WEBVTT - Summer Reading: Aliens, Microbes, Cocktails and More 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.119 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuffworks 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:14.560 dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.040 My name is Robert Lamb, I'm Christian Sea, and I'm 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.600 Joe McCormick. And hey, it's our traditional summer reading episode. 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.240 That's right, this is uh kind of kind of beach 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:26.760 reading time. Will you guys go to the beach. I'm 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.720 not really a beach person. Wait, I go to the beach. Well, 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.120 I don't know, go to go to the beach. Yeah, 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:34.559 Robert goes to the beach. I like to go to 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:39.959 radioactive beaches and read your books, right right. Yeah, So 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:42.440 this is kind of, you know, an annual tradition here, 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.040 it's Stuff to Blow your Mind where we take a 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:47.440 break from the research and we talked about what we've 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:50.839 just been reading casually that we recommend our listeners go 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:52.760 and read for the summer. Yeah. I mean this is 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:54.840 the time, to your point, people are going on on vacation. 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:56.360 People like to bring I like to bring a book 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:58.320 with me on vacation if I'm whether I'm going to 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:02.160 the beach or not. And uh, it's also the time 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:04.400 when we have a lot of we're just putting together 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.679 the podcast. People are in and out, people are going 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:08.800 on vacation, so it's nice to have something we can 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.760 we can put together without a whole lot of extra 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:16.520 research involved. One thing I've discovered is that if you're 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:18.679 going on vacation, not to the beach, but say, to 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.399 your in laws house, it's also great to bring a 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:23.360 book there because you can sneak away. And I say 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:25.400 that as somebody who loves my in laws. I don't 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.560 have in law problems. They are the greatest people in 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:31.160 the world. But you're in somebody else's house every now 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.160 and then you want to sneak off to another room 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.959 and just read. Yeah. Well, And I have two thoughts 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:38.959 on this as well. For starters, we have so many 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.160 distractions built into our regular routine that if you just 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.520 break your routine a little bit, even by just going 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.039 on a small family trip or going to visit in laws, 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:49.840 you're gonna be able to break free from the shackles 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.800 of of of your life a little bit and maybe 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:55.800 read a bit more. That's nice. And then in general, 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.600 there's this rule of life always brings something to read, 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:01.160 because if you bring something to read, you will not 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.880 have time for it. But if you if you don't 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.560 bring a book, then you will find yourself sitting in 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:10.800 a in a waiting room somewhere with nothing to occupy yourself, 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.360 but you know, staring at your fingernails and wishing you 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:15.520 had your clippers on you, or you'll be looking at 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.280 junk on your phone and wishing you hadn't. I'm one 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.000 of those people who like overly prepares in that respect, 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:23.080 Like I've always got something to read, and I've also 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.720 always got like notebooks to write in, to the point 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.000 now where I've got like an absurd amount of notebooks 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:31.640 in my everyday bag, like because I got a field 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.840 Notes subscription. This isn't an advertisement for them, but I 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.800 gotta field Notes subscription, and now I have like six 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.200 field Notes for like all different things that are in 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.679 my backpack at all times. Plus I'm reading constantly. Well, 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:48.280 until until very recently, you couldn't really have the kindle 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:51.760 out on the plane while you're you know, during takeoff 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:53.720 and landing. So I would always make sure, Okay, do 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.120 I have a physical book for that portion of the flight, 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.280 and then I can bust out the kindle for the rest. 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.360 That's smart. Yeah, yeah, you don't have a kindle yet, right, 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:05.120 you're still reading everything physical. I read physical books and 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.160 on my phone, so I so this is funny. The 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:10.440 majority of the books that I'm going to recommend today 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.799 I read on my phone, even though I still like 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.840 paper books much better. Yeah, how is that on your eyes? Though? 