Post by gruntal on Feb 17, 2013 20:01:40 GMT
It's funny how you do or see things that make such an impact on you as you get older. Nothing all that auspicious to begin with but long after much is discarded or forgotten some things really begin to make sense eventually.
I remember reading a science fiction novel about 50 years ago and I never forgot it but I can't for the life of me remember who wrote it or the title. A man was living in a futuristic city highly mechanized that enabled a life of total liesure for the inhabitants. Plus no women. The sexes never did get along but with robotic sex slaves who cared? The young man lived a life of perfect hedonistic pleasure untill he walked by a building with a proinment sign that gave him headaches. Probably because he was illiterate as was everybody else in this perfect society. Why learn to read when everything was provided for you and nobody needed to work ?
He eventually walked into the building and found out it was a library or what we might consider a university. He did the unthinkable at that time and place: he learned to read write and do maths and many other useless arts that were actually the only reality the world had to offer (other then non-stop narcissist pleasure). Seeing all that he did after the education he became totally fed up with the "city" and walked out the city gates into a world of chaos and uncertaincy.
The first establishment he encountered was sort a medeival robbing hood socitey of rough people beating up on each other. It didn't appeal to him but it was paradise to those that lived there as they had the freedom to beat each other up. Or not too. It was their chose. The young man went further and further away from the "city" geographically and encountered more towns that were further away idealistically from the origonal "city" of guaranteed existance ( and no reason to live). Never finding a place he could call home he eventually is walking down the dirt road; much thinner and quieter then he started out, carrying naught but what he needed for survival; all alone and many miles from where he started. He does meet a person looking much like himself, obviously driven to make the same journey; sitting on a rock all by himself; as if waiting for that one-in-a-millionth-person to come along; the salutation he uttered I will never forget:
"Greetings fellow philosopher".
The metaphor is so thick it hits you over the head but as a young kid I had not heard or encountered this before. Is that what we can look forward to? Hermits estranged from everything and everybody because we can't stand it anymore? Or vanguards making the journey ahead of everyone else knowing it will take many many years for the rest to catch up and face the inevitable.
I'd highly recomend the book. It explained to me why things easy never lead to growth and satisfaction. And how a fat lazy illiterate slob could in a life time morph into a thin trim learned self reliant individual. If I could just remember what is was "*sigh* but I never forgot it.
I remember reading a science fiction novel about 50 years ago and I never forgot it but I can't for the life of me remember who wrote it or the title. A man was living in a futuristic city highly mechanized that enabled a life of total liesure for the inhabitants. Plus no women. The sexes never did get along but with robotic sex slaves who cared? The young man lived a life of perfect hedonistic pleasure untill he walked by a building with a proinment sign that gave him headaches. Probably because he was illiterate as was everybody else in this perfect society. Why learn to read when everything was provided for you and nobody needed to work ?
He eventually walked into the building and found out it was a library or what we might consider a university. He did the unthinkable at that time and place: he learned to read write and do maths and many other useless arts that were actually the only reality the world had to offer (other then non-stop narcissist pleasure). Seeing all that he did after the education he became totally fed up with the "city" and walked out the city gates into a world of chaos and uncertaincy.
The first establishment he encountered was sort a medeival robbing hood socitey of rough people beating up on each other. It didn't appeal to him but it was paradise to those that lived there as they had the freedom to beat each other up. Or not too. It was their chose. The young man went further and further away from the "city" geographically and encountered more towns that were further away idealistically from the origonal "city" of guaranteed existance ( and no reason to live). Never finding a place he could call home he eventually is walking down the dirt road; much thinner and quieter then he started out, carrying naught but what he needed for survival; all alone and many miles from where he started. He does meet a person looking much like himself, obviously driven to make the same journey; sitting on a rock all by himself; as if waiting for that one-in-a-millionth-person to come along; the salutation he uttered I will never forget:
"Greetings fellow philosopher".
The metaphor is so thick it hits you over the head but as a young kid I had not heard or encountered this before. Is that what we can look forward to? Hermits estranged from everything and everybody because we can't stand it anymore? Or vanguards making the journey ahead of everyone else knowing it will take many many years for the rest to catch up and face the inevitable.
I'd highly recomend the book. It explained to me why things easy never lead to growth and satisfaction. And how a fat lazy illiterate slob could in a life time morph into a thin trim learned self reliant individual. If I could just remember what is was "*sigh* but I never forgot it.
