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Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59
- Thasc 13y agoI am so glad he had the chance to see how much he and his work are appreciated, and by so many people. RIP.
- Tloewald 13y agoI'm really getting sick of my favorite people dying of cancer. I hope he had some fun.
- tomjen3 13y agoI just hate cancer, and I can't believe we don't have the cure yet, but I guess there just isn't enough money in it.
- reaperhulk 13y agoJust in case you're not being facetious...Cancer is a label that groups a huge variety of diseases that involve "unregulated cell growth" (thanks Wikipedia!). Curing "cancer" is extremely difficult because it isn't one thing.
- anu_gupta 13y agoI was tempted to reply saying something similar, but he's a troll, and I don't think there's much point feeding it.
- venomsnake 13y agoCuring any cancer is extremely easy. The hard part is the host surviving the cure :( RIP. Never read many of his stuff but what I read was very good. I do hope he hadn't suffered much at the end.
- kolinko 13y agohttp://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1500#comic http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1500#comic
- tomjen3 13y agoThen at least the cure for one type of cancer. I am okay with there being different cures for different types. What I am not okay with is that is that I haven't seen a cure for any type of cancer that doesn't boil down to lets kill a ton of cells using methods that are slightly less likely to kill normal cells than cancer cells.
- michaelochurch 13y agoMany types of cancer that were uniformly fatal 50 years ago now have near-100% survival rates. The easier ones have been cracked. The hard ones are left. The reason cancer is so hard to fight is that it's not so much a single type of bad cell but an evolutionary process (see: clonal evolution) that continues to generate hardier bad cells. Cancer is when cells become individually fit (in an aggressive way) at the expense of the organism. Cancer isn't one undesirable mutation; a typical cancer cell has at least 5 detectable mutations. It's a process. The perversity is that cancer treatments are themselves carcinogenic (of different cancers) because the stress on the body (exposure to cellular toxics) causes faster mutation and creates more opportunities for mutant cells (that thrive amid the toxin, at least differentially) to take over. This is also why cancer can stop responding to treatment. It's like antibiotic resistance. People are working on more targeted treatments (including minimally invasive ones like radiofrequency ablation) than the typical systemic chemotherapy. The problem is that these are best used with early detection. At Stage IV, the cancer is likely to be all over the body and systemic treatments are necessary... but there are limits to how far those work.
- tomjen3 13y agoI want to thank you for that answer, it is the first explenation I have been given that doesn't simply point out that doctors and their relatives also die of cancer (but what single doctor can found even a single research cure? FDA approval would take years and not be very certain at all). But you say that some of the easier cancers have already been cured (near 100% survival rate, which is as good as it gets since it would always be possible to discover too late), or mostly so: do you know why this haven't been more widely published or talked about? I mean we haven't cured all infectiones diseases (or even the common cold), but when the cure was found for polio it was massively published, to the extends that court rooms took a break to hear the announcements.
- thingification 13y agoThat might depend on how you look at it: http://www.sens.org/research/introduction-to-sens-research/nuclear-mutations http://www.sens.org/research/introduction-to-sens-research/n... High risk, ambitious ideas are more than worth a try.
- michaelochurch 13y agoI wouldn't just say cancer is about "unregulated cell growth". What it's about is a conflict of interest at the cellular level. Some cells become individually fit at the expense of the highly specialized civilization called an organism. It's not just "growth" (mass effect) that makes them so dangerous, because if it were only that, the cancer would just displace stuff (like a benign tumor which, contrary to the name, can kill you-- especially in the brain, where displacement can be fatal because location/connection matters). In addition to reproduction, cancers steal resources from (and starve) or invade healthy cells and cause organs to fail. The underlying theme isn't just "cell growth". It's about cells that override the body's mechanisms for coupling individual fitness with the body's needs. Much of what makes the disease hard to treat is that cancer cells become increasingly fit (individually speaking) over time, and while systemically damaging the environment (e.g. chemotherapy, radiation) works great if it kills all of them, if it doesn't, it leaves an even more fit subset alive.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- stevoski 13y agoA third of people in rich countries die from cancer. There's plenty of money in it. It is just that unregulated cell growth is an extremely difficult problem to solve.
- daniel-cussen 13y agoWe need more regulation! But yeah, there seems to be tons of money in the problem. Take into account how many rich people don't want to die and have cancer. And, while there are many different kinds of cancer, they all just boil down to unregulated cell growth. Could that be solved programmatically? I think so, provided we could interpret existing genetic code and write it from scratch. But we are far from this--at the moment, we can't even read it in long strands very well.