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:19.519 I mean it's not great. It was one of those 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:21.400 where I just wanted to start reading a book. I 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.440 didn't want to go out and buy it somewhere wait 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:25.280 for it to arrive, so I just got the book 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.680 and started reading or or started listening to an audio book. 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:31.040 I mean I do both of those. So I I 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.600 consume books digitally a lot, even though I'm much enjoy 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:38.520 paper books. Yeah, I enjoy them much more. Yeah. Yeah, 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:43.200 it was boy getting a kindle this again on an advertisement, 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.080 like any whatever e reader that doesn't like flash light 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.480 directly into your eyeballs. Man, it was a revelation for me, 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:54.080 Like my reading increased exponentially when I when I got that, 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.240 because I just, I don't know, there's something about it, 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.200 like it got me really back into reading again. Yeah. 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:03.080 I've also really enjoyed the various like free e books 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:05.120 offerings that are out there. Like one that comes to 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:09.680 mind is U Tour books. We talked about this. Yeah, 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:12.040 they'll do a I think they're still doing this, a 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:14.000 Book of the Month club where they'll just put out 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:15.760 an e book and you can They'll just say here, 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.200 here's the file downloaded, get it on your device. However, 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.520 you get it on your device and then you get 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:22.880 to go one of those, which is like a novel 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:27.360 lette that I read recently. It wasn't free, it was cents, 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:30.360 so it really broke the bank. But not on my 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.200 list here, but I recommend it. Kelly Robeson, she's this 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:36.720 up and coming kind of sci fi horror fantasy writer, 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:40.560 and she wrote this story called I Think It's a 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:45.400 Human Stain and it is wow, really good. Yeah, but 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:48.320 I'm jumping ahead. I'm like, I'm already recommending stuff that 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:50.840 isn't on paper in front of me right here. Well, 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:53.120 where should we start, gentlemen? Should we start with fiction 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.359 or nonfiction? Because we're gonna roll through some fictional selections, 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.359 some nonfictional selections, and uh, Christian and I are gonna 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:01.600 bust out at least a couple of comics. I think 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:03.800 you have more than one. I'd have one comics selection. 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:07.120 I surprisingly only have one comics. But knowing me, I'll 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.160 end up talking about ten other comics by the end 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:11.920 of this episode. Yeah, why don't we start with the fiction? 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:15.119 All right? And I think one of you guys should 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.280 go first, because my fiction is a little odd. It's 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:22.320 not like one thing, Joe, why don't you kick it off? Then? Alright, Well, 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:24.680 I've got a couple of fiction picks this year. One 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.000 is a book that is more recent I mean, actually, 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.840 I guess it's about ten years ago now, but more recent. 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.520 Another one is a classic that I just discovered for 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:34.520 the first time this year. So I'll start with the 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.120 more recent one, and that is going to be Blind 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.360 Site by Peter Watts, which was published by Tour Books 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:42.800 in two thousand six. And we're just given Tour all 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.680 the love today. I'm gonna try not to interrupt you 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:49.200 too much, Joe, but I am currently reading this book 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.000 and and enjoying it quite a lot, so i'll I 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:55.080 may interject my opinions as well here and there. Well, 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.480 y'all tap me on the shoulder if I'm just gushing 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:01.200 to too effusively about this book. I loved this book. 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.240 I I picked up Blind Site after our interview with 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:07.400 our Scott Baker because in his paper on alien philosophy 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.200 or Scott Baker mentioned that there were really only two 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:14.040 books he could think of that really achieved the imagination 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:18.120 of a truly non anthropomorphic alien mind, and one of 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:20.800 the two books he named was blind Side. I've never 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.040 heard of it before. I've never read anything by Peter Watts, 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:24.440 but I was like, well, I'm looking for a new 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:26.880 sci fi horror kind of book right now, I'll check 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.680 that out. I ordered it, and oh man, it is 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:33.080 so great. Uh it's it's a great example of the 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:34.800 themes we talked about on the show all the time. 