5 ms·

This is the plot of the Ministry for the Future [0]. Power failure during a prolonged wet bulb temperature above 35°C, millions of dead. [0] https://en.m.wikip

by sgu999 3y ago

This is the plot of the Ministry for the Future [0]. Power failure during a prolonged wet bulb temperature above 35°C, millions of dead. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future

FrustratedMonky 3y ago
Also. Termination Shock, Stephenson. In Texas there was AC failures, and people needed Earth Suits (like a space suit with air conditioning) to survive.
- varelse 3y ago
  Ministry For The Future was far too optimistic. Termination Shock presents how late stage capitalism and the accelerationists would team up to make money on half-baked science to save the planet. The West will probably be fine but we're going to make Mao and Stalin look like amateur hour mass murderers when we finally save our own butts.
netsharc 3y ago
Is it a plot? It's an event that happens in chapter 1 and paints a "this is what will happen" scenario. The whole chapter is available here: https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-ministry-for-the-future/ https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-ministry-for-t...
- throwanem 3y ago
  The term of art is "inciting incident," I believe.
- FrustratedMonky 3y ago
  Kind of being pedantic about definition of "plot" or "plot point". Isn't this whole book about climate change? And the character experiences a climate 'event', that impacts the direction of the story? Changes their perspective? "There's a common misconception that a plot point is anything that happens in a story. In this way, people often confuse a plot point for a story beat. Story beats are the smallest units of storytelling, allowing you to break down a story into small parts without looking at individual paragraphs or sentences. A plot point, on the other hand, marks a major turning point in the plot. So a story beat and a plot point will overlap, but not every story beat is a plot. There are far more story beats than plot points in a given story." https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/plot/plot-point/ https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/plot/plot-point/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_point https://kindlepreneur.com/plot-point/ https://kindlepreneur.com/plot-point/
  - netsharc 3y ago
    > Kind of being pedantic about definition of "plot" or "plot point". > Isn't this whole book about climate change? Wouldn't that be called the theme of the book? There are several interwoven plots, the main one being the story of the Ministry and of the people working for it.
    - FrustratedMonky 3y ago
      Guess that is why I used "Pedantic". Just arguing around definitions of words at this point. What is a "plot" versus "theme" versus "just an incident" verses "plot point". If you want to say there are several 'plots', thus the book's 'plot', is not climate change, because climate change is really an overall 'theme', but not a plot. I took the previous discussion to mean, that there was an event with a wet-bulb incident, and this one 'incident' could be a 'plot point' in one of the plots. And guess overall theme of the book is around climate, which is on display with the wet-bulb 'plot'? So guess, if you are saying I was incorrect because there are several 'plots', thus I can't say "the plot of the book is climate change". Ok. I'm ok with using the word "theme" instead. Edit: Guess I would say the 'plot' of "World War Z" is a 'realistic interpretation of a zombie outbreak'. But, it was all short stories, so not really a 'plot'. But a theme. Maybe the word plot is problem. Means one thing in vernacular, but does mean something more detailed to an English major.
      - netsharc 3y ago
        Some times there are intelligent discussions on HN... This isn't one of those times.
        FrustratedMonky 3y ago
        I agree.
AtlasBarfed 3y ago
Which is why we need a home solar revolution. The grid is going to have to undergo huge evolution, but increasingly corruption and political gridlock make that unreliable. Plus home solar empowers you from centralized control and functions as the only free market alternative to the regulatory captured grid infrastructure. Home storage with sodium ion and hopefully in 2-4 years sodium sulfur will drop costs 50%. Also, your car an function as a secondary battery storage.
- jijijijij 3y ago
  Yes. Also radiative cooling. Lawns literally suck here too, we need more trees and bushes, biomass fixation, in personal homes, for shade and drought resistance. And massive, diverse reforestation to replete ground water reserves and stabilize the local weather. We also need to massively invest in poor countries' ability to survive too. Or else conflicts will spread to us regardless of our own resilience.
  - no_wizard 3y ago
    I'm convinced that there is a contingent in society that has crossed both side of the political spectrum that is increasingly less empathetic to assisting poorer regions of the world as the negative effects of climate change start setting in, and its only going to grow Its anecdotal, but my very progressive friends (think: Bernie Sanders type voters) have over time subtly started expressing opinions that are regressive to world assistance. Namely, an attitude that nations should reap what they sow. They equate ecological devastation in poor countries almost solely to the inability of those countries leaders to do anything effective or sustaining. While they aren't wrong per se, its in ignorance or disregard of other broader factors. All this is to say, I hold little hope that poor countries will receive much aid from richer ones unless they already have something useful to trade
    - netsharc 3y ago
      I can understand why even Bernie Sanders type voters start "victim blaming".. all humans are selfish creatures, and we sure don't want to give up our comforts more than we'd like. Recycling, switching to EVs and LEDs, well, most people are comfortable with that. Never fly to Rome or Thailand again? "But I need to..!", some will say. And sooner or later we'll start justifying their selfishness by saying it's not our fault that Indians are dying in heatwaves (then again, technically it's not my singular fault, maybe the fault of the system that's given me a comfortable life plus luxuries like trips to Rome and Thailand...)