- sgt101 13y agoThe underpinning assumption seems to be that genetic code works as a program - that there is computation as understood in the sense of Church/Turing. I don't know if that is true. I do know that no one knows if it is true. The other stronger assumption is that the processes that underpin how cells work are mechanistic in the way that we understand mechanistic processes, that is to say that there is no hidden step that invokes "a new physics". Again I say I do not know if this is true, but no one knows that it is true. We are silly apes at the beginning of an intellectual adventure that may last for hundreds of thousands of years, or more. Or it may not, we may snuff ourselves out, or we may find that things are as simple as our current theories seem to intuit. However I would point to the following; until recently (20 years) cosmologists were utterly unaware of 80% of the universe as it is now perceived, there are five models of probability in common use in statistics even though there are probably (geddit) an infinite number of models, no one knows what life is, no one can adequately define intelligence, no one can adequately define consciousness; no one can describe the processes that define a cell; no one can make a list like this that is not risible (seriously). The point is, we know shit, and it's really not surprising given how big the universe is and how long we've been in the game of trying (with any degree of seriousness) to understand it.
- Vivtek 13y ago"The cure for cancer" is about an ill-defined goal as "the right way to earn money" - it's a very complex topic and we're making a shitload of progress on it every year. Which doesn't mean it doesn't suck.
- kolinko 13y agoThere is a lot of money invested in this, it's just that it's terribly hard, and - as others said - there is no simple cure. http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1162 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1162
- ams6110 13y agoOr maybe it's just one of those things in the real world that doesn't have any easy answers.
- soitgoes 13y agoThey're doing very well with testicular cancer treatment. About 90% are cured regardless of stage. Treatment of other cancers hasn't progressed as well unfortunately.
- incision 13y agoAgreed. For some incredibly interesting reading on the history of battle against cancer I highly recommend The Empreror of All Maladies [0]. 0: http://www.amazon.com/The-Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography/dp/1439170916 http://www.amazon.com/The-Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography/dp/...
- sjclemmy 13y agoI've loved most of his books since I first read The Wasp Factory in 1987. A sad loss. I hope someone does a faithful and sympathetic movie version of one of his culture novels. RIP
- bragh 13y agoNo such thing as a movie, but there's a short fan film called Something Real: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET8IFxPo61w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET8IFxPo61w If I remember correctly, Banks wasn't opposed to someone making a MMORPG based on Culture, I don't know how he felt about films. Maybe it's better Hollywood didn't touch it, the feel of Culture could probably be pulled off only in anime form.
- sjclemmy 13y agoI've heard rumours of rights being purchased etc, however not to Consider Phlebas. I think given the nature of cgi these days, it wouldn't be that hard to pull off a big budget version of Excession. Which, as I've just noticed was written in 1996. Is it really that old?
- glogla 13y agoMost of the plot in Excession is however done in space-IRC logs and space-emails between Minds, so I'm not sure it would lend itself well to movie form. Player of Games is similar example, lot of what's happening is metaphored using games and would be hard to transfer to screen without breaking the show-don't-tell rule of good movies. Consider Phlebas would work, I think even Banks himself said that from the Culture series, it's the most Movie-like book. And I think we have some directors crazy enough to do Use of Weapons right, though it would require John Murphy for music ;)
- bragh 13y agoI hope our galaxy's version of the Culture are good guys and backed him up, so he can have a very enjoyable and long life. RIP.
- rasur 13y agoI recall reading an article by him (about a month or so ago), shortly before reading an article about a new possible cancer cure (sadly still untested on humans). A sad loss for the literary world (amongst others). I hope he got the opportunity to make "an honest widow" (as he joked) of his girlfriend before he left. Safe travels Iain, you'll be missed by many.
- nsns 13y agoHere's a strong recommendation to anyone who hasn't read yet The Bridge by Banks, to go and read that wonderful novel. Not to mention his classic and highly imaginative Sci-fi novels: The Player of Games, Feersum Endjinn, Use of Weapons, Excession...
- MikeCapone 13y agoOn the non-science fiction side, The Wasp Factory is also great, as is Crow Road and Complicity (if you want something closer to a crime thriller).
- Fuzzwah 13y agoI am a huge Banks fan, but I really didn't enjoy The Wasp Factory.
- nsns 13y agoI think the Wasp Factory, although obviously well written, was mostly functional, it got Banks the recognition he deserved, and initiated his literary career. He did write other novels before it, which only got published afterwards, and at least during his first creative decade, was highly creative and very ambitious (Against A Dark Background, The Crow Road, etc. all very ambitious works).
- misnome 13y agoI also found "The Business" a very good book, that should be good for people starting to read him.
