One of the things I like about good SciFi is that it is able to make you think about some of the bigger issues and in a somewhat objective way allows us to see some of the foibles and follies of us humans. I like those kinds of books - sort of philosophy masquerading as SciFi. It makes for good reading and good thinking - you can examine your own thoughts through the lens of the characters.
This book I just read (below) does a good job of that.
It deals with issues like 1) respect for people not like you, 2) looking past the surface to the interior reality, 3) the danger of letting passions and ideology run amok in private lives or society, 4) the value of exploring and finding the truth rather than resting on easy or commonly-accepted assumptions.
All of those things are very relevant in our world today - it seems people are having difficulty figuring out how to live in an ever-shrinking world where they have to deal with people very much NOT like them who have what appear to be different value systems (but are they really? People love their families, want to be successful and happy, want to be safe in their homes and all that - sort of just like us); people seem to be having difficulty balancing the role of private religious belief systems and public, secular legal systems; corporations are running amok and "consuming the earth and everyone on it" as they try to make profits on an ever increasing scale to satisfy market expectations and the greed of top executives; and governments are sometimes seen as the playthings and natural right of possession for the wealthy and connected. Or so it seems to me.
Anyway, it was an interesting read that meshed with some of the things I think about now and then.
This was a little Sci-Fi break from more serious stuff. But it still had a few interesting thoughts about human nature, human evolutionary potential (in terms of evolution away from behaviors that cause war, suffering, dark ages, etc.), and the way passions can lead to very non-optimal outcomes (something that's very relevant in today's world.) It's a little slow, but only in that it's actually about searching/exploring, looking and finding - no massive space wars with lots of explosions.
Here are a few passages I liked and that made me think:
Summarizing the writings of a woman from an earlier period in Earth (actually American) history when the government had become a fusion of secular and religious thought with strong theocratic trends:
"[She:] laid out their objections to various governmental policies....Basically they were concerned that each generation was subjected to a series of ideologies which, once imposed, were hard to get ris of, hampered independent thought, and let to various hostilities. She spells everything out. Get the religious groups under control. Reign in the corporate types. Recognize that dissent is healthy. Provide a level playing field so no on is disadvantaged."
Something we could use today, particularly given that most recent Supreme Court ruling on corporations and campaign advertising....
A summary of human behavior in an exhibit on humans on a non-human world:
"Individuals tend to be docile and may usually be approached without fear. but when humans form groups their behavior changes and becomes more problematic. They are more likely to ascribe to a generally held view than to seek their own. There seems to be a direct correlation between the size of the group and its inclination to consent or resort to violence or other questionable behavior, and/or the predilection of individuals to acquiesce when leaders suggest violent or simplistic solutions to perceived problems."
This author has written a few books so I might have to try another when it's time for a little break. I read this book (about 400 pages) yesterday in a lovely day of reading. It was raining outside, so I bundled up and had a good read.