by sgu999 3y ago

FrustratedMonky 3y ago

Also. Termination Shock, Stephenson. In Texas there was AC failures, and people needed Earth Suits (like a space suit with air conditioning) to survive.

varelse 3y ago
Ministry For The Future was far too optimistic. Termination Shock presents how late stage capitalism and the accelerationists would team up to make money on half-baked science to save the planet. The West will probably be fine but we're going to make Mao and Stalin look like amateur hour mass murderers when we finally save our own butts.

netsharc 3y ago

Is it a plot? It's an event that happens in chapter 1 and paints a "this is what will happen" scenario. The whole chapter is available here: https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-ministry-for-the-future/ https://www.orbitbooks.net/orbit-excerpts/the-ministry-for-t...

throwanem 3y ago
The term of art is "inciting incident," I believe.
FrustratedMonky 3y ago
Kind of being pedantic about definition of "plot" or "plot point". Isn't this whole book about climate change? And the character experiences a climate 'event', that impacts the direction of the story? Changes their perspective? "There's a common misconception that a plot point is anything that happens in a story. In this way, people often confuse a plot point for a story beat. Story beats are the smallest units of storytelling, allowing you to break down a story into small parts without looking at individual paragraphs or sentences. A plot point, on the other hand, marks a major turning point in the plot. So a story beat and a plot point will overlap, but not every story beat is a plot. There are far more story beats than plot points in a given story." https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/plot/plot-point/ https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/plot/plot-point/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_point https://kindlepreneur.com/plot-point/ https://kindlepreneur.com/plot-point/
- netsharc 3y ago
  > Kind of being pedantic about definition of "plot" or "plot point". > Isn't this whole book about climate change? Wouldn't that be called the theme of the book? There are several interwoven plots, the main one being the story of the Ministry and of the people working for it.
  - FrustratedMonky 3y ago
    Guess that is why I used "Pedantic". Just arguing around definitions of words at this point. What is a "plot" versus "theme" versus "just an incident" verses "plot point". If you want to say there are several 'plots', thus the book's 'plot', is not climate change, because climate change is really an overall 'theme', but not a plot. I took the previous discussion to mean, that there was an event with a wet-bulb incident, and this one 'incident' could be a 'plot point' in one of the plots. And guess overall theme of the book is around climate, which is on display with the wet-bulb 'plot'? So guess, if you are saying I was incorrect because there are several 'plots', thus I can't say "the plot of the book is climate change". Ok. I'm ok with using the word "theme" instead. Edit: Guess I would say the 'plot' of "World War Z" is a 'realistic interpretation of a zombie outbreak'. But, it was all short stories, so not really a 'plot'. But a theme. Maybe the word plot is problem. Means one thing in vernacular, but does mean something more detailed to an English major.
    - netsharc 3y ago
      Some times there are intelligent discussions on HN... This isn't one of those times.
      - FrustratedMonky 3y ago
        I agree.

AtlasBarfed 3y ago

Which is why we need a home solar revolution. The grid is going to have to undergo huge evolution, but increasingly corruption and political gridlock make that unreliable. Plus home solar empowers you from centralized control and functions as the only free market alternative to the regulatory captured grid infrastructure. Home storage with sodium ion and hopefully in 2-4 years sodium sulfur will drop costs 50%. Also, your car an function as a secondary battery storage.

jijijijij 3y ago
Yes. Also radiative cooling. Lawns literally suck here too, we need more trees and bushes, biomass fixation, in personal homes, for shade and drought resistance. And massive, diverse reforestation to replete ground water reserves and stabilize the local weather. We also need to massively invest in poor countries' ability to survive too. Or else conflicts will spread to us regardless of our own resilience.
- no_wizard 3y ago
  I'm convinced that there is a contingent in society that has crossed both side of the political spectrum that is increasingly less empathetic to assisting poorer regions of the world as the negative effects of climate change start setting in, and its only going to grow Its anecdotal, but my very progressive friends (think: Bernie Sanders type voters) have over time subtly started expressing opinions that are regressive to world assistance. Namely, an attitude that nations should reap what they sow. They equate ecological devastation in poor countries almost solely to the inability of those countries leaders to do anything effective or sustaining. While they aren't wrong per se, its in ignorance or disregard of other broader factors. All this is to say, I hold little hope that poor countries will receive much aid from richer ones unless they already have something useful to trade
  - netsharc 3y ago
    I can understand why even Bernie Sanders type voters start "victim blaming".. all humans are selfish creatures, and we sure don't want to give up our comforts more than we'd like. Recycling, switching to EVs and LEDs, well, most people are comfortable with that. Never fly to Rome or Thailand again? "But I need to..!", some will say. And sooner or later we'll start justifying their selfishness by saying it's not our fault that Indians are dying in heatwaves (then again, technically it's not my singular fault, maybe the fault of the system that's given me a comfortable life plus luxuries like trips to Rome and Thailand...)