Whoa when the priest is like yes there is no objective morality but one should obey the morality of his society or else it will crush him both externaWhoa when the priest is like yes there is no objective morality but one should obey the morality of his society or else it will crush him both externally (punishment) and internally (indoctrinated feelings guilt). ...more
Pričujočo knjigo je Društvo slovenskih literarnih kritikov pod okriljem nagrade Short razglasilo za najbolj zaslužen doprinos k slovenski kratki proziPričujočo knjigo je Društvo slovenskih literarnih kritikov pod okriljem nagrade Short razglasilo za najbolj zaslužen doprinos k slovenski kratki prozi v 2021. Meni se zdi, da zgodbe v zbirki nevarno mejijo na šund, ki se v glavnem naslanja na eksotičnost svoje pripovedi, konceptualno pa precej stagnira. Rekel bi, da gre po svoje gre za sterilno, jezikovno dolgočasno, nenavdahnjeno serijo zapisov. Zmeden sem glede tega kje so Gogini kritiki našli posebno vrednost zbirke, v povzetku obrazložitve govorijo o tem, kako je avtor napisal kronike, ki pa niso podane v kronološkem vrstnem redu, in kako je posebej zanimiv poročevalski ton zgodb. Skratka, človek bi si mislil, da nam govorijo, češ kako se v 2021 ni zgodilo nič in je pač nekomu vseeno treba dati nagrado....more
A careful selection of European short stories, written in the 21st century, translated from 28 languages to highlight the literary developments of somA careful selection of European short stories, written in the 21st century, translated from 28 languages to highlight the literary developments of some contemporary writers. It's a diverse and stimulating set of short stories that I sometimes took great delight in, sometimes none at all. I'd like to specially mention Thierry Horguelin for his captivating story "The Man in the Yellow Parka", Rui Manuel Amaral for their very endearing stamp of magical realism, and Vesna Lemaič for her intensely mesmerising short story "The Pool". It took me exactly one month to finish this anthology....more
Če bi moral komu priporočati zares dobro kratko prozo, bi mu še zmeraj predlagal Jančarjevo zbirko Pogled angela, ki se mi zdi veliko bolj močna, izviČe bi moral komu priporočati zares dobro kratko prozo, bi mu še zmeraj predlagal Jančarjevo zbirko Pogled angela, ki se mi zdi veliko bolj močna, izvirna in nasploh bolj elegantna od pričujoče zbirke. Še zmeraj pa bi rekel, da gre za zelo dobro zbirko kratkih zgodb, kjer lahko med drugim beremo o človeku, ki stopi v Merkator in se začne pogovarjati s kamero v kotu; o nespečnežu, ki že tri dni postopa okoli železniške postaje; o vojaku, ki se zagleda v sovražen napis na vratih straniščne kabine; o študentu, ki prisluhne izpovedi ženske iz sosednjega kupeja in se presede tja ......more
Vojaška enota zgreši svojo pot in zaide v vas, svežo od nepojmljivega vojnega zločina; mož spleza čez ograjo križarke in žena nenadoma reče, naj skočiVojaška enota zgreši svojo pot in zaide v vas, svežo od nepojmljivega vojnega zločina; mož spleza čez ograjo križarke in žena nenadoma reče, naj skoči; podjetnika premaga pohotnost in sledi punci v neznano črnsko četrt; mladenka stopi na prazen avtobus, ki ga šofer v temni noči nenadoma ugasne; ljubimca čakata na starčevo smrt, medtem ko nas čez prostor vodi pogled angela ...
Gre za najbolj živo, naelektreno, prepričljivo zbirko kratkih zgodb, kar sem jih doslej prebral. Čisti, destiliran bralski užitek, ki se podaljšuje v stimulativna premišljevanja o prebranem....more
Prikupna (in domnevno reprezentativna) selekcija slovenske kratke proze iz 80tih in 90tih. Toliko, za nek osnoven občutek glede tega, od kod prihajamoPrikupna (in domnevno reprezentativna) selekcija slovenske kratke proze iz 80tih in 90tih. Toliko, za nek osnoven občutek glede tega, od kod prihajamo. V knjigi zapazimo minimalistični tok (Blatnik, Glavan) in borgesovski tok (Jančar) in kup drugih, ki pa me niso tako nagovorili....more
So there's a story about a writer producing a work that is in every way identical to Cervantes' Don Quixote, but even though every word is the same, tSo there's a story about a writer producing a work that is in every way identical to Cervantes' Don Quixote, but even though every word is the same, the meaning behind the words is enriched by the author living in the 20th century, hence being able to symbolically refer to events that Cervantes was not. We must conclude that the 20th century copy is richer in meaning.
