heard anything outside the UK. For all we know, it could have been a North Korea-style failed state.
I mean, there are already very large and powerful countries where things generally suck, and that's normal (for them, which is bad) not a dystopia. Yes, but my original comment was a deliberate exaggeration for effect.
u/None [+5] *
I'm not really a fan of how heavy-handed the story is. It reads as a caricature. And... the word "nerd" apparently bothers him? I mean, I see his point kind of, but I don't feel very persuaded by it. I mostly like Egan though, but I'm afraid the stories I like most are the least rational.
u/ArgentStonecutter [+7] Emergency Mustelid Hologram*
It was the heavy-handedness that reminded me of this subreddit. I mean, you wouldn't describe HPMoR as "subtle" would you? ^^
u/BadGoyWithAGun [+7] *
On the Author Tract scale, HPMOR is right up there with Left Behind.
u/ArisKatsaris [+4] Sidebar Contender*
And... the word "nerd" apparently bothers him? It IS an insult, you know. That some of us use it on ourselves is just like all "reappropriations" of words. Call yourself a nerd all you like, but if you don't consider yourself one, please also don't use it to describe others either -- not unless you want to belittle them.
u/hyenagrins [+2] *
From sidebar:
The story is like a puzzle; readers can reach the same solution as the characters by using the information provided earlier in the story. The ultimate if a bit crude application of this principle, I stopped mid story and grabbed a piece of paper to work out the solution. And the final connection to higher dimension rotation is undoubtedly satisfying.