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:38.000 So I think it's like Dead Center, bulls Eye stuff 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.480 to blow your mind fan kind of book. But also 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.480 it's a it's a great example of, um, this common 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.839 sci fi type story, the first contact story. I don't 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:48.839 want to say too much about the story, though I 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.440 will talk about some elements from the setting of the novel, 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.560 because the story, I think you should just experience the 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:57.560 surprises of the plot on your own. But I will 0:06:57.560 --> 0:06:59.720 say a bit about the themes and the setting. So 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:04.599 Peter Watts is a Canadian marine biologist turned science fiction author, 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.719 and his science background, I would say, really, really comes 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:11.120 through in the novel because it's a novel about scientific hypotheses. 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:15.200 Characters are scientists and are trying to solve scientific problems 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:17.600 in the in the plot of the story, and it 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:21.000 also deals with these fascinating questions about the biological origins 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:25.000 of consciousness. I would say it's my favorite kind of 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.560 science fiction novel because I want to picture there are 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.080 like four squares in a grid, and I would call 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:34.920 this in the square that I would call wild hard. 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:37.600 So you could define you could divide science fiction into 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:41.640 hard and soft, where hard sci fi incorporates scientific themes 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.280 and it tries to stay true to real physics and biology. 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.560 And then you've got soft sci fi has you know, 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:49.880 unexplained magical elements, and that's fine, but that's its own thing. 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:54.600 But then i'd separated also into dry versus wild. Dry 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:58.600 sci fi deals with the standard themes of drama and fiction, 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:03.280 familiar off interpersonal relationships and all that. Wild sci fi 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:08.400 deals with unpredictable, bizarre creatures and scenarios. And so this 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.960 this is in the corner of both hard and wild. 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:15.200 It's absolutely bonkers, but at the same time it's extremely 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:20.520 scientifically conscientious and concerned with scientific accuracy and plausibility. So well, 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:22.720 this is I think would you agree with I would agree, 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.480 And I think at this point you need to mention, uh, 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.880 the plot element and one particular character that initially hooked 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:31.720 me on it, Like, I think it's probably the first 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:33.480 thing you told me about it. Yeah, I would say. 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:35.600 My first thing to sell a stuff to blow your 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:39.120 mind fan about this book is that it's a space adventure, 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:42.240 hard sci fi, first contact book that has vampires, and 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:46.880 I'm on board. So it's Life Force. No, no, it's 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:48.960 not quite Life Force. So Life Force is definitely not 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.720 hard Side. Right, So you're out there going like, wait 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.000 a minute, vampires, Okay, I thought you said this was 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:56.960 hard sci fi. I would say it is. There's no fantasy, 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.480 there's no supernatural elements. Watts does an amazingly good job 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:05.920 of making vampires biologically plausible. And what he does is 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:10.840 he envisions them as an extinct branch of hominids that 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:13.480 went extinct in the place to see an epoch, uh, 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:16.360 and their cousins of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. But they've 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:20.640 got all these interesting inherited glitches and features in their body. 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:24.440 For one thing, they are obligate cannibals, like they have 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.880 to consume other hominids because they need a necessary protein 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:31.920 that's generated in hominid bodies, and they can't generate it themselves, 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:35.000 so they've got to eat other hominids to survive. This 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.560 is why they're, you know, feeding on us. Of course, 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.160 this they eat, they're not drinking blood. They literally are 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:43.120 eating people. Now, I think it's more like they would 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:45.360 just eat people. They might drink your blood too. But 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.480 the genesis of all vampire myths, though, got you. So 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:53.360 how does this hold up in comparison. I'm looking to 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.079 Robert here because we did an episode on Germo del 0:09:56.120 --> 0:10:00.600 Toro's The Strain, which is also very heavily scientifically influenced 0:10:00.679 --> 0:10:03.480 vampire creation. I would say that the major difference here 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:05.480 is that in The Strain, they put a lot of 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:11.160 effort into imagining a very monstrous um vampire species that 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.760 is essentially parasitic in in its origin and in blind Sight, 