Conversely, were this collection produced by a, say 21th century Slovenian author, I would have to admit that it’s utterly pretentious and unlikeable. But it wasn’t written by a 21th century Slovenian author, mein gott, so I’m able to say it’s highly original, provoking, inspiring � Etc. Admittedly, a bit weird in the beginnig, because there's a couple of forewords and at some point I wasn't sure if I'm reading a foreword or short story and vice versa, given some of the stories include literary criticisms of non-existent works that Borges came up with but didn't bother creating (he considered it a waste of time). Still, it's a remarkable point to make. If you have a good idea for a novel, why bother writing the novel, if you can just share the idea itself and start thinking about new ones?...more
The recently popularised phrase by Slavoj Žižek (as a political motto) stems from a 1853 short story about a scrivener who gra"I would prefer not to."
The recently popularised phrase by Slavoj Žižek (as a political motto) stems from a 1853 short story about a scrivener who gradually starts to refuse the most mundane of his office tasks - using the most passive words of resistance: "I would prefer not to." Resisting more and more, he ends up doing nothing all day, except for starting at a brick wall. The text offers no answers as to why he does that or what the purpose of this resistance is, opening up a wide array of interpretations. In a way, the story could easily be read as a story about depression. It could also be a critique of the sterile and impersonal world that the office worker inhabits. Moreover, it could be an exemplary act of declining the sisyphean struggles of bureaucracy.
I can't help comparing the story to Kafka's work, it really feels like something he'd write but word has it he was not acquinted with Melville's work, which remained largely forgotten until some time after Kafka's death...more
A fun story about saving the world, joining a secret society of geniuses and learning their artificial language that lets them think faster and more lA fun story about saving the world, joining a secret society of geniuses and learning their artificial language that lets them think faster and more logically. But definitely a bit rushed and pulpy....more
I have read another Ted Chiang collection earlier this year and couldn't get enough of his excellent short sci-fi stories, so I picked up this collectI have read another Ted Chiang collection earlier this year and couldn't get enough of his excellent short sci-fi stories, so I picked up this collection and am left kinda down about the fact that I have finished everything that he has published so far. His stories are philosophical, but of the good kind, the kind where the author actually understands some of the academic discussions - and exciting, since he never fails to find truly interesting settings and plots. Rather than on a (not-so?)-distant future a lot of his stories focus on alternative realities, such as a reality of sentient hydraulic machines, an alchemist magical realm, a biblical universe, etc. The other kind of his stories do look at our future, but reconceptualize some popular sci-fi ideas in a, what he thinks, more philosophically valid light. Anyways, I truly think anyone would find his writings endearing, so take this as my enthusiastic recommendation. Here's some summaries that I'm leaving for my future self that will want to return to some of the stories:
"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" is a story set in ancient or medieval Middle East, and recounts a tale of a gate that connects two points in time 20 years apart. We learn about different people who made use of this gate to further their goals and what they've learned in doing so about the fatalistic universe.
"Exhalation" is a story about a universe of hydraulic machines that after studying their own brain realize that their cognition is merely a configuration of air flow in their head, a process that is getting slower and slower due to the rising equlibrium of the world's air pressure. Hence they are facing the idea of entropy and the death ultimate of consciousness in the world.
"The Lifecycle of Software Objects" is a novella about the evolution of virtual pets into human-like minds. While a lot of stories treat AI like this magical device that just springs up from code, this story pays a lot of attention to the process of how digital minds could evolve. For example, one of the protagonist is a zookeeper that gets hired for the job of raising the virtual pets because of her experience with training animals. Only through deliberate engagement with the pets she can slowly progress towards a generation that would respond to the user's cues much like a real pet would do. As they sell and evolve, some users get increasingly attached to them, even granting them the status of legal personalities, as the pets reach human-level intelligence. Even though they could be understood as sentient by then, they're still far from anything that would resemble the usual Sci-fi threatning AI.
"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" is a story about a Victorian mathematician being unhappy with his nannies and devises a clock-work automata that would take care of his son instead of them. His experiments run into a dead end and it isn't until decades later that his son reuses one of the nannies on his own child and observes a curious side effect on the child's development.
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" juxtaposes a an article about a new technology - that in a sense allows us to access memories - with a story of when Europeans brough writing to some newely discovered tribe. It's an intriguing exploration of truth vs subjectivity.
"Omphalos" is a story about a religious modern society that believes Earth to be scientifically proven to be at the centre of the universe. They support that with some aether theory, which suggests that the theory of realitivty either didn't come about or was rejected as inferior. Much to our deeply religious protagonist's pain, new evidence suggests that actually some other planet is in the centre, while our planet is moving relative to the aether that fills the universe. So she's faced with the realization that God doesn't really care about humanity, but finds solace in the idea that she's now free to choose to follow God's path out of free will.
