ugly love machine
June 26, 2024 3:13 AM Subscribe
The manifesto opens with the kind of pun Vonnegut could never resist. “Gentlemen,” the professor writes, “As the first superweapon with a conscience, I am removing myself from your national defense stockpile. Setting a new precedent in the behavior of ordnance, I have humane reasons for going off.” The manifesto goes on for another page and a half. The tone is Norbert Wiener’s, [wiki] but the politics are even more overt. [sciencefriday]
this post is inspired by a recent comment by torokunai linking current thinking about Machine Learning to Kurt Vonnegut’s first published novel. the FPP quote is from an unpublished earlier work (Vonnegut is one of my favorite writers, having discovered Sirens of Titan at a young age).
Westworld [fanfare] came to mind, thinking about all of this. happy to see that was by design:
"Westworld co-producer Jonathan Nolan has credited Vonnegut with inspiring the show’s player piano, referring to it as a touchstone image of the show’s first season." [the conversation; playlist, denofgeek]
Nine Inch Nails (inspiration for the post title [wiki])
when the simulacra starts to fray at the edges, things begin to rock [season 3, content note: violence]
Common People, originally
(bonus: cover by Star Trek’s Captain Kirk)
Westworld previously
on the tech [illanoise.edu]
this post is inspired by a recent comment by torokunai linking current thinking about Machine Learning to Kurt Vonnegut’s first published novel. the FPP quote is from an unpublished earlier work (Vonnegut is one of my favorite writers, having discovered Sirens of Titan at a young age).
Westworld [fanfare] came to mind, thinking about all of this. happy to see that was by design:
"Westworld co-producer Jonathan Nolan has credited Vonnegut with inspiring the show’s player piano, referring to it as a touchstone image of the show’s first season." [the conversation; playlist, denofgeek]
Nine Inch Nails (inspiration for the post title [wiki])
when the simulacra starts to fray at the edges, things begin to rock [season 3, content note: violence]
Common People, originally
(bonus: cover by Star Trek’s Captain Kirk)
Westworld previously
on the tech [illanoise.edu]
&, The Manwich Horror, thank you for the compliment
posted by HearHere at 4:15 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 4:15 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
Here's the story itself, "Report on the Barnhouse Effect" [PDF]. This made a biiiiiig impression on me as a young SF reader; the idea that, unlike the dramatic origin stories in various superhero comics, one could get superpowers just by thinking a particular train of thought (really just "Shazam!" but a bit more complicated), was pretty compelling.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:49 AM on June 26 [3 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:49 AM on June 26 [3 favorites]
Per the Science Friday story, i heartily recommend The Brothers Vonnegut by Ginger Strand to any Vonnegut fan. Being close to all the research at GE, thanks to his brother, gave Kurt a lot of inspiration for his stories.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:50 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:50 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
the idea that, unlike the dramatic origin stories in various superhero comics, one could get superpowers just by thinking a particular train of thought
That's essentially engineering. Rare in 2024 to find just one person on any given train, though.
posted by flabdablet at 6:14 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]
That's essentially engineering. Rare in 2024 to find just one person on any given train, though.
posted by flabdablet at 6:14 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]
an *initially unpublished earlier work ;-) thank you Halloween Jack
posted by HearHere at 7:27 AM on June 26
posted by HearHere at 7:27 AM on June 26
That's essentially engineering. Rare in 2024 to find just one person on any given train, though.
Not so rare though to find people who claim that that they're the only one on the train and be rewarded with billions of dollars.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:34 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]
Not so rare though to find people who claim that that they're the only one on the train and be rewarded with billions of dollars.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:34 AM on June 26 [2 favorites]
Reliably being able to bullshit people with much less wealth into handing over substantial chunks of whatever they do have probably counts as some kind of superpower, especially when you can do it in such a way as to leave them worshipping the ground you walk on afterwards.
posted by flabdablet at 8:03 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 8:03 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
bs. doesn't appear in a search of superpowers: https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Superpowers
posted by HearHere at 8:12 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 8:12 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]
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posted by The Manwich Horror at 3:22 AM on June 26 [1 favorite]