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:18.520 Peter Watts puts a tremendous amount of effort into creating 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.440 It's still monstrous in a way, it's still inhuman, but 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:28.079 it's a very very human vampire in well, that that's 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.400 where it gets really interesting because he spends so much 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:33.800 time just talking about how would a creature like this think, 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:37.440 how would it uh. One of the examples that comes 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:41.640 up is it's uh, the vampire character doesn't speak much, 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.280 or when it does speak, if he speaks very briefly, 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:49.559 and it makes a comparison to two orcas, to transient predatory, 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:52.600 transient predator, and how the the ones that prey upon 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.440 mammals speak less and are therefore, you know, creating less 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.439 noise that would scare off potential prey. So even though 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.959 this vampire is a member of the crew, it's still 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:06.120 behaving and thinking like an evolved predator. Yeah, yeah, and 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.480 it's so great, I mean, and they so they respond 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:10.440 to it the same way you would respond in the 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.280 presence of a predator, Like they feel the predatory gaze 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.600 as if there's like a lion sitting across the table 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:18.959 from them talking to them. Um, and it's all it's 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.120 there's so many other little features he comes up with 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:24.400 that are just fascinating, Like they have to go into 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:27.800 these undead hibernation periods because of course, if you're just 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:29.800 eating humans all the time, you run out of food, 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:32.280 so they have to slow down their metabolism another thing 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.920 they've covered the show before. Yeah. Uh. And then so 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:38.400 they're harmed by looking at crosses. How does he make 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:41.280 that scientifically plausible? Where he gives He gives them this 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:47.640 inherited neurological glitch because perpendicular intersecting right angles almost never 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.760 occur in nature, and they've got this problem where when 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.839 they look at one, they go into seizures. And that's clever, 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.680 and that's kind of that's essentially one of the main 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.640 reasons they went extinct, right, is not because human were 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:03.079 able to really outsmart them, because they are brilliant. There 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.439 a rise of Christianity, well just the rise of human 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.360 and you can't go into a human city and they can't. 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.240 So if they okay, I see, So even if they're 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:14.880 just like looking at a house that's spilt with the 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:17.960 right angles, they start having these seizures. Yeah, wow, okay, 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:20.679 and then they also, like another detail he brings up 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.680 is um how they can they can hold two separate 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.080 worldviews in their mind at the same time. Yeah, they're 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.120 like a they're like a multi core parallel processor and 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.280 they can sort of divide their attention between solving multiple 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.920 problems at the same time, they've got a divisible internal brain. 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.720 This is not the example wats used, but I'm gonna 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.840 tweak it. You know, the what is it the rabbit? 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.520 What is the optical illusion? Sometimes it looks like a 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.040 rabbit the duck, The rabbit the duck. The vampires can 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.040 look at the rabbit the duck and they see a 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:51.800 rabbit in the duck at the same time. Is it 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:55.440 the Necker cube? Yes, that's the example. You know about 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.040 this Christian right, Well, it's a It's a three dimensional 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.080 illustration of a cube, like the wire our cube, and 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:03.520 your mind, while you're looking at it will switch back 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:05.880 and forth from seeing it as a cube oriented in 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.400 one direction to a cube oriented the other direction. I 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:09.800 do know what you're talking about. I just didn't know 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.120 that's what it was called. Okay, So a human looks 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.720 at that and your mind is naturally switching you back 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:16.360 and forth. You see it one way, then you see 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.439 it the other way. The vampires in this novel can 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:22.960 see both cubes at once. One more thing I wanted 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:27.800 to terrify. Yeah, they sound like apex predators totally. I'd 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:31.920 say this novel it has really strong horror elements and 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:35.280 they are of a very interesting kind, because I would 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:37.400 say it's a cousin to the kind of cosmic horror 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.720 you'd see in something