We've read Children of Time (https://amzn.to/2QqYKII), and boy do we have a lot to say about it! This episode we discuss the structure of the book, whether novels need strong characters, how animal consciousness might differ from our own, and how to stock a ship designed to re-seed the human race on another planet. Adrian gets to jabber on about the Baldwin Effect & octopuses, and Matt makes some sharp points about the importance of empathy. Truly this podcast represents the future liberals want.
As always, here's a list of stuff we discuss in the episode. If the links don't show up in your podcatcher, they will on spectology.com. All links are referral links.
* Startide Rising by David Brin
* The Bees by Laline Paull
* The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
* Watership Down by Richard Adams
* The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
* Goedel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
And finally, a few books on consciousness, language, and evolution that weren't mentioned by name, but which Adrian recommends:
* Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith (octopus researcher mentioned)
* Adam's Tongue by Derek Bickerton (language evolution & the Baldwin Effect)
* The Crucible of Consciousness by Zoltan Torey (language & consciousness)
* The Perplexities of Consciousness by Eric Schwitzgebel (essays on the difficulty of introspecting consciousness)
* The Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger (laying out the ideas behind the phrase "consciousness is an illusion" for a lay audience)
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We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Things We Like October 2019: Video Games, LARPS, and Music
19.1: Zone One pre-read: Zombies, Horror, and LitFic
18.2: Waste Tide post-read: social class in science fiction, translation, and the problems with cyberpunk
Critical Conversations: Ning Ken's Ultra Unreal, how to define a genre, and genre gatekeeping
18.1: Waste Tide pre-read: Chinese Language, Literary History, and Science Fiction
17.2: The Killing Moon post-read: Lucid Dreaming, Writing Compelling Villains, and Genre Blending
17.1: The Killing Moon pre-read: Worldbuilding techniques in SF & Fantasy
Critical Conversations: "Critics: Endgame" by Soraya Roberts & the purpose of criticism in a dying world
16.2: Empress of Forever post-read: Journey to the West, Redemption, and Buddhism in Science Fiction
Things We Like July 2019: Anime, Music, Poetry, and Cookbooks
16.1: Empress of Forever pre-read: Space Opera, Epics, & Journey to the West
15.3: Exhalation (collection) by Ted Chiang post-read: AI, Identity, & Metaphysics in Science Fiction
15.2: "Exhalation" post-read: Re-reading stories, philosophy of mind, & the heat death of the universe
15.1: Exhalation by Ted Chiang, pre-read: Philosophical thought experiments & short stories
14.2: The Raven Tower post-read w/ Reading the End: 2nd Person, Language Games, and Hamlet.
Things We Like May 2019 (feat. Reading the End): TV Shows, Art, and Fish
14.1: The Raven Tower pre-read w/ Reading the End: Fantasy, Genre, & Gender!
13.3 (fixed): Chris Beckett discusses his novel Dark Eden, writing for realism over role models, and how he thinks about genre.
13.2: Dark Eden post-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: From Stories to Legends to Myths to Religion.
13.1: Dark Eden pre-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: Linguistic drift, creating myths, and rogue planets.
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