Highly interesting about this story is the scientific community's believe that the Earth is ~8000 years old. It comes from the fact that really old organisms don't show signs of oridnary development, but seemed to be created in one instant. Those are the so-called primordial objects, examples being wood samples that have no growth rings, sea shells that have no growth lines and some mysterious tribe of people that have no navel. The protagonist being an archeologist, she tries to investigate the matter before she's faced with news from astronomy.
"Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" is the last story in this collection and oh boy is it a strong one. It's basically about a technology that lets you talk to yourself from a parallel universe, which begs some questions about free will and personal responsibility. In the conclusion of the story, a woman that has blamed herself for ruining a friend's life is confronted with the fact that the friend would ruin her life in any parallel universe, hence allowing herself to finally move on. This reminds me of a powerful Peterson video, where he cracks up after being asked about how to deal with suicide in your family and not blame yourself for it. We have to resist the urge to blame outselves, he says, and acknowledge the fact that some suicidal dispositions run way deeper than what we can truly have any impact on. In the universe of this story, people keep checking on alternative timelines to get to know what they can truly be blamed for. Whereas this turns into an unhealthy obsession for many, the story ends on a positive note, allowing the protagonist to move on from years of guilt that she should never had to feel....more
This is an excellent collection of short stories that I picked up because of my love for the 2016 Villeneuve movie Arrival and its philosophico-linguiThis is an excellent collection of short stories that I picked up because of my love for the 2016 Villeneuve movie Arrival and its philosophico-linguistic awareness of the difficulties of establishing first contact with an alien race (the movie is an adaption of one of the stories in this collection). The collection itself is diverse, stimulating, full of rich perspectives and perplexing scenarios that immediately suck you in yet don't leave you dissapointed. Just a really really cool collection that I don't just recommend if you're into sci-fi and/or philosophy, but to everyone!
"Tower of Babylon" is a novelette that is very interesting in that it takes geocentrism and the celestial sphere that's the border of our world as true. After 200 years of building, the tower of Babylon stretches all the way from Babylon to the celestial sphere (it takes about 4 months of ascending by foot to reach the top), where now miners are sent to in order to make a tunnel through the crest between our world and heaven. Fascinating example of alternative science fiction!
"Understand" is a story about achieving super-intelligence and being able to see the deeper patterns that guide the world. In order to be able to think about the world clearly, the protagonist has to abandon human language and invent his own language, one that would be directly tied to mathematical equations and logics but would also accomodate for other types of expression. Soon he realizes that his biological brain won't do and he needs something better ..
“Division by Zero� is a story about a mathematician who finds sound proof that one equals two. Faced by the realization that all of mathematics is nothing but abstracted empirics, she spirals into mad uncertainty. In-between the story we get flashbacks to the discussions of 20th century foundation of mathematics such as Russell, Gödel, Hilbert, etc.
"Stories of Your Life" is the short story Villeneuve's 2016 movie Arrival is based on. Although the movie is great, the story goes a bit deeper into the philosophy of language and ends more realistically. I really like the way in which it is revealed that the aliens don't perceive time in the short story (they understood only variational formulations of physical laws); something that I don't remember from the movie. It somehow ties into Sagan's One world argument, the idea that in order to establish first contact we need to tie our languages to the same world we inhabit - physics, logics, etc. Since the aliens don't perceive time, nothing that used the notion of causality in our theories of nature made sense to them.
"The Evolution of Human Science" is 3-page long fictional jorunal article that looks at the condition of human science in a time of metahuman intelligence. Human journals, it seems, are reduced to nothing more than an attempt at translating the findings of metahumans (who communicate directly through neural transmission) into our language. Even then, our langauge barely grasps the nuances of metahuman science, so regular humans not only can't help science progress anymore, they can't even understand it.
"Hell is the absence of God� is a story of a world where angels, miracles and biblical disasters are all around, so the population is not split among believers and non-believers but devoted and non-devoted people (everyone knows God exists but some choose to defy him in name of their own ethical code). Makes for some interesting questions about morality and God - even if his existence would be all-aparent, we could still decide we don't vibe with his ethical system.
"Liking What You See: A Documentary" is a kind of transcription of a documentary of a time in society where a university is about to pass a rule that all the students have to accept neural blockers that wouldn't disable their ability to see people as beautiful. This is an attempt to battle what is referred to as "lookism" (in analogy to sexism and racism) the bias towards beautiful people. It also server as a boycott against advertisers that bombard us with stimuli of beauty and try to make us act against our interests. The documentary includes different interviews of students, neurologists, sociologists, professors, advertisers, ethicists, etc. some in favour some against it. What we get is a rich discussion of a very interesting social phenomenon....more
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