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This is a long read and I fully intend to digest it, but I must say that my favorite thing about the PKD books that I have read[0][1] is usually that part when

This is a long read and I fully intend to digest it, but I must say that my favorite thing about the PKD books that I have read[0][1] is usually that part when the universe literally and/or figuratively falls apart. In other words, his science fiction novels tend to present a plot that involves radical changes to our understanding of how the world works. Upon skimming this submission, there are also twists in the stories he tells here which subvert our understanding of conventional things. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubik [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valis_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valis_(novel)

okareaman 5y ago
My fascination with PKD is his fascination with the nature of reality which I share. "How to Build a Universe..." is a long read but packs in a lot of ideas in essay format. I feel like most of his core beliefs are contained in it. My favorite quality of PKD is that he does not present any idea as something true or something he wants us to believe in. He merely reports what he experiences and then asks himself and us if this could be real and if so how?
- motohagiography 5y ago
  Between PKD's "If you find this world bad, you should see some of the others" talk (https://youtu.be/Q7SxTm_LQW4 https://youtu.be/Q7SxTm_LQW4) predicted the plot of The Matrix back in 1977, and his letters in "Exegesis," his secret to world building was based on remembering it from visions. I don't like his writing, but I do like his ideas. (I even wrote a song about it: https://soundcloud.com/n-gram-music/exegesis https://soundcloud.com/n-gram-music/exegesis )
  - fao_ 5y ago
    Welt Am Draht "predicted" The Matrix in 1973, and it was based on Simulacron-3 which also "predicted" The Matrix, written in 1964. The Matrix was not a specifically unique concept, it was just unfamiliar to audiences at the time. That isn't to say that there isn't something especially good and powerful in it's blend of the aesthetics and themes that Welt Am Draht and the remake The Thirteenth Floor didn't have.
    - JaimeThompson 5y ago
      It was also referenced in a 1976 Dr. Who series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(Doctor_Who) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(Doctor_Who)

okareaman 5y ago

My fascination with PKD is his fascination with the nature of reality which I share. "How to Build a Universe..." is a long read but packs in a lot of ideas in essay format. I feel like most of his core beliefs are contained in it. My favorite quality of PKD is that he does not present any idea as something true or something he wants us to believe in. He merely reports what he experiences and then asks himself and us if this could be real and if so how?

motohagiography 5y ago
Between PKD's "If you find this world bad, you should see some of the others" talk (https://youtu.be/Q7SxTm_LQW4 https://youtu.be/Q7SxTm_LQW4) predicted the plot of The Matrix back in 1977, and his letters in "Exegesis," his secret to world building was based on remembering it from visions. I don't like his writing, but I do like his ideas. (I even wrote a song about it: https://soundcloud.com/n-gram-music/exegesis https://soundcloud.com/n-gram-music/exegesis )
- fao_ 5y ago
  Welt Am Draht "predicted" The Matrix in 1973, and it was based on Simulacron-3 which also "predicted" The Matrix, written in 1964. The Matrix was not a specifically unique concept, it was just unfamiliar to audiences at the time. That isn't to say that there isn't something especially good and powerful in it's blend of the aesthetics and themes that Welt Am Draht and the remake The Thirteenth Floor didn't have.
  - JaimeThompson 5y ago
    It was also referenced in a 1976 Dr. Who series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(Doctor_Who) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(Doctor_Who)