Interview with Cherie Priest

I know I'm getting a little ahead, but I came across this today and thought I'd share.

White Lines on a Green Field

First of all, I thought the writing style of this was fantastic.  I read the whole thing in the voice of the narrator from Bastion (which if you haven't played is fantastic).  At the end though, I was a bit confused.  I had been reading along waiting for the explanation of what was going on, but it never really came.

After a bit of searching, I found that the Coyote was a trickster and occasionally fertility god in some Native American myths.  So the story may have been intended as somewhat of a modern retelling of an ancient fertility myth, or perhaps a mashup of ancient mythology and the American mythology surrounding high school.

This helped me get a perspective on the story.  I hope it helps you.

More Examples of RFID Tags

I'm fascinated by RFID. I tend to be oblivious about technology - I love to use it, but don't ask me how it works. After our class discussion, I made connections that hadn't occurred to me when I was reading Little Brother. I was curious how we already use it. We mentioned Action Cards here at school. I talked to my dad and found out that he uses a card with one to access certain buildings at his work. The public library at home uses them to check out books. I used an Oyster card this summer. A scan through the Wikipedia page can give you an even longer list (including passports). Finally, I wondered if it was being used in cars. A quick Google search led me to this article: How thieves steal RFID-enabled cars. I laughed when I saw the byline.

The Case of Death and Honey

I'm not sure how many of you have read this story yet. I was concerned about it being in a science fiction anthology. I still have yet to find a quality that might allow it to be deemed "science fiction". I had always grouped Sherlock Holmes into the mystery genre, and this story seems to fit that demographic more so.

On a semi related note, who else is excited about the premier of "Elementary" with Lucy Liu as Watson? The British television show "Sherlock" is amazing and I really hope we can make something as good here in the US.

First Writing Assignment

Ok y'all, I need your opinions for my first writing assignment. As I mentioned in class and previously on the blog, I plan on studying the heroism of multiple characters in Chiang's short stories. Just going through "Stories of your Life and Others" I can see the heroism of main characters in "Tower of Babylon", "Understand", "Seventy-Two Letters", and "Hell is The Absence of God". I feel that the main character in "Story of Your Life" deserves an honorable mention, but I am having trouble calling her a definitive hero. Do any of you see her acts as heroic? I see her as preserving her legacy, bot necessarily going out of her way to make sacrifices that directly benefit another. In addition to that story, I couldn't find in heroes worthy of discussion in "Liking What you See". Since is was documentary style, it covered multiple aspects of calli and I didn't feel that one character took a strong enough position on the issue to be considered heroic.

I would appreciate any thoughts!

Tracking students with RFID tags

I found an interesting article about actual schools using RFID tags to track their students, and the privacy concerns of parents and students. I actually went to this school district in San Antonio for elementary school, so I found it especially alarming.

What do you guys think?

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/09/rfid-chip-student-monitoring/

Did anyone else not particularly care for Little Brother?

I just finished the book, and I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much as anything else we've read so far.

As I was reading it, I found the themes to be somewhat...overt or self-evident.  Perhaps these aren't the right descriptors.  Basically I felt like I was reading someone rant about how terrible the Patriot Act is and how "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."  etc. etc.  These are all things I agree with certainly, but I didn't really enjoy the way they were illustrated.  It felt as if he just took 1984 and tried to make it a teen novel.  Maybe the problem is that we've just read a lot of Ted Chiang, who I feel like writes short stories with more intriguing messages and multiple things you can take away from them. 

As I was reading this I felt like I was watching Secret Agent Cody Banks as he defies all odds and takes down the big bad DHS.  I understand that it's geared to be accessible for "young adults" as well, but I wasn't impressed with the writing itself either.

I don't know, what do you guys think?  I'm willing to reassess my view of it, that's just what I took away after reading it through.

Little Brother

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book. 

“I can't go underground for a year, ten years, my whole life, waiting for freedom to be handed to me. Freedom is something you have to take for yourself.” 

“Skipping school isn't a crime. It's an infraction. They're totally different.”

“It's our goddamed city! It's our goddamed country. No terrorist can take it from us for so long as we're free. Once we're not free, the terrorists win! Take it back! You're young enough and stupid enough not to know that you can't possibly win, so you're the only ones who can lead us to victory! Take it back!”

“The Bill of Rights was written before data-mining," he said. He was awesomely serene, convinced of his rightness. "The right to freedom of association is fine, but why shouldn't the cops be allowed to mine your social network to figure out if you're hanging out with gangbangers and terrorists?”

