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A normal *smart* person. Which is even more rare. The chapter where he deduces where he's from based on what units he uses when he thinks about distance is inc
by bgroat 5y ago
A normal *smart* person. Which is even more rare.
The chapter where he deduces where he's from based on what units he uses when he thinks about distance is incredible.
- UI_at_80x24 5y agoAs a Canadian living close to the US border, that section was relatable. Using both units (metric and imperial) depending on scale has always felt unique to my geography/age.
- bgroat 5y agoI'm also Canadian and thought the very same thing! I also really liked how he dialed in: - Okay, so I use X unit when I thing of A, and Y Unit when I think of B.... But what kind of person am I that I know those values off the top of my head?
- vagrantJin 5y agoHaha. Yeah the early chapters really set a brilliant tone. I thought the smart bit was implied. I would think if we were going to send someone to another star system to research how to stop our species from dying out - we'd send someone of the intellectual elite at the very least, "kicking and screaming" What a brilliant book.
- bgroat 5y agoYou're absolutely right from a narrative sense. I meant that writing a believable normal person is hard. Most people are normal. But writing a smart person is hard, because you often just have to have them solve problems faster/remember more/have information that the reader doesn't. Project Hail Mary did a wonderful job of showing that a smart person doesn't necessarily think "The same, but faster", but that they think differently and deliberately