X-Message-Number: 17190
From: "Mark Plus" <>
Subject: Re: SF great Poul Anderson has died
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 10:26:40 -0700

In Message #17182, "john grigg" wrote,

>  From: "john grigg" <>
>  Subject: SF great Poul Anderson has died
>  Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 22:26:50
>
>  Eugene Leitl shared this on the extrolist.  It is a letter from SF >  
>writer Greg Bear about his friend and fellow writer Poul Anderson  who has 
>passed away.
>  The question which goes begging is..., did Poul Anderson really know >  
>about cryonics and organizations like Alcor and CI?  And if so, why >  did 
>he choose to decline his ticket to the future?
>  best wishes,
>  John

Too bad.  Several of Anderson's later novels deal with Transhumanist and 
Immortalist themes, so it's clear he "got it" in terms of where progress is 
likely going.

I've felt for a long time now that it's unwise to depend on science fiction 
(SF) writers as gurus or guides to conduct.  They may seem brilliant and 
insightful in their own way, especially considering that the "Golden Age" of 
SF is -- 12.  But when it comes to dealing with the problems in the adult 
world, SF writers don't necessarily know any better than anyone else.  It 
wouldn't surprise me if, for example, Ben Bova dies without having 
arrangements for cryotransport, even though he wrote about cryonics in his 
nonfiction _Immortality_ book a few years ago.

Besides, I find reading SF these days a frustrating experience.  If you've 
read a couple dozen SF novels, you've pretty much read them all.  I'd prefer 
to work on making my real life an SF-like adventure some day.

Sincerely,

Mark Plus





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