5 ms·

Only slightly off topic, but anyone who hasn't should read Philip K Dick. Reading an anthology of his short stories is like reading the plot summary of almost e

by debacle 12y ago

Only slightly off topic, but anyone who hasn't should read Philip K Dick. Reading an anthology of his short stories is like reading the plot summary of almost every major Sci-Fi film in the last 30 years.

FlailFast 12y ago
Quite true, and sometimes in a very literal[1] sense![2] [1] Literal in the classic sense, not the contranymical nonsense that has been thrust upon it thanks to teenagers who "can't even"...read a dictionary. [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Philip_K._Dick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by...
- cbd1984 12y ago
  Wow. You know nothing about English. Dickens used "literally" in a figurative sense: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 Looks like you literally can't even read a dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally > 2 : in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins> It's fun to take illiterate pedants down a peg. Everyone should try it for themselves.
  - FlailFast 12y ago
    Okay, so I came across a bit strong there, and I apologize for that. Yes, language is fluid, and meanings "flip polarity" all the time ("nonplussed" comes to mind). Yes, there is ample evidence that it was used to mean "with emphasis, but not in reality" for some time. I was wrong. I was attempting to make a glib remark without much consideration for facts...next time I'll endeavor to either keep my snide commentary to myself, or at least do a bit of fact checking. ...but in the mean time/back to the parent topic, people really should read Phillip K. Dick. He's a fantastic writer and visionary, and uses language far better than I can.
    - irremediable 12y ago
      Haha, good on you for recognising where you came across badly and backing down. And yeah, I'm completely in agreement: PKD is amazing.
- brownbat 12y ago
  Though I've often found if you want a sense of the original, mostly imagine a book based on the complete opposite message of the film. Spoilers... In Minority Report (film), the protagonist does everything to save one innocent abused by the state. In the book, well, let's just say if you want a perfect society you've got to break a few eggs. In Paycheck (film), he sides with government regulators to stop a corrupt corporation. In Paycheck (book) he sides with a corrupt corporation to take down the government. In The Golden Man, the government hunts a powerful and dangerous mutant. In Next, the powerful mutant sides with the government to stop terrorists. I know Dick wasn't in favor of killing cops or corrupt corporations or hunting down people who are different, but the best thing about all of those stories is that they put the protagonists in these sort of awful lifeboat ethics dilemmas, dilemmas that are apparently far too interesting to waste on film audiences.
myth_buster 12y ago
I picked up my first Philip K Dick novel (Ubik) recently and it blew me away. I could see the plot elements which were later used in Matrix, Inception and a few other movies. Its fascinating to see how many of his novels got made into movies or were inspirations. I believe it was Keanu Reeves who said his favorite under rated movie is A Scanner Darkly. He is a very interesting character and a lot of enigma?/controversy surrounds him. This was an interesting conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXeVgEs4sOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXeVgEs4sOo
- pmoriarty 12y ago
  Keanu Reeves probably said that because he starred in it.[1] [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Scanner_Darkly_%28film%29#Cast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Scanner_Darkly_%28film%29#Ca...
jstelly 12y ago
I would definitely recommend his short stories. Most of them are excellent and it's a small investment of time so you can try several to get the feel of his work. If you're reading novels, "Martian Time-Slip" is a good first Philip K Dick book. Although I really enjoy many of his books there are several that may put you off reading more if you read them before you have an appreciation for his work. Martian Time-Slip will give you the flavor of Philip K Dick and show you how innovative and interesting he was as a writer. If you don't enjoy that one I think you will probably not enjoy most of his other novels. If you started with "Confessions of a Crap artist" or even the acclaimed "The man in the high castle" for example you might not have the best first experience with his work. "Ubik" (also mentioned in this thread) is another good choice to start with.
- pmoriarty 12y ago
  I'd start with "Ubik", then "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch", and finally "Martian Time-Slip". Those are Dick's greatest works.

by debacle 12y ago

FlailFast 12y ago

Quite true, and sometimes in a very literal[1] sense![2] [1] Literal in the classic sense, not the contranymical nonsense that has been thrust upon it thanks to teenagers who "can't even"...read a dictionary. [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Philip_K._Dick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by...

cbd1984 12y ago
Wow. You know nothing about English. Dickens used "literally" in a figurative sense: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3007 Looks like you literally can't even read a dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally > 2 : in effect : virtually <will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins> It's fun to take illiterate pedants down a peg. Everyone should try it for themselves.
- FlailFast 12y ago
  Okay, so I came across a bit strong there, and I apologize for that. Yes, language is fluid, and meanings "flip polarity" all the time ("nonplussed" comes to mind). Yes, there is ample evidence that it was used to mean "with emphasis, but not in reality" for some time. I was wrong. I was attempting to make a glib remark without much consideration for facts...next time I'll endeavor to either keep my snide commentary to myself, or at least do a bit of fact checking. ...but in the mean time/back to the parent topic, people really should read Phillip K. Dick. He's a fantastic writer and visionary, and uses language far better than I can.
  - irremediable 12y ago
    Haha, good on you for recognising where you came across badly and backing down. And yeah, I'm completely in agreement: PKD is amazing.
brownbat 12y ago
Though I've often found if you want a sense of the original, mostly imagine a book based on the complete opposite message of the film. Spoilers... In Minority Report (film), the protagonist does everything to save one innocent abused by the state. In the book, well, let's just say if you want a perfect society you've got to break a few eggs. In Paycheck (film), he sides with government regulators to stop a corrupt corporation. In Paycheck (book) he sides with a corrupt corporation to take down the government. In The Golden Man, the government hunts a powerful and dangerous mutant. In Next, the powerful mutant sides with the government to stop terrorists. I know Dick wasn't in favor of killing cops or corrupt corporations or hunting down people who are different, but the best thing about all of those stories is that they put the protagonists in these sort of awful lifeboat ethics dilemmas, dilemmas that are apparently far too interesting to waste on film audiences.

myth_buster 12y ago

I picked up my first Philip K Dick novel (Ubik) recently and it blew me away. I could see the plot elements which were later used in Matrix, Inception and a few other movies. Its fascinating to see how many of his novels got made into movies or were inspirations. I believe it was Keanu Reeves who said his favorite under rated movie is A Scanner Darkly. He is a very interesting character and a lot of enigma?/controversy surrounds him. This was an interesting conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXeVgEs4sOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXeVgEs4sOo

pmoriarty 12y ago
Keanu Reeves probably said that because he starred in it.[1] [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Scanner_Darkly_%28film%29#Cast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Scanner_Darkly_%28film%29#Ca...

jstelly 12y ago

I would definitely recommend his short stories. Most of them are excellent and it's a small investment of time so you can try several to get the feel of his work. If you're reading novels, "Martian Time-Slip" is a good first Philip K Dick book. Although I really enjoy many of his books there are several that may put you off reading more if you read them before you have an appreciation for his work. Martian Time-Slip will give you the flavor of Philip K Dick and show you how innovative and interesting he was as a writer. If you don't enjoy that one I think you will probably not enjoy most of his other novels. If you started with "Confessions of a Crap artist" or even the acclaimed "The man in the high castle" for example you might not have the best first experience with his work. "Ubik" (also mentioned in this thread) is another good choice to start with.

pmoriarty 12y ago
I'd start with "Ubik", then "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch", and finally "Martian Time-Slip". Those are Dick's greatest works.