My initial reaction upon finishing Little Brother was "Wow, that was really good." My second though was, "I really want a burrito." Burritos came up pretty frequently in that book, so I decided to go and get one. Then I wanted it really spicy like Ange wanted hers in the book. So I poured the only hot sauce I had in my refrigerator all over the burrito. It happened to be habanero chile sauce, and the burrito turned out to be pretty great. I think I might be a spicy food addict, as well. Reading this book left me thinking about a lot of different things that had never really crossed my mind. One being the paranoia I sometimes caught myself feeling, forgetting that I was no longer in the story. Also, I thought the acknowledgments at the back of the book were really interesting. Most of the technology that the book is based on is actually real. I don't know a great deal about computer programming and electronics so I found this to be really cool. I'm definitely going to look into this. This book certainly sparked my curiosity in many things!

Fantastic!

I've become completely obsessed with Doctor Who since my friend told me I had to try it.  I've been talking to all of my friends about it (and gotten a few of them hooked), met a British guy and my first conversation with him was about Doctor Who, and almost cried when the 9th Doctor regenerated.

To add to my nerdiness, my roommate and I decided that we were going to fill our picture frames with photos of our favorite fictional characters.  Our first pick? David Tennant, as the 10th Doctor.  He proudly sits on our mantle, and honestly, I can't wait to have people over and watch what they do when they see it!

Would you join Xnet?

Since we've posed similar questions about a calli or digient, I thought it would be interesting to know other people's opinions. A repeating theme is how true to life the plot of Little Brother feels. So if you were in the same position as the teens of San Francisco, what would you do?

There's something intriguing and unsettling about literature that makes you contemplate a decision long after you've finished reading. As much as I disagree with the actions taken by the government in the story, I honestly don't know if I really would join Xnet. However, if I was in the position of Marcus and his friends, my first reaction would be to take it to the news. Even though I understand the intimidation, as a reader I was frustrated by his silence. I felt vindicated when Marcus says, "We can't fix the world by putting other people at risk. I need to solve the problem by telling what I know. I should have done that from the start."

Little Brother: Local, State, and Federal Government

One interesting thing I noticed in Little Brother was the conflict between the various levels of government.  In the story the DHS clearly had the support of the government on a federal level as evidenced by the president intervening on there behalf in the epilogue.  Also it seemed like the DHS had the support of local government, law enforcement, etc. as well.  The thing that got me was that in the end it was the state government that stepped in to end what was going on.  I was just curious if anyone had any thoughts on perhaps why the local government was in favor of the DHS, rather than it's own state's government.  Also I thought the balance of power between the state and federal levels of government to be intriguing as well.  How much direct control should the federal government vs. the state government have within our cities?  Specifically in law enforcement and the judicial system.  Anyways just some food for thought.

This has absolutely nothing to do with Little Brother, but...

Last night, I watched the premiere of JJ Abrams' new show, Revolution. There are a multitude of reasons that I watched: because I'm totally addicted to tv, because I wanted to see how much they ripped off Stirling's books, because I wanted to see how long it took for someone from Lost to show up (no one ever did, much to my chagrin, although one of the main characters shows a distinct resemblance to Hurley)...however, my main reason was to see if Abrams still had the unique storytelling ability that he possessed when creating Lost.

He does. And I genuinely enjoyed the show, and will I'll watch again next week. But that's not my point.

It seems like, for the past few years, Abrams has been one of the few writers/producers/directors willing to take a chance on a concept outside the realm of the popular (Joss Whedon, Stephen Moffat, and Mark Gatiss being the obvious exceptions). He consistently creates shows and movies with relatable characters and conflicts, only with small twists. Plane wrecks on a bizarre island. Alternate universes and fringe science. Worlds without power. It's incredibly relatable, which I think is the heart of science fiction. Who's to say that these things aren't possible? Sure, the story may have an element of the unknown, but it's an unknown that may occur in the future. The very things that make his creations so good are the reasons why they're shunned. After all, why watch a detective show that involves telepathy when you can watch the millionth episode of Law and Order?

I'm not saying that shows in the "normal", non- science fiction world are bad. They have their own merits. However, it's a pity that so many people refuse to watch these shows and movies solely because they are branded as science fiction. As Abrams has proven many times, and seems to prove with his new show, anything is possible, as long as there is a relatable character and a plausible concept.

Little Brother Parallels

So, I just finished Little Brother and I couldn't help but notice some other well-known works that I thought had similar accounts. For instance, did anyone else get a V for Vendetta or Live Free: Die Hard vibe from it? I certainly did.

