Leonard > Recent Status Updates

p.84 "'There isn't any particular relationship between all the messages, except that the author has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time.'"

p.76 "Billy coughed when the door was opened, and when he coughed he shit thin gruel. This was in accordance with the Third Law of Motion according to Isaac Newton. This law tells us that for every action there is a reaction which is equal and opposite in direction.
This can be useful in rocketry."

p. 84 "The brain consists of billions of neurons, buzzing away, oblivious pf the overall plan... On the other hand we have thoughts, feelings, emotions, volitions and so on. This higher level, holistic, mental world is equally oblivious of the brain cells... But the fact that the lower level is ruled by logic need not contradict the fact that the upper mental level can be illogical and emotional."

p.29 "A chaplain's assistant is customarily a figure of fun in the American Army. Billy was no exception. He was powerless to harm the enemy or to help his friends. In fact, he had no friends."

On p.80 "...some physicist now think of space and time as derived, rather than primitive concepts. They believe that spacetime is built up out of subunits (not places or moments, but abstract entities) that would also embody quantum features."

P.18 "I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee."

P.59 "What is Life? To the physicist the two distinguishing features of living systems are complexity and organization. Even a simple single-celled organism, primitive as it is, displays an intricacy and fidelity unmatched by any product of human ingenuity."

Since we already have genetically modified tomato, soy, corn, etc, I guess it isn't too far-fetched to have pigoons, wolvogs and rakunks.

The "children" of Oryx and Crake--the new Adam and Eve--created through genetic engineering for a new heaven and a new earth. A dark vision of the future.

More words of wisdom. P. 213 "Prevention is best--it's better to punish first, before any crimes are committed."

Another piece of wisdom. P. 131 "If no one wants to fight, no one will die. Then war would be pointless. So it's vital to have men... who want to throw themselves in the line of fire. Other like me can then live without being harassed by so many people breathing down our necks."

Space time growing from space time to create daughter universes. And space time singularities as fertile ground for producing them.

Here is a bit of wisdom from the book.

P. 13 "People are never so completely and enthusiastically evil as when they act out of religious conviction."

The is conspiracy everywhere. The question is who will plot against whom in the next round.

I have uploaded the chapter of my novel Meditation on Space-Time in my "writing" section for those who may be interested in it. Enjoy.

The idea is that "before there is time" is nonsense because only when there is time could there be "before" and "after."