The growing sense that reality itself is something up for debate is wholly terrifying and all too real. We unknowingly look to the theories of Ontology and Eternalism (or Presentism if you’re a weirdo) for understanding of the intangible, ever-shifting goalposts of life. I’m with you on this ride.
Hello Sam — Our interests and biographies have intersected at various stages. I too departed from a serious science fiction addiction at an early age (I think Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash was my last hit). Yet, I’m not sure we shouldn’t just all feel deliriously excited by all of this. After CalArts and a half-hearted, decades-long investment in (surrender to) international academe that abruptly ended with a ‘voluntary deportation’ to Tijuana, I find to my surprise that the world and my life have become much like the stories and characters in those SF books/ films I/we most cherished. We knew weird shit would happen very fast as we got closer to the quantum age. I dare say I find it kind of exciting/horrific in that good intense way that Bataille has documented richly. There’s a lot of despair and raw anger but we should never forget that action is everything. Supported by the latter imperative, we are enabled to continually suck the poison from the open wound while beating on. / TV
I really enjoyed Mutations. It might be the only book I made it through front to back in 2020. Excited to see what you have to say here.
Oh and AI still can’t get the fingers right… yet.
The growing sense that reality itself is something up for debate is wholly terrifying and all too real. We unknowingly look to the theories of Ontology and Eternalism (or Presentism if you’re a weirdo) for understanding of the intangible, ever-shifting goalposts of life. I’m with you on this ride.
Hello Sam — Our interests and biographies have intersected at various stages. I too departed from a serious science fiction addiction at an early age (I think Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash was my last hit). Yet, I’m not sure we shouldn’t just all feel deliriously excited by all of this. After CalArts and a half-hearted, decades-long investment in (surrender to) international academe that abruptly ended with a ‘voluntary deportation’ to Tijuana, I find to my surprise that the world and my life have become much like the stories and characters in those SF books/ films I/we most cherished. We knew weird shit would happen very fast as we got closer to the quantum age. I dare say I find it kind of exciting/horrific in that good intense way that Bataille has documented richly. There’s a lot of despair and raw anger but we should never forget that action is everything. Supported by the latter imperative, we are enabled to continually suck the poison from the open wound while beating on. / TV
The worst/stupidest thing I've seen recently is the news of the Apple Vision Pro. There's an opinion piece in the NY Times that I think captured my sense of dread around this announcement: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/opinion/virtual-reality-goggles.html