One other thing. While reading, I found myself wondering where to draw the line for what constitues acts of terrorism. I believe there are strong and valid arguments for whether Marcus was truly a terrorist in some sense, or whether he was just a very passionate citizen. Thoughts?

San Francisco setting

So, did anyone else find it strange that Little Brother only really discussed what was going on in San Francisco? I know that was the site of the attacks, but it seems strange that the government surveillance issue was only about the problems there. Surely Homeland Security must have had similar surveillance all across the country, right?

Questions raised by Little Brother

Little Brother made me, at least, ask the difficult question of what level of government surveillance is appropriate.  Marcus takes a pretty hard "no surveillance" stance, but we're all getting pretty close to 25 and probably shouldn't be trusted.  It seems to me that there's an appropriate level.  Far below what's going on in this story, of course.  Wiretapping known criminals after getting a warrant in order to catch their contacts seems like a good idea.  Wiretapping everyone in the country without needing a warrant is obviously too far. Where do we draw that line?

The other question, of course, is how much of this Internet privacy stuff have you looked into already?  "ParanoidLinux" and "Xnet" don't exist, but Tor very much does.  So does a very speculative plan called project meshnet (meshnet on reddit and a wiki), which involves creating a distributed communications network that would not be controlled by any central authority.  So if you read this story and started getting paranoid, there's software and communities out there for you to look for.

Little Brother-just some initial thoughts

Little Brother was the first story I read for this class, and I don't know if I was just so excited to get started or what, but it remains my favorite on our reading list. Perhaps it it the realistic attributes of the story; a teenager that has a personality and interests similar to one you can find today, terrorism threats, internet usage, teen angst and love, blind faith in governments, and a very nosy big brother. The realism made it very easy for me to become instantly vested in the story and caring about the characters and their situation. One of my favorite science fiction movies is "Eagle Eye" with Shia Lebeouf. It wasn't really that big of a movie, but it stays on my dvd rotation. In the movie, Shia's character gets framed as a terrorist by ARIA, and AI machine built by the government to watch for homeland security threats and ensure the constitutional rights of citizens. He has to go about proving himself innocent while being hunted as a terrorist. His methods were much more suitable for a Hollywood production, with lots of explosions and car chases, but I prefer those of the main character in "Little Brother". I loved his progress in using a simple consumer gadget and quietly taking down a powerful government agency. This gave me hope for the next nerdy generation of kids that love to program and tinker with electronics, giving them new functions and life. My hope is that these kids (and adults!) continue to go about their hobbies and jobs with a sense of responsibility for all. These people are going to be the future of intelligence and will determine how their technology gets used. The most heartbreaking thing that could happen would be for people to become like the father character that gives in to the fear and controlling attitudes just to gain a false sense of safety.

E.O. Wilson talk

For those who might care:

E.O. Wilson is giving a talk today in the Bryant Conference Center at 7:30.  He's obviously very influential for those in the field of biology, but he also works in topics that could be interesting to those interested in the future of the human race.  Today he spoke in my Integrated Genomics class and mentioned his beliefs on how much of human nature is inherent (thus discrediting tabula rasa), as well as volitional evolution.  That is to say human evolution will no longer following the principles of natural selection.  Rather, we will be advancing through the deliberate manipulation of genes.

Either way, should be a good talk with a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

Early Thoughts on Little Brother

I'm only a quarter of the way through the book, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the beginning.

First, I think the copyright/distribution of the book itself is interesting. At least in my ebook version there's a nice little introduction about it. There's a lot of controversy right now about selling and sharing digital books. It's interesting to me because that was how I found this book in the first place. I read it a few years ago because it was free. The purpose was to allow people to read it who might not otherwise. And that was certainly the case for me.

Also, we've mentioned several times the importance we place on plausibility in science fiction. The setting of this book is not hard to imagine. In many instances our technology seems capable or frighteningly close to what is being described. It's also relatable. I remember in high school we found a way to get around blocked sites so we could check facebook on the school computers. This just felt like the next step.

Finally, the abuse of technology by authority figures in the novel concerns me. It's a relief to step away from reading and say, "It's only a story." At the same time, I have to acknowledge the reality of these types of things. I suspect we will face even more debates and decisions about privacy in the future.

So far I'm enjoying Little Brother, and I can't wait to finish it.