like Lovecraft and related works, where 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.960 there's this idea that there are vast powerful forces at 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.120 work in the universe and you're just a speck and 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:49.640 you have no reason to think that these vast powerful 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:53.400 forces are sympathetic to you at all. Corror. Yeah, and 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:57.000 so in Lovecraft these are like alien god beings and 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.920 these pantheons and things like that. In blind Sight, I'd 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.319 say the same thematic role is played by the laws 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:08.800 of biological evolution, Like the novel actually leverages real facts 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.320 about biology and extending them into thinking about space to 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.480 fill the role of cosmic dread brought on by the 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.199 elder gods in love Craft. That sounds very nice. Yeah, 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.000 I need to check this book out. Yeah, there, this 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.240 is one of those books. I'm reading it in in 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:27.120 the book format, and uh I keep making notes uh 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:29.560 in in my device as I see that. See it 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:31.800 tie into various topics we've covered, Like there's a scene 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:33.800 where there are a number of scenes in the book 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.720 where characters are are hit with very strong magnetic fields 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:40.840 and it's causing hallucinations and also, um, like a god helmet. Yeah, 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:42.600 it's like a god helmet. There. One of the characters 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:46.200 sees the creator God and goes berserk over it. Another 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:51.280 character essentially ends up having the Cotard's delusion, believing that 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:55.800 she does not exist anymore. It's it. I would say 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:57.760 that that in the portion I've read of it, the 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.360 cognitive stuff, like all the characters in it are so 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:07.720 cognitively trans human, so delightfully cognitively trans human. Um. But 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.000 but I don't want to steal too much of your 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:11.360 thunder here. Well, no, I just I think I'm about 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:12.960 ready to move on. But I just want to say 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.000 I think we haven't even touched on half of the 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:20.840 amazingly fascinating ideas in this book. So it's just jammed 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:25.560 with with stuff to contemplate really cool, interesting ideas. If 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:29.480 you're into science, if you're into big questions and cosmic 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.560 mysteries of existence, this is an excellent book. I think 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:34.520 you'd really enjoy. And there's not there is not a 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.520 quote unquote normal character in the book. Like now every 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:43.600 character is has some sort of bizarre cognitive ability or transformation. 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.440 Like there's a character with multiple personalities intentionally created in 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:52.920 her head team, like in her right so very eclipse phase, 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.160 where so they've got like the ability to sort of 0:15:55.600 --> 0:16:00.280 sleeve multiple identities into a body. One character does, uh, 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:04.040 eventually maybe more than one, but yeah, another character has 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:07.160 the main character has lost lost half his brain to 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.920 an infection radical hemisphere ectomy. He had. He suffered from 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:14.520 seizures when he was a child, and they were so 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.280 bad that they did this procedure where they remove one 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:19.920 hemisphere of the brain and that does stop the seizures, 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.440 but it also has lots of side effects. Yeah. So 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:26.200 it's it's like that level of of creativity in this 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:29.040 book that that I think is just really really amazing. 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:30.760 I thought one more fact I want to say, and 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.480 then we can move on. This book also does something 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:35.960 that I've never seen done before. Maybe somebody else does it, 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.240 but I think it's great. You always hear the singularitarians 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:42.720 being so excited about uploading our consciousness into computers, and 0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:46.000 that's always interpreted as and that's the end, that's the 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.920 end of history. We just upload our consciousness into computers 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:51.960 and then it's just heavenly bliss in a virtual environment 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:53.960 for all time. And we don't need to worry about 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:57.920 anything else. This book incorporates that as a historical event 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.160 people start being able to upload their minds into virtual heavens, 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:03.840 and then says, actually, that's not the end of history. 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.520 That just happens at some point and things continue going on. 