- crapshoot101 13y agoThat was the one novel I could not stand of his - I almost thought it was written as a parody.
- Angostura 13y ago
- sixQuarks 13y agoWhy do great people like Iain Banks, Steve Jobs, Carl Sagan all die relatively young, while evil sons of bitches like Dick Cheney live to a ripe old age despite having 100 heart attacks?
- flatline 13y agoConfirmation bias
- chris_wot 13y agoObviously confirmation bias is a very long term illness.
- kolinko 13y agoThere are a plenty of examples that say otherwise. Also, the older someone is the higher chance you'll get to hate him. "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain."
- michaelochurch 13y agoMost people I know become better as they age, even if the change is slight (i.e. wholly bad people rarely turn to good people just because they get older). Certainly, I'm a much better person than I was ten years ago. That might just be reversion to the mean, because I was somewhat of an asshole.
- vidarh 13y agoEven if the get better, some of them might get the power and time to do stuff that more people will consider bad. I have no idea if Dick Cheney got better or worse with age, for example, but being VP under Bush certainly gave him a far better opportunity for stuff people disliked about him to be noticed.
- mercurial 13y ago
- shabble 13y agoIt was only yesterday I came across his most recent update[1] and was hoping the best for him. Truly a sad day for all who knew him, or enjoyed his works. In the spirit of Douglas Adams' Towel Day[2], I propose the institution of 'Anti-Gravitas Day', date to be determined. [1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/21/iain-banks-updates-fans-cancer http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/21/iain-banks-updat... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towel_Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towel_Day
- saraid216 13y ago> date to be determined I've never read Banks and don't know anything about him or his worlds aside from the reputation, but failing to find a better day, I'd suggest picking the release date of one of his books.
- drakeandrews 13y agoHow about January 2nd? It's the day on which the GCU Arbitrary left Earth orbit in The State of the Art.
- shabble 13y agoI was just flicking through Excession trying to find some appropriate event, but yes, I think that would do nicely. As a bonus, it's also a Scottish bank holiday[1] [1] http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/bank-holidays/ http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/bank-holidays/
- andyjohnson0 13y agoI'm feeling really sad about this. His culture novels in particular had a big effect on me. Right now it seems like the world just got a little bit less interesting and less fun.
- bpizzi 13y agoHaving defined the most beautiful imaginary world where there's no more sickness and unwanted death, and dying of cancer before 60. What a cruel world where're living in. I'll go and reopen Excession for one more time - just for you, dear Iain.
- f4stjack 13y agoThis is a sad day... the world, hell the universe, had become a greyer place... Rest in peace Mr. Banks. Your books saved me from depression&suicide.
- swayvil 13y agoa man of taste. damn good writer too.
- defen 13y agoDamn. I literally just finished reading Use of Weapons two days ago. I had no idea he was ill :-(
- dschiptsov 13y agoHe managed to create better Kafkian Castle than Kafka himself in his second novel "Walking on Glass". He left a lot of pages to enjoy.
- elliott34 13y agoFrom his wikipedia: "Following graduation Banks chose a succession of jobs that left him free to write in the evenings. These posts supported his writing throughout his twenties and allowed him to take long breaks between contracts, during which time he travelled through Europe, Scandinavia and North America. He was an expediter analyser for IBM, a technician (for British Steel) and a costing clerk for a Chancery Lane, London law firm during this period of his life.[4]" Kind of inspiring. Most of my generation (I am 23) want instant gratification and won't eat shit like a guy like Banks would in order to support what he really liked to do.
- hartror 13y agoMy sister is a writer[1] in her mid twenties and she is doing similar things to Banks. [1] http://www.randomhouse.com.au/authors/rhiannon-hart.aspx http://www.randomhouse.com.au/authors/rhiannon-hart.aspx
- Uncompetative 13y agoNice plug you've snuck in there. I'll make a point to avoid her books. I might of actually read them otherwise.
- stormbrew 13y agoAside from the fact that none of those jobs sound like 'eating shit' to me, you might take notice that most of his generation didn't either.
- Uchikoma 13y agoSuch a sad day.
- crapshoot101 13y agoWhat a shame. One of the most brilliant authors of his generation - I'd urge everyone here to read Use of Weapons, which is storytelling done right.
- Nursie 13y agoPossibly two of the most brilliant :) RIP writer man...
- crapshoot101 13y agoA very good point. In that vein, let me recommend Whit from the non-scfi side; the most sympathetic book about a 19 year old cult member that you can imagine (especially from an avowed atheist like Banks)
- egypturnash 13y ago/me cracks a bottle of whiskey across the bow of the ROU The Infuriating Fragility Of Life In A Pre-Contact Civilisation
- arethuza 13y agoI had rather hoped that Iain was from the Culture - sending a Contact operative down to drink whisky and write about Drug-using Commies in Space would be just the kind of sneaky but nice thing they would do.
