Nerdiness from Noah: Iain M. Banks and 'The Culture'

I had planned for this entry to be about the new Bioshock game but current events have overtaken it and demand a course change. While this column supposedly has a focus on games of the video, computer, and board variety, the editors of this blog have given it a title broad enough to cover many aspects of geek and nerd culture. And culture is what I this column is about today, or more accurately, The Culture: the science-fiction society by Scottish author Iain M. Banks.