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.160 What would be the consequences of that? And uh, and 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.000 I love it. The way he deals with it is 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.200 really interesting and oh yeah, like there are elements of yes, 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:19.600 we've had were post singularity, but we we have difficulty 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.399 communicating with the machines and understanding each other. You have 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:24.800 to have individuals whose whole role is to sort of 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:28.480 serve as an arbitrator between these two factions. It is 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:31.840 he is, he's sort of depicting post singularity, but it's 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.840 not a he's not sanguine about the singularity and its 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:38.240 effects on our lives. It's more kind of like, here's 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:42.800 just one more radically weird complication and human experience. Yeah, 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:44.919 and I seem to recall to that, like there are 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.040 a few areas where we haven't pushed into like full 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:51.760 singularity situations, such as the digitization of consciousness. Like I 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:54.040 think the individuals who are in that heaven still have 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:55.679 to have their body or at least part of it 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.920 on file somewhere right, Yeah, squeezed into tenually smaller and 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.600 smaller drawers. This reminds me of have you guys ever 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.880 read any Charles Stross? A lot of his stuff kind 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.800 of treats this singularity. This is funny. Charles Stross blurbed 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:14.080 the heck out of this. Apparently Charles Stross loved blind Son. Yeah, 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:17.200 so that's why it reminds me. Also, is Peter Watts 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:21.080 a pseudonym? That's his real name, because Peter Watts is 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.440 the the name of the character on Millennium that Terry 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:29.120 o Quinn played. Yeah, just a fun coincidence. Terryo Quinn 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.000 was in Millennium. Oh yeah, Terry Quinn was like a regular. 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:33.720 He wasn't in every episode, but he was. He was 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:38.440 like essentially like Leans Hendrickson's like Millennium group partner slash 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:41.359 front of me. Okay, well, y'all have to stop me, 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:43.280 or we have I have to stop myself. We some 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:44.959 somehow this has gotta stop where I'm just gonna keep 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:48.320 gushing about this book. Let's let's get your fiction pick 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:51.080 in here, all right. Well, um, maybe maybe I'm a 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:53.600 bit set in my ways here, but I decided to 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:58.920 not shock anyone into feature an Ian M. Banks culture novel. Yeah, 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.679 but you know, I think we're like N. M. Banks 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:06.320 is like best like commercial service. Maybe. So, I mean, 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:09.679 it's not the only book I read, but I have 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:12.600 to say I do love them, and I kind of 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:16.040 resist the urge to really just drive through them all 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:17.600 and just read all of them, because we're not going 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.359 to get any more of them since an M. Banks 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.119 it's no longer with us. But I generally read one 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.680 a year, and it's always it's always a pleasure. Um. 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:28.560 And then there are always so many stuff to blow 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:32.840 your mind aligned themes that pop up in in these books. 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:36.480 How many are there total? I want to say there, Um, 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.080 it depends on how you count on because I think 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:41.040 there's seven or eight that are considered culture novels. But 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.919 some are are sort of clear culture culture novels that 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:48.679 are you know, definitely involving members of the culture, and 0:19:48.720 --> 0:19:51.800 then others it's a case where okay, this seems to 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:56.280 be a novel that's taking place in the same universe. Yeah, 0:19:56.560 --> 0:20:00.280 and that that that those varying levels of awareness actually 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:03.119 come come into play in this book. The book is 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:08.200 uh is Matter. So the book concerns the shell world 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:12.760 of Sersamon, which is a titanic artificial planet that contains 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:20.160 nested concentric spheres internally lit by tiny thermonuclear stars. So 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:22.080 in the book we learned that it was built by 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:25.080 a mysterious long dead race known as the Veil for 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:29.320 reasons unknown. Uh. There there are multiple shell worlds spread 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:32.680 throughout the galaxy in the Culture universe, but it's thought 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.480 that the structures were originally intended to be fluid filled 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:39.840 and utilized as a means of projecting some manner of 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:44.280 of shielding around the entire galaxy. Now unknown if that 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:47.000 shielding would have been to keep something out or to 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:50.000 keep something in. Uh. You know, it's hard to question 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:53.040 the ways of the ancients, right, But anyway, it was 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:55.520 never completed, and in the ages that followed you have 0:20:55.680 --> 0:20:59.920