well really we ain't know anything about life beyond what we've got so assuming aliens have naturally got to be bizarre and freaky as hell is just as much a fallacy as assuming that they're just like us but with fancy forehead prosthetics
The future of computers will be biological. You want a new video game? BOOM right in yo eye lenses. You want to go to school? Boom right in yo brain drive. You need more shit for your bio shit? We will attach another backup brain to your ass. From there you will hold all your porn collection inside the space inside your ass where we removed the fat and put another brain instead.
You think hallucinations are cool? Wait till that bio computer module we added to your brain can put you in Skyrim rendered in real life detail. Google ads? Yep, they will be there. Little popup ads tempting you to buy stuff for your reality.
Your memory will be wikipedia and the library of congress.
Your facebook will be a dynamic thought network controlled by strict privacy filters that you designed as thick web of directions to keep your innermost secrets from leaking out and you will be continuously connected to everyone you know and everyone around you.
Your brain will have the calculating power of a super computer combined with petabytes of storage space.
Will we live to experience this? Probably not. And that is one of the saddest things I can think of.
the other day i read this story about these cats getting awarded darpa funding for what seems like people trying to replicate the human brain in computer form
trying to make all these computers act like how our synapses do
blah blah techno singularity as I electronically jizz on your nanobot constructed simulacrum while I download the wikipedia of the future into my brain
The future of computers will be biological. You want a new video game? BOOM right in yo eye lenses. You want to go to school? Boom right in yo brain drive. You need more shit for your bio shit? We will attach another backup brain to your ass. From there you will hold all your porn collection inside the space inside your ass where we removed the fat and put another brain instead.
You think hallucinations are cool? Wait till that bio computer module we added to your brain can put you in Skyrim rendered in real life detail. Google ads? Yep, they will be there. Little popup ads tempting you to buy stuff for your reality.
Your memory will be wikipedia and the library of congress.
Your facebook will be a dynamic thought network controlled by strict privacy filters that you designed as thick web of directions to keep your innermost secrets from leaking out and you will be continuously connected to everyone you know and everyone around you.
Your brain will have the calculating power of a super computer combined with petabytes of storage space.
Will we live to experience this? Probably not. And that is one of the saddest things I can think of.
Science's priority should be making me immortal so that I can see things like this happen.
the other day i read this story about these cats getting awarded darpa funding for what seems like people trying to replicate the human brain in computer form
trying to make all these computers act like how our synapses do
yeah I linked that story on the last page, it's pretty awesome
I liked Peter Watts's Starfish. That I would suggest you check out.
Amazon has a nice review by J. N. Mohlman that mirrors my own feelings about the book.
"Starfish" is an outstanding work of dystopian fiction taking place in the not too distant future. As the demand for energy grows exponentially, mankind turns to the thermal energy from deep-sea vents as a solution. Of course, the ocean floor is the least hospitable environment on Earth, and it takes a special breed to man these remote outposts...literally.
People who represent the dregs of society (child abusers, violent criminals, sociopaths) are genetically, psychologically and "mechanically" altered to survive in this harsh climate. However, what no one counts on is what will happen when these same people fulfill their need for danger just by staying alive, and become, if not friends, then certainly allies. Furthermore, no one considers what they might encounter in that ancient habitat, and what it will mean for the rest of the planet.
That's about all I can say about the plot without spoiling it, but this is definitely a book you will want to pick up, for several reasons. First of all, the writing is absolutely breathless; Watts has perfectly translated the mind numbing pressure found at the ocean bottom into a palpable sense of tension that permeates the novel. Secondly, his characters are brilliantly conceived and realized. The reader never exactly feels sympathy for them, but they are incredibly complex and evolve in unexpected, but realistic, ways. Finally, although this novel is classified as "science-fiction" that really does it something of a disservice. It's not that there's anything wrong with SF, but this novel is much more; it's about our insatiable demand for convenience, and what it's doing to our planet (both geo-politically and environmentally) and what it is doing to those who get left behind by the pace of change.
"Starfish" is a great read and a novel that will leave you thinking. With an engaging plot, excellent characters and relentless pacing, it is a superb first novel. In particular, if you are at all in interested in marine biology, or even biology in general, then this is a must read for you.
what are some cool books about wacky space colonies like ring worlds and tube worlds and shit
The problem is when I was a kid they had tons of the books from the 60's and 70's about it and other future space stuff. The only other thing I know of is the Jovian Chronicles RPG
SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
Man I feel bad for throwing it out now cuz most of these titles seem pretty great, but right now I'm mostly looking for stuff I can read in my Kindle app. However I will probably make a master list of print-only ones that sound interesting and keep it handy for the next time I visit a bookstore.
"This book is a Eurosleaze fairytale that's better than the Da Vinci Code and should be on Oprah's Book List! Pierce is one of the weirdest, most imaginative writers around. Toxie-approved!" - LLOYD KAUFMAN, director of The Toxic Avenger and Poultrygeist
chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
You've read William Gibson, right?
If not, his short stories might be on kindle (checked, just now. No dice at a glance), and some of the novels definitely are. Anthology is called Burning Chrome. A lot of cyberpunk, but a few other things.
