| | I was going to post this today, but another friend asked a question of me before I got to it, so this is sort of a repost.
I always feel a need to explain myself, and thought of a way to do it. Why I push certain authors and ideas, books and perspectives although I know many find it tiresome.
Sawyer has given me a new positive perspective on the future and taught me so much in such a short amount of time. And it is all science and logic. |
This new author Robert Sawyer I have been talking about, who I discovered (from ron) is as exciting to read as Watership Down, Dune, Shogun, Lord of the Rings, Enders Game and Duncton Wood, but more profound and contemporary.
Let me explain it this way. Ones politics is their perception of life: and it is possible to mix entertainment and learning which is the magic this guy has managed to accomplish.
I had a sort of epiphany this morning thinking over my life and why I get in so much trouble trying to describe the edge of knowledge, and keep doing it despite the push back; and why I bought so many books and gave them to my friends. I went to a real estate party last night and kept quiet most of the night.
When I was about 20 and pretty ignorant (to say the least), I ran across Plato's: "the Allegory of the Cave".
In the story people are living in a cave and their reality are shadows on a wall (Republican's world). One fellow stumbles outside the cave (a dem) and sees blue skies, green meadows, birds and butterflies, pretty flowers and an altogether wonderful place.
He runs back in the cave so excited to tell everyone about it. So they can enjoy it. And of course they kill him. As they are trying to do to Obama and the Dems right now. Plato knew!
This fellow writes as exciting stories as anyone I have ever read in my life. But he also presents great perspectives (IMO) on the edge of knowledge as well which is wonderful. He thinks about the future, the coming singularity and AI.
PS: it is normal for all intellectual adventurers to want to get other people to share the experience that gives them so much pleasure. Nobel author Thomas Mann, wrote a book called Tonio Kroger (I think it was an auto biography).
In the story, Tonio tries to get his friend (who is not very interested) to read The Prince by Machiavelli and is so excited when he agrees to. Tonio's friend is the football star, marries the prettiest girl in town, eventually becomes the mayor and very rich.
At the end of the story there is a great dinner party at the Mayors mansion.
Tonio is not invited to the party, he is the janitor behind the curtain, in the shadows cleaning up. I read it almost 50 years ago so that ending may not be exactly right, but how I remember it. |
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