

Charles Stross: The 21st Century FAQ - queensnake
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2009/02/the_21st_century_faq.html

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swombat
Interesting, if a bit of a downer, regarding the singularity, particularly
since I'm at the moment reading Stross's "Accelerando", which is all about the
Singularity happening in the next few decades.

But hey, it's fiction.

Funny that he reckons that in order for a singularity (i.e. emergence of a
super-intelligence) to make a difference to 99.99% of us, it needs to be
"interested in us" - and suggests that this would be unlucky. I'm not so sure
about that.

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ewiethoff
I read all the _Accelerando_ stories as they came out in _Asimov's_ some years
back. To be honest, it's the _Accelerando_ stories that made me begin to tire
of SF. And Vinge's _Rainbows End_ capped it off (although its library
digitization process is mighty funny).

I'll be happy without a Singularity. And I'll be happy without a complicated
smorgasbord of options for how to access and filter a &@^#)!-load of
Information in a virtual reality post-cyberpunk world. Geekdom don't put no
food on my table. Just ask the near-slave immigrant farm laborers and
slaughterhouse workers.

The Singularity might be geek rapture. But VR and Singularity _stories_ are
geek wanking. I'm going to go plant a garden. Or become a lumberjack. Or
something.

Well, sarcasm aside... I _do_ enjoy Stross's blog when I wander over to it on
occasion. So, if I can find some fiction of his which is not so computer-
centric, I'll be happy to try it. Recommendations, anyone?

