What Do You Think Today?

[peter]

Possibly so Murrin, but this seemed to go somehow further than that. I don't know, but in the context of this program there was something intangibley sinister about it.

[Avatar]

Well, eventually we will be able to produce things so cheaply that there will be no need to buy and sell things and everybody will have whatever they need. Still a pretty long way off though.

--A

[peter]

I don't know - it's had to put your finger on where the problem is, but there's something just not right about the bulk of humanity being kept almost like domestic pets, fed and housed at no cost to themselves, non-productive in a world where a distant elite do all of the providing, but have no reason to maintain a sustained interest in their resource expensive charges. Actually - it isn't hard to put your finger on the problem ........ that's just it!

[Avatar]

I just think of Iain M Bank's Culture books. The "distant elite" is the AI. The "Minds." They take care of everything, and humans are free to just do whatever they want. sounds good to me.

--A

[peter]

Mmmm........ Ok - I'm beginning to warm to it Av, now you put it like that!

[Avatar]

You ever read any of those? Damn good books.

--A

[peter]

He did a book called The Wasp Factory (iirc) that always struck me from the blurb that it would be incredibly dark. I'm afraid it kind of put me off, and although he is an author I've always been aware off, I've yet to overcome that initial stumbling block. My loss it sounds!

[Avatar]

So The Wasp Factory (and The Crow Road) and several others were written under the name Iain (no middle initial) Banks, and those are contemporary fiction.

The ones written under Iain M Banks are all sci-fi books, most (but not all) of which are set in and around a massively advanced civilisation called "the Culture."

Really can't recommend them enough. The first Culture book is Consider Phlebas.

Do yourself a favour. (Check out this post for a list of the names of the Culture ships, each one a sentient AI mind.)

--A

[peter]

There seems err, ........ rather a lot of them Av - would I need a permanent glossary at my side in order to follow them; I am notoriously bad at carrying multiple characters in my head unless the characterisation makes them highly identifiable. (Oddly, Game of Thrones was a book that pulled this off without difficulty; there were a dozen or so introduced in the first few pages and I never once lost track of who was who.

[Avatar]

Not at all. That's a very exhaustive list, most books only have a few of them in, and it's easy to keep straight.

I was sharing it simply because of how wonderful some of those names are. (All the minds choose their own ship names.)

In fact, the cast in each book (human and otherwise) is generally pretty small.

--A

[Skyweir]

I just think of Iain M Bank's Culture books. The "distant elite" is the AI. The "Minds." They take care of everything, and humans are free to just do whatever they want. sounds good to me.

--A

Hahahaha!!! Love it!!!

[peter]

Well, the day my laptop gets up at 4.30, goes to work standing in the shop serving the punters for nine hours for me and then has the wages paid into my account - that day I'll say it's a good thing - until then I'll reserve judgement.......

[Sorus]

So The Wasp Factory (and The Crow Road) and several others were written under the name Iain (no middle initial) Banks, and those are contemporary fiction.

The ones written under Iain M Banks are all sci-fi books, most (but not all) of which are set in and around a massively advanced civilisation called "the Culture."

I never realized they were the same person. And that's the sort of thing I should have known - I used to work at a bookstore.

[Avatar]

Only reason I know is because the books have his other works listed in them.

--A

[Skyweir]

I don't know - it's had to put your finger on where the problem is, but there's something just not right about the bulk of humanity being kept almost like domestic pets, fed and housed at no cost to themselves, non-productive in a world where a distant elite do all of the providing, but have no reason to maintain a sustained interest in their resource expensive charges. Actually - it isn't hard to put your finger on the problem ........ that's just it!

Clearly coming in cold to this topic - so apologies ... but what world is this where people exist like domestic pets and are housed and fed at no cost to them! Cos I want to go to there! LOL

Is it this world? Or a fantasy work, book etc? Maybe that's it

The world I live in, I'm small fry and definitely not "the elite" and I've had to work for everything I want in life. I know few who haven't, worked for what they have.

[Avatar]

Exactly...sucks dunnit?

--A

[peter]

A few years ago the makers of the famous Quality Street brand of chocolates decided to capitalise on the brand by introducing larger versions of some of the most favoured chocolates in the tin for individual sale. We had display boxes of these sent to the shop, labelled The Big Green One, The Big Yellow One, The Big Red One...... and The Purple One.

[Skyweir]

Exactly...sucks dunnit?

--A

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ROFLMAO!!

I kinda like it ... can always use more $$$ ... be so nice to not have a mortgage!!! Hahahaha! But slowly and surely we're getting there LOL

[Avatar]

We'll be dead before it happens Sky.

A few years ago the makers of the famous Quality Street brand of chocolates...

The green one and the purple one are my favourites.

--A

[Skyweir]

No! They're my faves! This means we can never share a box! LOL
WW3 could ensue ....