X-Message-Number: 20517
From: "Mark Plus" <>
Subject: Ludd of the Rings
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 23:30:57 -0800

Time magazine has an article about the current appeal of premodern fantasy 
visions in popular culture:

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101021202/amfantasy.html

It argues that the trend reflects a growing pessimism about technological 
progress & the future. Needless to say, if this attitude gets translated 
into practical behavior, it will have adverse consequences for the research 
needed to conquer aging & death. If the Asperger's cases who seem attracted 
to Tolkien etc. would rather play fantasy games instead of doing some useful 
scientific & technological work, then the outlook could become dire.

I'm finding this trend especially unsettling because it seems to mirror the 
outlook of our Muslim adversaries, who definitely want to impose a premodern 
fantasy vision of pure Islam on the rest of the world. I think we're not off 
to a good start in meeting the challenge of radical Islam if we're 
implicitly conceding some validity to their critique of the modern world in 
the stories we tell ourselves.

Mark Plus
It's not "religious" or "science fictional" if you can do it.




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