John C. Wright's Blog, page 187

Nature, Language, and Supernature

I asked robertjwizard  , our Dark Overlord, his opinion on this question, which I would like to throw open to any other reader who cares to comment: "what is it about Socratic philosophy (or about all philosophy) that makes it start with pragmatic questions and end with mythical visions?"

His comment: 

As far as Socratic/Platonic philosophy goes I would say, tentatively, that it is because of his epistemology, his Forms and the Form of the Good. It lent a general direction to how he tackled all ...

Wright Writing Corner: Two Ideas Fomenting in Fermentation

The lovely and talented Mrs. Wright has another guest blogger Benjamin Tate, speaking of his novel WELL OF SORROWS and its genesis.

http://arhyalon.livejournal.com/117868.html

I’ve discovered over the years that most of my novel ideas come in pairs. One idea isn’t enough to sustain an entire novel. For me, there needs to be a second idea woven into the first, and that gives me a strong enough story for something novel length. (Short story ideas are just one idea . . . perhaps still in...

Magneto Denounces Theism - or - Why it is Good to Feed the Crow

For those who did not see it, here  is the speech by Adam Savage mentioned by Lotdw in an earlier discussion in this place. I quote the final paragraphs:

Though a primary mover is the most complex and thus (given Occam's razor) the least likely of all possible solutions to the particular problem of how we got here, I can't prove it true or false, and there's nothing to really discuss about it.

If Daniel Dennett is right — that there's a human genetic need for religion — then I'd like to...

A short observation on STARMAKER by Stapledon

Part of an ongoing conversation. A reader known only by the mysterious initials whswhs  has this remark about myths: 

"I take a myth to be a story about beings who can act on a cosmic scale; who, rather than being part of nature, are the shapers of nature, with powers that transcend nature, and whose actions in the past made nature what it is and may have caused it to come into being in the first place. Tolkien's account of the Valar is a myth; so is Blake's story of the division of the Four Zo...

Wright's Writing Corner -- Open Active

Latest from an ongoing series of writing tips from L. Jagi Lamplighter:

http://arhyalon.livejournal.com/117379.html

In which is discussed the technique called in medias res of opening a story or scene in the midst of the action.

“I cut hard to the right, avoiding an oncoming truck. We had risen early this morning so we could wash the car before setting out. At the time, it had not occurred to us that they might find us during the trip, so we had not brought our weapons. If they caught us, all...

Still having promiscuous sex with in a consequence-free environment...

An article from The American Culture website, touching a theme I have more than once addressed:
In a recent article on “The New Backlash Against Casual Sex,” Slate “Double X”  blogger Jessica Grose reacts with abject revulsion toward recent events manifesting what she sees as the “fervent conservatism” of the current decade. These atrocities include a new book called I Don’t Care About Your Band , in which feminist writer Julie Klausner documents her disappointments with casual sex.

Espying a...

A New Genre

Part of an ongoing conversation:

There is a new genre different from science fiction that could not have existed except in a culture where science fiction has lingered for a century -- call it retrofuture, anachronistic science fiction, steampunk, or tales of futures past. This genre includes anything that at one time in the past had been futuristic science fiction and now can no longer be, except perhaps as sideways-in-time tales. It would include both Jules Verne and deliberate later attemp...

End Scene of Ringworld

One of my readers admits she has never read to the end of Larry Nivens' widely admired RINGWORLD

As a public service, I will describe the final scenes in detail of his Nebula & Hugo-Award winning classic:

Louis Wu manages to destroy the Thrint Slaver by splashing her with a bucket of liquid oxygen. As a reward, Nessus is given a courage by the Ringworld Engineer, who turns out to be a Pak Protector; Teela Brown gets a heart and marries Conan the Barbarian; and Speaker-to-Animals gets a brain; ...

Great Books of SF -- Reader feedback -- and a tentative defintion of SF v F

Part of an ongoing conversation:

Hmmm. DUNE, for me, does not stand up to re-reading. The only sympathetic character is Paul... at the beginning. By the end, I really don't much care what happens even to him. (And the sequels are unbearably oppressive - and worse, dull.)

It does evoke a sense of wonder, though, I'll give you that. There's some compelling stuff in there. I'm glad I read it. It just ...

TRAILER: Kino International's Restored 'Metropolis'

The fine fellows over at SfSignal, by way of FirstShowing.net, reveal that the long-lost complete version of Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS is being released. TRAILER: Kino International's Restored 'Metropolis'

For those of you unfamiliar with the backstory, METROPOLIS had been (in my opinion) ruthlessly and awkwardly edited for its release in England and America back in the 1920's, and the title cards rehashed. The English-language writer (whose name I deservedly forget) was someone not very sympath...