When you talk about people you make them important. I want to think more about who I choose to make important.
Even if you are criticizing someone, burying their bad ideas with logic and all the knives of science you're still making them and their ideas important.
You can expect me to talk about Iain M. Banks more and the questions I have about his work.
It's why it's probably is a good idea to do a critical review of Newitz and their "Terraformers" which I also have questions about.
@futurebird Ooh, OK. My starter. I think Iain M. Banks wrote slightly better books as Iain Banks, than Iain M. Banks. Controversial I know.
He wrote my favourite opening line of a book ever.
"It was the day my grandmother exploded"
I couldn't put it down, but I was NOT having a good time.
Grey Area did nothing wrong.
@futurebird @mherbert @kbm0 @eclectech
No? The entire model for weaker beings coexisting with stronger ones is predicated on the guarantee that the strong will not abuse that power. Once you can’t trust that a Mind will not see or manipulate your private thoughts, all trust in them goes out of the window. The Culture as a civilisation would not be possible without that trust. Grey Area would have undermined the entire basis of the civilisation if the other Minds had tolerated it.
@david_chisnall @mherbert @kbm0 @eclectech
But that "the culture" does tolerate it. They just won't center or endorse such actions. But, it's clear that there is awareness of what gray area is doing and no one stops them.
@futurebird @mherbert @kbm0 @eclectech
It is ostracised and not allowed to use its given name. That’s pretty much the harshest penalty that exists in the Culture.
@david_chisnall @mherbert @kbm0 @eclectech
I think if a mind went rouge and started IDK... just destroying stuff they would stop it.
Put a slap drone on it.(slap mind?)
The gray area is bad enough to be shunned but not bad enough to be stopped. Because is giving genocidal men nightmares and violating their privacy a crime worth the effort of preventing? When you have other things to do with your time?
@futurebird @mherbert @kbm0 @eclectech
It’s doing those things outside of the Culture. If it tried anywhere near another Mind, they would be able to stop it. If another civilisation decided they disapproved and destroyed the ship, I doubt the Culture would raise more than a token protest.
One of the later books refers to the fact it was called Meatfucker as the worst level of penalty someone in The Culture can imagine. In a society that exists to provide everyone with a framework for self actualisation, being denied the right to choose your own identity is a huge penalty.
Sleeper Service had the ship equivalent of a slap drone (an escort ship that keeps an eye on it). Greg Area was probably not seen as enough of a threat to warrant it (it’s a small ship, most Orbitals or Rocks would not be threatened by it).
myrmepropagandist
eclectech
Malcolm Herbert
Ken Milmore
David Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)