Man I feel bad for throwing it out now cuz most of these titles seem pretty great, but right now I'm mostly looking for stuff I can read in my Kindle app. However I will probably make a master list of print-only ones that sound interesting and keep it handy for the next time I visit a bookstore.
Interesting list (36 here), but it seems a bit Stephenson heavy. I mean, I like the guy's stuff, don't get me wrong, but taking the Demolished Man's slot doesn't feel right.
Interesting list (36 here), but it seems a bit Stephenson heavy. I mean, I like the guy's stuff, don't get me wrong, but taking the Demolished Man's slot doesn't feel right.
37, and I'm missing some of the big names on the list, and outright hated some of the ones I did read.
And yeah, it's user survey, so tilts towards the public consciousness. Tends to favour more recent authors and such, but the best classics are still all there.
They're doing a separate young readers list, where you'll see 99 books fighting to be second place behind Harry Potter. Sigh. Rowling's books are good, but I find them somewhat overhyped. I'll be interested to see how Narnia places, because I think that series wonderful, although it dates badly and the Christian overtones start undercutting the later books.
that book is wonderful, though he writes women poorly
(big surprise it's a sci fi author)
Snow Crash and Diamond Age both have a few really well written women in the main cast. Juanita Marquez, especially. She made the infodumps in Snow Crash fun.
that book is wonderful, though he writes women poorly
(big surprise it's a sci fi author)
Snow Crash and Diamond Age both have a few really well written women in the main cast. Juanita Marquez, especially. She made the infodumps in Snow Crash fun.
I think you completely misunderstood Monroe's point.
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MrMonroepassed outon the floor nowRegistered Userregular
is it indicative that I totally forgot that Hiro had a girlfriend?
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and i really want to write some dystopian sci-fi
What sort of dystopia you thinking of?
Why I fear the ocean.
ribbed for her pleasure
a world where sound is prohibited from the underclass. in fact, those outside of the elite ruling families are deafened at birth
then, a magic galactic phenomena of high-pitched mass destruction explodes the heads of anyone who can hear, thereby setting the lower caste free
the tragically ironic ending is the protagonist, still deaf, watching a turntable spin and spilling a single tear
You think hallucinations are cool? Wait till that bio computer module we added to your brain can put you in Skyrim rendered in real life detail. Google ads? Yep, they will be there. Little popup ads tempting you to buy stuff for your reality.
Your memory will be wikipedia and the library of congress.
Your facebook will be a dynamic thought network controlled by strict privacy filters that you designed as thick web of directions to keep your innermost secrets from leaking out and you will be continuously connected to everyone you know and everyone around you.
Your brain will have the calculating power of a super computer combined with petabytes of storage space.
Will we live to experience this? Probably not. And that is one of the saddest things I can think of.
the other day i read this story about these cats getting awarded darpa funding for what seems like people trying to replicate the human brain in computer form
trying to make all these computers act like how our synapses do
Obviously. You cannot have a constant shit-eating grin without a constant supply of shit to eat.
what thread did I get all teenage-girl-drunk in last night and cry about things so I can go apologize?
Science's priority should be making me immortal so that I can see things like this happen.
yeah I linked that story on the last page, it's pretty awesome
The Girly time thread
That seems the best place for that sort of thing.
how... apropos
Cuz I am looking for some non-standard sci-fi novels to read
(that is, not the ones everyone has read)
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Heliconia
I have seriously read that fucking book. I went on a Wyndham bender in high school. Like all his books, it's good but not great.
@Sheri: Try Stand On Zanzibar. It's amazingly fresh even today, and a nice change of pace from the standard novel format.
Amazon has a nice review by J. N. Mohlman that mirrors my own feelings about the book.
The problem is when I was a kid they had tons of the books from the 60's and 70's about it and other future space stuff. The only other thing I know of is the Jovian Chronicles RPG
Though you can read the volumes in any order. Some of his stories are sci fi, some are fantasy, but I think he really excelled at short form fiction.
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@Sheri
Ass Goblins of Auschwitz
If not, his short stories might be on kindle (checked, just now. No dice at a glance), and some of the novels definitely are. Anthology is called Burning Chrome. A lot of cyberpunk, but a few other things.
Bit obsolete these days, but still good.
Why I fear the ocean.
Snow Crash?
that book is wonderful, though he writes women poorly
(big surprise it's a sci fi author)
Interesting list (36 here), but it seems a bit Stephenson heavy. I mean, I like the guy's stuff, don't get me wrong, but taking the Demolished Man's slot doesn't feel right.
Why I fear the ocean.
37, and I'm missing some of the big names on the list, and outright hated some of the ones I did read.
And yeah, it's user survey, so tilts towards the public consciousness. Tends to favour more recent authors and such, but the best classics are still all there.
They're doing a separate young readers list, where you'll see 99 books fighting to be second place behind Harry Potter. Sigh. Rowling's books are good, but I find them somewhat overhyped. I'll be interested to see how Narnia places, because I think that series wonderful, although it dates badly and the Christian overtones start undercutting the later books.
I think you completely misunderstood Monroe's point.