Brilliant Gabby - my first work of 'fiction' (my MA thesis) had the title 'Would a change of title change the work?' - I had to add the subtitle 'An ideographic slice of the learning continuum' to get it through the exam board. It was utter crap, but some thought it made me the 'best student to have entered one of our programmes in twenty years'. My best mate at the time noticed I had written 'Sue is coming for the night' (rather than day) and suggested this told all. No one asked whether I had written it myself, the answer to which might have been embarrassing.
Not written at the end of a bad day - in fact I'd just had my foot rub and been told my blood tests are now normal after years of high lipids and poor diabetic control. More of a yippee moment really. On 24 Sep, 12:31, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't know what you are saying but I read you as thinking in free > philosophy. But then again I think in scissors rather than in knives. > That's why I won't change your title line. > > On 24 Sep., 11:23, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Two colleagues once wondered what it might be like to write other than > > as a functionary. The problem is related to Lee's pondering on music > > rights and illegal downloading. The problem of not being a > > functionary is that there is no 'money' in it. Even writing something > > for Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy online (free to users) could > > be regarded as 'money connected' - there would be certain 'credits' > > for an academic career. > > > I find myself wondering how we might establish something free of our > > early twenty-first century plight. I see some answers in future > > memories, perhaps ones in which we write from the perspective of the > > current plight having destroyed itself. I catch glimpses of a world > > where much we now take seriously is so old hat it could only be part > > of a ridiculous history (like Blackadder). One of these worlds has us > > genuinely trying to leave Earth with the technology to do so. I > > posted recently on what I believe the case for space-time travel is. > > Essentially, the equations (sadly based on currently inadequate data > > on exotic substances like 'dark energy') tell us that travelling at > > acceleration acceptable to our bodies, we could reach the 'expansion > > horizon' (edge of the universe) in what we would experience as 30 > > years in 'planet of the apes time'. We could not come back, in the > > sense that all we left behind would be gone, except a bleak, dark > > place - as 'here' would have experienced eons of 'time'. > > > In some sense, my questions are about the 'freedom' such a trip > > involves. We get the freedom to roam space-time vastness, but > > presumably need to arrive somewhere in which we can enjoy something > > similar to Earth that has not undergone 'eon decay'. If possible, > > great questions about what we are leaving behind arise, as well as > > what we would be seeking to do. A myriad of 'Mayflowers' becomes a > > possibility. No doubt some sect of 'believers' might well stay behind > > for the 'second coming' at the time of the heat death of the sun. > > > Much that we value, like family, friendship, neighbourliness and so is > > challenged in this experiment, as well as much of the moral circling > > we do. In my science fiction, I'm concerned with what such a future > > does to philosophy (I take this from Popper). What would a woman in > > such times regard childbirth as? What would we consider 'natural'. > > In another post, Chris and I are wandering back from Europa, already > > substantially changed by genetic splicing (he, in fact, is a 'built > > man' not born of woman - so no change there mate as I plagiarise > > MacBeth!), unaware in early chapters a new lifeform has entered > > symbiosis with us from Europa's underground ocean). We made the > > mistake of running out of whiskey and cactus juice and drank the > > water. Earth is recovering from war and asteroid catastrophe and > > survivors are focusing on relativity travel (there are new worlds out > > there to royally screw-up!). Would 'morality' at such a time be to > > sabotage the space-time travel to save the universe from humanity? > > > I've been on the fringes of a few physics symposia ('pose' being the > > key term) at which such stuff is trolled out over too much beer and > > too little female company (sort of Mind's Eye plus beer?). My own > > science isn't good enough to know who is talking rot or not really. > > What I'm on about, should anyone have survived this far, is changing > > the 'black boxes' of philosophy to see if we can open up free space. > > One could imagine in the novel, that when Chris attacks me with a > > knife, he understands I had always really accepted his view of gun- > > control as he looks down the barrel of the cocked .38 Magnum I've just > > raised from under the table. Or one could wonder, accepting that the > > science works, just how daft our current values are, being little more > > than the good intentions that lined the path to Hell (two more world > > wars precede the time of the novel). My plan is a genre of > > deconstruction-reconstruction (of mice and men). Those in the know > > may suspect I am somewhat shackled by 'strategic scenario building' > > here, but I hope there is no return of managerial desire and I'm more > > concerned with the impact on knowledge of where is knows it 'has' to > > go, and that we can cut through that straitjacket. Relativity travel > > can remain a fantasy and still provide some direction on how we might > > better await future generations pass into entropy. Those who think > > religion has no part to play might reflect that such a future moment > > might well be the triumph of the Cathars (the return to nothingness > > and final defeat of the material devil). --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
