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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
i get the sense reading this stuff from the 1930s that the first half of the twentieth century was a time when physics seemed like a *really big deal*. relativity, quantum mechanics, the atom bomb. seems like science fiction grew out of this awe at the power of physics
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
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one thing that really strikes me here is that lovecraft and eddington share a strong concern with understanding the *spiritual significance* of discoveries in physics and astronomy. lovecraft wants to know: what does it *mean* that the universe is so vast and empty?
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
it's striking because now arguably nothing *really* interesting has happened in physics for decades. even the discovery of the higgs boson at the LHC was ultimately a yawn. i don't think any scifi authors found anything interesting to do with it
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
the intellectuals who seem powerful now aren't physicists anymore. i think it was tech founders for awhile and maybe that's sort of mixed with crypto people now. which is interesting because many people actively hate and resent these people for having power
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
i do think there's a way in which tech and crypto power feels lame or undignified compared to physicist power. deep insight into the true nature of reality leading to the most powerful weapon ever built is one thing. now instead we have... facebook? bitcoin???
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
you can tell it feels uninspiring because it hasn't inspired good art (that i know of, maybe the social network movie idk i haven't seen it). nobody invented a new genre of fiction based around techbros and cryptobros, they just make fun of them with memes
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
Replying to
@QiaochuYuan
among other things i wonder: what is the science fiction of this era? as in what is the form or forms of art that accurately reflect our current preoccupations and point us forward to something new? (the newness is important so we don't just get stuck in dystopias)
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QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)
@QiaochuYuan
maybe i'm just rehashing great stagnation type stuff here but it's interesting to me to look specifically at the impact of rapid vs. stagnant scientific and technological progress on art
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Jamie
@Jamie_Haszel
Replying to
@QiaochuYuan
I'm not sure inspiring is really the right word for it. Yeah there was this great change, but a lot of it from the eyes of the common person was terrifying. Of the discoveries you talked about the most pertinent was the atom bomb and it's not really awe as opposed to fear.
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Jamie
@Jamie_Haszel
30s economic hardship, seeming impending war. 40s war. 50s seeming impending nuclear war. 60s war and impending nuclear war. Combined with recovering from contintental fights. Plus the changes during this time of fall of various empires.
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