
How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later (1978) - pmoriarty
https://urbigenous.net/library/how_to_build.html
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discordance
"So I ask, in my writing, What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded
with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very
sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I
distrust their power. They have a lot of it."

As true today as it was in 1978

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kyo3
I posted this content the last time this post made its way through here and it
seemed there was some interest so here it is again: [https://wuu.bi/the-
religious-experience-of-philip-k-dick/](https://wuu.bi/the-religious-
experience-of-philip-k-dick/)

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reitanqild
Read that and then had to look him up.

So today is the first day I can remember having heard about Philip K. Dick and
also the day when I learn he has written the stories that became Blade Runner
as well as The Adjustment Bureau.

~~~
magpi3
His works are also the basis for Minority Report, Total Recall, and The Man in
the High Castle

~~~
taneq
Also "A Scanner Darkly".

~~~
pmoriarty
And arguably influenced _The Matrix_ , _The Terminator_ , and _The Truman
Show_ as well. Virtually any modern film that questions reality has probably
been directly or indirectly influenced by PKD.

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nottorp
The description of the TV watching process is really juicy. And it certainly
applies also to modern day video streaming. It’s not the delivery method but
the video content itself that it’s dangerous.

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avaku
The author read the bible first (or maybe he was read to as a child), then
subconsciously recited stories from it in his writings. That's my explanation.
No the Biblical mysticism he proposes.

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wtdata
One thing that constantly puzzles me about PKD is how far ahead his societal
and philosophical imagination was, but how backwards his technological views
remained.

He has androids being run by punctured cards (i.e this story), advanced
civilizations relying on advanced typewriters using paper (i.e. The Little
Black Box if I remember correctly the name), and mass communication based on
telephone boots (i.e. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep).

~~~
quickben
He writes this paragraph that may explain your observation:

"So I ask, in my writing, What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded
with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very
sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I
distrust their power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power:
that of creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do
the same thing. It is my job to create universes, as the basis of one novel
after another. And I have to build them in such a way that they do not fall
apart two days later. Or at least that is what my editors hope. However, I
will reveal a secret to you: I like to build universes which do fall apart."

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cptroot
According to archive.org this piece has been around since at least 2017. Not
sure if it was written before then though.

~~~
Ygg2
Seeing how author died in 1982 it would be a miracle or some really odd
circumstance if original article was from 2017.

~~~
qazpot
PKD used the Ubik line of typewriters. They are well suited for writing and
publishing content after death.

