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That book ended on a pessimistic note though- with a reenactment of the boxer-war, because those tribes where cultural incompatible- some beeing overly creative

That book ended on a pessimistic note though- with a reenactment of the boxer-war, because those tribes where cultural incompatible- some beeing overly creative and industrious, driving others into dependancy. It also was very pessimistic on technocratic solutions for the "good nurture" problem. Basically nothing can replace a real parent coaxing a self-expanding mind into beeing.

nostrademons 7y ago
I get the sense most Neal Stephenson books don't actually end on either an optimistic or pessimistic note, they just...end. He doesn't seem very interested in passing judgment on whatever future he imagines, he just wants to imagine it. The world simply is the way it is, and humans will continue to be humans, and that occasionally involves doing shitty things. Technology just amplifies that. He's pretty good at imagining it too - The Diamond Age was published in 1995, just as the Internet was beginning to take off, and yet it envisioned The Internet, videoconferencing, smart paper, drones, and a whole bunch of other technological innovations that didn't catch on for 15 years or so. Cryptonomicon was published 10 years before Bitcoin but fully described two of its biggest use-cases, remittances and digital gold. Snow Crash had the "America is good at only 4 things: music, movies, microcode, and high-speed pizza delivery" line in 1992, 20 years before it became true and right as the rest of the country was celebrating us becoming the sole superpower.
- frosted-flakes 7y ago
  Snow Crash is so bizarre. It launches you straight into the story with no explanation, starting off with some crazy pizza delivery man in a rocket car with swords and an electric zapper thing for people who don't pay the bill. The whole book is like that--it never explains how, why, or when, leaving you to piece it all together yourself. The entire time I was reading it, I was waiting for a 30000 feet view of the world. But then it ended, never having fully explained itself. I've never read anything else quite like it, and honestly don't know what I think of it. Are all of Neal Stephenson's books like that?

nostrademons 7y ago

I get the sense most Neal Stephenson books don't actually end on either an optimistic or pessimistic note, they just...end. He doesn't seem very interested in passing judgment on whatever future he imagines, he just wants to imagine it. The world simply is the way it is, and humans will continue to be humans, and that occasionally involves doing shitty things. Technology just amplifies that. He's pretty good at imagining it too - The Diamond Age was published in 1995, just as the Internet was beginning to take off, and yet it envisioned The Internet, videoconferencing, smart paper, drones, and a whole bunch of other technological innovations that didn't catch on for 15 years or so. Cryptonomicon was published 10 years before Bitcoin but fully described two of its biggest use-cases, remittances and digital gold. Snow Crash had the "America is good at only 4 things: music, movies, microcode, and high-speed pizza delivery" line in 1992, 20 years before it became true and right as the rest of the country was celebrating us becoming the sole superpower.

frosted-flakes 7y ago
Snow Crash is so bizarre. It launches you straight into the story with no explanation, starting off with some crazy pizza delivery man in a rocket car with swords and an electric zapper thing for people who don't pay the bill. The whole book is like that--it never explains how, why, or when, leaving you to piece it all together yourself. The entire time I was reading it, I was waiting for a 30000 feet view of the world. But then it ended, never having fully explained itself. I've never read anything else quite like it, and honestly don't know what I think of it. Are all of Neal Stephenson's books like that?