Interesting article paralleling Little Brother

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/135665-fbi-launches-1-billion-nationwide-facial-recognition-system

More on Chiang

I was reading this interview with Chiang on Boing Boing (the one posted on this blog) and I was interested to  see that he addressed his writing style in relation to understanding. I found it interesting that he related science fiction to the way philosophers perform experiments in thought. We discussed in class that much of science fiction draws from the classical sciences like chemistry, math, and physics, but it can come from other sources. These sources can range from political movements as well as cultural and religious shifts. I hadn't considered using the science of philosophy or psychology to base science fiction, but Chiang definitely knows how to make it work!

Fiction Submissions

So, I don't know about anyone else, but I've done a small amount of writing of my own.  I was wondering if anyone would be interested in having people post up bits of fiction we've written on here.  I've done a lot more thinking about potential works than physically writing down potential works, but most of my stuff is in the Science Fiction and Fantasy domain.

(I swear this is not a shameless attempt at giving people more ideas for their weekly top-level post)

To boldly go...

I just wanted to call everyone's attention to the Google art today. Star Trek is one of my favorite series, mostly because it is one of my Dad's favorites and he always forced us to watch it!

A Fixed Past, Present, and Future

We talked a little today about Chiang's use of time travel and how everything is fated to happen and cannot be changed. It seems in all the works we read that involved a form of time travel or future sight (for example, "Story of Your Life" and "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate") were founded on the basis of predeterminism and fatalism. Predeterminism, by definition, is a belief that every event is caused by a prior set of events that could be extended to the origins of the universe, and no one is capable of changing that set of events. Fatalism, being very similar to predeterminism, entails that all events are fated to happen and nothing can be done to undermine those events.

Chiang writes with the notion that time is like a straight line with fixed points in the past, present, and future that cannot be changed. However, I wonder why he does not approach the possibility of malleable timelines and realities where changes are possible. Is it simply for ease of writing on a complex matter without adding further complications? Or perhaps to avoid paradoxical realities where you have killed your grandfather? It would lead to the possibility for more plot holes, but I think it would also add a new, interesting dimension.

The Measure of a Man

So I found the episode of Star Trek that I was talking about in class today! It's called "The Measure of a Man", and it's one of my favorites. Re-watching it I can see a lot of parallels with The Lifecycle of Software Objects; Data wants to resign rather than be dissected, and they have a trial to determine whether or not he's a sentient being with the legal right to make that decision- very interesting. I may actually use this as a paper topic, because I find the idea of AI and determining at what point a creature or an entity deserves rights really fascinating. Any thoughts?

http://ishare.rediff.com/video/entertainment/star-trek-tng-2x09-the-measure-of-a-man/2371845

Chiang's Heroism

After our discussions in class today, I feel a bit more strongly about picking my paper topic. I feel that I can make a case for Chiang attempting to insert at least one heroic trait into each of his main characters. In high school English I always loved the idea of the tragic heroes who gave everything they had for a certain noble cause, but lost it all in vain due to a certain trait that was such a part of them. Aristotle teaches that tragic heroes must have certain characteristics to be considered as such. They need to be of noble birth or stature, and be an inherently (or perhaps superficially) good person, so that their eventual downfall causes the audience to feel pity and catharsis.

These characteristics do not always fit characters in modern fiction, especially Chiang's work. However, using Aristotle and more classic examples, I feel that I can create a definition of  a "hero of understanding"  rather than a tragic one. Tragic heroes in science fiction aren't all that uncommon either, just a quick look at the tragic hero wikipedia page gives lots of examples, many of which are my favorites.

So, after reading these sci-fi short stories by Chiang I am curious whether the short story is indeed the perfect format for a science fiction work. It seems that a short story allows the author to create a believable world while providing as little background story as necessary. The introduction of some fantastic technological advancement can be handled in a few sentences, whereas a full-length novel may require a more in-depth explanation. A short story also lets the author present whatever sort of ethical or philosophical question or lesson in a compact story without the need for an extensive narrative with sub-plots and dozens of side characters. What are you guys thoughts on this? Is sci-fi better presented as a short story, novella, novel, TV series, movie, game, or some other format?

Thoughts on Destiny and Free Will in Ted Chiang's Works

One thing I've noticed in Ted Chiang's stories, especially in The Merchant and The Alchemist's Gate and "Story of Your Life", is the common theme that a person cannot change their destiny, regardless of what their intentions might be. Individual timelines are not malleable, nor are they subject to the whims and wishes of those they involve. Regardless of how much a person might want to prevent an event from occurring- in both stories, the death of a loved one plays a key role- they are unable to because it is part of the experience that makes them who they are; essentially, what makes them human. It's a neat solution to prevent potential paradoxes. If a timeline were not resistant to change, and a person went back solely to prevent an event and succeeded in doing so, they would have eliminated their original cause for going back, and therefore would not try to prevent that event, which would create a horribly headache-inducing paradox. However, in Chiang's world, everything has been written into the timelines for his characters, including the ways in which they affected events by going back, thus preventing said paradox.

