Peter Tillman
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
[continued on next rock] What I wonder is, how likely her fictional biology might be? She hypothesized a long-ago genetic manipulation of the ancestral Gethenians (who were homo saps??), for the ambisexual bit that was such a hit in "Left Hand of Darkness". Since you are something of an sfnal expert on alternate human biology & sexuality.... GR has a very short word limit on these queries! TIA, Pete Tillman
Lois McMaster Bujold
I think you want an actual biologist or biology/evolution pop sci or scientific book/article to answer this question, and as recent as possible -- basically, anything published in the biological sciences more than five years old is likely to be out of date. Sometimes, more than one year old. But the peculiarities of human mating cycles compared to the other primates have been commented-upon since, gosh, Desmond Morris? Speaking of out-of-date pop sci.
I briefly met Le Guin exactly once, at a convention many years ago, so cannot pretend to speak for her in any way. Note, though, that in most works of fiction there will be at least two levels, representation and metaphor, and it is as well not to confuse one with the other.
Ta, L.
I think you want an actual biologist or biology/evolution pop sci or scientific book/article to answer this question, and as recent as possible -- basically, anything published in the biological sciences more than five years old is likely to be out of date. Sometimes, more than one year old. But the peculiarities of human mating cycles compared to the other primates have been commented-upon since, gosh, Desmond Morris? Speaking of out-of-date pop sci.
I briefly met Le Guin exactly once, at a convention many years ago, so cannot pretend to speak for her in any way. Note, though, that in most works of fiction there will be at least two levels, representation and metaphor, and it is as well not to confuse one with the other.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Henry
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Just a comment about the difference of reading a physical book vs an ebook. I purchased "The Curse of Chalion" back in 2001 and held onto it for over 12 years before I got my first Kindle. The book shows all the wear and literally over a hundred times that I've gone through it - but the e-readers can't show any of that. Isn't there something very different from handling a physical book and flipping through pages?
Russell Hobart
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Hello Lois, You've brought me endless hours of joy. Thank you. How are you able to bring so many dark aspects (I'm thinking specifically Mirror Dance with Mark and Ryoval, etc.) but the story feels uplifting? I compare this to The Road which I still feel scarred by. Character trajectory is part of the answer but I feel I am missing something.
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