- egypturnash 13y agoIn the middle of the night, Iain turned over and whispered to the transceiver hidden in his wedding ring. "It's over, people. I just can't take any more of this terrible planet." After a brief argument, there was a soft pop as the Steaming Piles Of Freshly-Laid Gravitas Displaced the Culture agent, leaving a cooling meat puppet in his place.
- nsns 13y agoA list of Culture spaceships: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Cultu...
- arethuza 13y agoI propose that if Scotland does get independence that we adopt Culture ship names for our future (tiny) navy. I rather like the idea of a fishery protection vessel called the "Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall".
- saraid216 13y agoSo Much for Subtlety.
- shabble 13y ago> I rather like the idea of a fishery protection vessel called the "Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall". I'd go with the Me, I'm counting.
- grey-area 13y agoWhat a wonderful idea - less intimidating than the UK's use of SkyNet for UK satellite systems, but unfortunately far less likely to happen. In the meantime we can always use ship names for online avatars ;)
- arethuza 13y agoI would have thought the prize for intimidating ship names goes to HMS Vengeance, one of the UK's Trident missile subs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vengeance_%28S31%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vengeance_%28S31%29 NB I've always assumed Iain's fascination with ship names was related to his father being in the Navy - like his fascination with Really Big Things was influenced by living in North Queensferry as a kid.
- ZeroGravitas 13y agoI'd vote for a political party called The Culture, with policies to match, in an independent Scotland.
- TomAnthony 13y agoSince hearing he was ill on Hacker News, back in April, I decided I should finally get back to reading. I followed the recommendations here and read The Player of Games, then moved on to Consider Phlebas which I finished this morning. Afterwards, I went over to his website to see how he was doing. The two books I read were fantastic and it is bittersweet to have discovered them in such a way. However, I'm thankful to him for getting me back to reading. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- cjdavis 13y agoI spent six weeks in London for a college exchange class the summer of 1990 and discovered Banks and the Culture; I believe it was Consider Phlebas. One of the best parts of that summer. I remember the delays in releases of books once back in the US was agonizing. Fuck cancer.
- jacquesm 13y agoSo quick :( I hoped he would have a bit more time to enjoy his newly wedded state. Thanks for all the wonderful stories.
- emehrkay 13y agoVery far off tangent: I do not know who the author is, but in reading the first paragraph I thought that "The Crow Road and Complicity" was a single book because of the exclusion of the Oxford Comma and titles do not capitalize words like "and." I would assume that the BBC used the Oxford Comma (according to this article, they do not), does the author?
- Angostura 13y agoThe Oxford comma isn't taught in the UK, at least when I was a lad. There was a strict rule - you don't use commas before the word 'and'.
- emehrkay 13y agoInteresting, and thanks for the reply. I did see in the Wikipedia article that there is a divid on its usage in British practice. The downvotes on my original comment is interesting. I'm certain that a writer would like talk of his craft after his demise, just like programmers would like to see comments about if he used ternary operators, why/why not.
- vonskippy 13y agoMaybe a little more science for science's sake, and less science that starts with "how many patients and how much money will it make us" and we'd have a much better chance at beating cancer. We're allowing gene sequence patents FFS. Which is why I left academic science in the 90's and became an engineer - my brain is still stimulated but my blood pressure is way (WAY) lower.
- porsupah 13y agoIain Banks, for me, was the individual responsible for introducing me to seriously good Scotch. ^_^ It was East(er)con '90, at the Adelphi Hotel - a rather wonderful example of architecture, designed by someone with a passion for steps, to the point that you couldn't walk more than 20' without at least a single step along the way - after a long, good day of con proceedings. We were gathered around in the lobby, around 3am, a circle of some dozen attendees, and he begins passing his whisky flask around. I forget what it was, specifically, but I believe something at least a dozen years old, maybe even a 21. It was a revelation. ^_^ There was no barrier - no Famous Person, just a bunch of people who all enjoyed sci-fi, chatting into the early hours. He made the world a richer place to inhabit.
- barking 13y agoIn Liverpool(often passed it, never in it but heard some stories)?
- adrianhoward 13y agoSad, if not unexpected, news. My only other comment would be to encourage folk to go read his books. All of 'em - not just the "M". Too many geekish folk only pick up his Culture books - and they're missing out on some really great reads.
- eli_gottlieb 13y agoWelp, I'm now contractually obligated to go read his books. Yeah, like I needed an excuse to read more scifi /s.