It's an interesting concept to think about. If everything we do is preordained, then do we really have free will? In Chiang's universe, the answer seems to be no. Of course, it's also entirely possible that I've totally overthought this.

Suggestions Appreciated

Hey guys,

    So I haven't read very many science fiction books, and whenever a reference comes up in class, I just want to go home and read that book so I know what everyone is talking about. Haha. Here's the deal... I have been extrememly busy for the past 8 months, but all of that is about to change. Once I take the MCAT this Friday, I will have A LOT more free time in my schedule. I was wondering if anyone wanted to give me some ideas of their favorite science fiction books, must-reads, or what have you. I'd really appreciate it! Reading is my favorite hobby, and I've missed it so. I'd like to get back to it with some good stories. Thanks for the help people!

Chiang

After reading more of Chiang's works this week, there is a definite connection in his writing style and what he chooses to write about. One thing I have noticed is the lack of happy endings. For example, in Merchant at the Alchemists Gate Abbas has an opportunity to go back in time and see his wife for the last time before she is killed by a falling wall. However, once Abbas starts his journey there are numerous setbacks and complications that lead to him not only unable to see his wife for the last time, but also becoming imprisoned to help the king because he knows the future. Another story that lacks a happy ending is "Tower of Babylon." The people work thousands of years to reach the vault of heaven, only to find out the world is connected from top to bottom. Even though Chiang has a lack of happy endings I think this makes it harder to guess the endings. While reading, I enjoy not being able to predict what is going to happen next in a story. Overall, I really enjoy Chiang and wouldn't mind reading more of his literature.

"Understand"

We've already made several connections between last week's reading and other stories, works, and ideas. In discussing "Understand," Flowers for Algernon was mentioned, which also came to my mind as I was reading. After our discussion, another thing I thought of is the movie Limitless. Both involve heightened intelligence through the use of a drug, leading to challenges surrounding the acquisition of more. I find it interesting that the main character in "Understand" dies, whereas Limitless has a more positive Hollywood ending.

"Hell Is the Absence of God" and Robert Frost

Chiang's "Hell Is the Absence of God" makes me think of Robert Frost's "Design."

"Division by Zero" and Godel's incompleteness theorem

The 20th-century mathematician whose name I blanked on in class Wednesday was Kurt Godel. I thought of him during our discussion of "Division by Zero" because his famous achievement, the incompleteness theorem, upset some big applecarts in mathematics. One of Godel's many chroniclers, Rebecca Goldstein, described it to Edge this way:

Most mathematicians, such as David Hilbert, the towering figure of the previous generation of mathematicians, and still alive when Gödel was a young man, were formalists. To say that something is mathematically true is to say that it's provable in a formal system. Hilbert's Program was to formalize all branches of mathematics. Hilbert himself had already formalized geometry, contingent on arithmetic's being formalized. And what Gödel's famous proof shows is that arithmetic can't be formalized. Any formal system of arithmetic is either going to be inconsistent or incomplete.

My point was that far from being demoralized by this result, Godel was elated, and for good reason. He was lionized for that work, in life and since. It made his career.

Now that I think about it, though, my initial attempt at a comparison between Godel and the protagonist of "Division by Zero" doesn't go very far. While Godel may have put a stake in the heart of mathematical formalism, he did not subvert the premises of mathematics itself. Instead, he vindicated them, as Goldstein goes on to explain:

Gödel had intended to show that our knowledge of mathematics exceeds our formal proofs. He hadn't meant to subvert the notion that we have objective mathematical knowledge or claim that there is no mathematical proof—quite the contrary. He believed that we do have access to an independent mathematical reality. Our formal systems are incomplete because there's more to mathematical reality than can be contained in any of our formal systems.

Anyone want to argue that the discovery in "Division by Zero," like Godel's discovery, is not a dead end but a newly open door?

Don't Blink! The Doctor is Back!!

I don't know if anyone here is a fan of Doctor Who, but I thought I'd let everyone know that Season 7 premiers tonight at 8 on BBC America! And if you're not a fan (yet), give it a chance, I'm sure you will love it. I really look forward to when we discuss it in class!