The Culture novels have long been concerned with the interplay of simulation, simulacrum, religion, and materialism.
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PTJ on The Hydrogen Sonata: Actors on the Sci-Fi Stage
So the Culture appears to both want to pursue this knowledge for the sheer joy of knowing, and for the contribution that knowledge can make to deciding on a course of action. Both constitute recognizable grounds for action, both in the Culture and in our world, but as the novel unfolds, both are called into question.
Awards Update
If you haven't seen it, I did a (text) interview with SAGE about academic blogging and the awards. This was the source of my sense of déjà vu during my discussion with Rob Farley: some of the points overlap. Regardless, time is growing short. Here's where things stand: Nominees for Best Blog (Group): Abu Muqawama Arms Control Wonk Crooked Timber The Disorder of Things IPE at UNC Mideast Matrix Kings of War Nominees for Best Blog (Individual):...
Iver B. Neumann on The Hydrogen Sonata: Religion and the Sublime
General Warning: this is emphatically not a spoiler-free Forum! Hence all of the text all of the contributions will be safely below the fold, and only the identifying information for the author of the contribution will be here for even causal browsers to see. If we are to begin with author intentionality, The Hydrogen Sonata is about ‘the subliming business’. In the Western tradition (which is rather less Western than we sometimes imagine it),...
Friday morning linkage
Some random findings for the day.... Putin's idea of transparency. Look for more private security firms profiting in the post-Benghazi world... Also, the IDF's use of Twitter during its recent operation in Gaza was just the beginning. The Naval Postgraduate School is working on Dynamic Twitter Analysis Network. Isn't the world supposed to end today? If you are reading this tomorrow, this will help explain why. Salman Hameed and Kevin Anderson...
Gerard van der Ree on The Hydrogen Sonata: “Learning From Utopia”
Three particular themes stand out when reading The Hydrogen Sonata as a utopian narrative. The first is that whatever happens, politics seem to be an inevitable feature of human life. Second, that however advanced technology may become, nothing beats human communication. Third, that purpose is essential.
Chris Brown on The Hydrogen Sonata: “A Triumphant Return to Form”
General Warning: this is emphatically not a spoiler-free Forum! Hence all of the text all of the contributions will be safely below the fold, and only the identifying information for the author of the contribution will be here for even causal browsers to see. Chris Brown is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics. Ten books published over twenty-five years, many brilliant and not one of them a real turkey – such...
Sex is Better Thursday Afternoon Linkages
Here's your daily roundup of sex/gender links. First, NPR has reported that sexual assaults have spiked at military academies (a 23% increase with continued evidence that victims are resisting litigation). Yikes. A well-known anti-gay Ugandan (the land of the new and terrible anti-homosexuality bill) pastor used vegetables to graphically demonstrate his interpretation of gay sex (and why it is wrong). The video on Huff Post is like a car crash....
A Christmas present: a Forum on Iain M. Banks’ new novel
Introducing a new Duck of Minerva forum!
Some Thoughts on the Korean Election: Left Blew a Good Chance to Win
This pic is from the TV election coverage on the Korean version of CNN. That would be the two main candidates (the liberal Moon Jae-In on the left, and conservative Park Geun-Hye, who won, on the right) as dancing electronic cartoon avatars. Yes, they do look like boogying Nintendo Miis, and yes, they are the most bizarre, hysterical election graphics I have ever seen. Who says political science is boring? So Foreign Affairs solicited me for a...
Crooked Timber Petition
As I sorta implied below, you don't need to agree with Erik's political views or his manner of expressing them to recognize that the President of the University of Rhode Island's statement is all kinds of appalling. The good folks at Crooked Timber have put together a petition to that effect. Go sign, if you'd be so kind. Meanwhile, Glen Reynolds explains the underlying dynamic of this kind of attack. Except he's one of the enablers of the...
Podcast No. 16 – Interview with Robert Farley
The sixteenth Duck of Minerva podcast features Robert Farley of the University of Kentucky and Lawyers, Guns and Money.