Monday, June 9, 2014

David Brin: EXISTENCE, an excerpt

David Brin
Existence
SF novel, 553 pages

I'm in the midst of reading a remarkable SF novel by David Brin.  I've always enjoyed his previous works, but this one is something special.  I never thought he would be able to match his earlier ground-breaking novel, Earth, but he has not only matched it, but I think he has gone a step or two  beyond with Existence.  I haven't finished it yet, so I won't comment any more, but I do want to provide this brief excerpt from the novel.

Hamish, a writer and one of many characters,  is reminiscing:


"50
DIVINATION    

The art that I practice is the only true form of magic.
     It had taken Hamish years to realize this consciously, though he must have suspected it as a child, while devouring fantasy novels and playing whatever interactive game had the best narrative storyline.  Later, at university and grad school, even while diligently studying the ornate laws and incantations of science, something had always struck  him as wrong about the whole endeavor.
     No, wrong wasn't the word.  Sterile. Or dry, or pallid .  .  . that is, compared to worlds of fiction and belief.
     Then, while playing hooky one day from biomedical research, escaping into the vast realm of a little novel, he found a clue to his dilemma, in a passage written by the author, Tom Robbins.

Science gives man what he needs.
But magic gives him what he wants.

     A gross oversimplification?  Sure, Yet, Hamish instantly recognized the important distinction he'd been floundering toward.
      For all its beauty, honesty, and effectiveness at improving the human condition, science demands a terrible price--that we accept what experiments tell us about the universe, whether we like it or not.  It's about consensus and teamwork and respectful critical argument, working with, and through, natural law.  It requires that we utter, frequently, those hateful words--'I might be wrong.'
     On the other hand, magic is what happens when we convince ourselves something is, even when it isn't.  Subjective Truth, winning over mere objective fact.  The Will, triumphing over all else.  No wonder,  even after the cornucopia of wealth and knowledge engendered by science, magic remains more popular, more embedded in the human heart.
     Whether you labeled it faith, or self-delusion, or fantasy, or outright lying--Hamish recognized the species' greatest talent, a calling that spanned all cultures and times, appearing far more often, in far more tribes, than dispassionate reason!  Combine it with enough ardent wanting, and the brew might succor you through the harshest times, even periods of utter despair.
     That was what Hamish got from the best yarns, spun by master storytellers.  A temporary, willing belief that he could inhabit another world, bound by different rules.  Better rules than the dry clockwork rhythms of this one." 





Whether this represents Brin's own thinking or is simply part of the creative process of constructing a character is up for you to decide, if you choose to read the novel.  


I think, though, that there are hints or clues here to the present time, with all the conflict and partisan fighting going on all over the world, and right here at home.  Those who fear and hate the inexorable changes that seem to overwhelm all are in a state of denial.  Magic gives them what they want.    


If there is anything that characterizes science for me, it is the following, idealized though it may be:

For all its beauty, honesty, and effectiveness at improving the human condition, science demands a terrible price--that we accept what experiments tell us about the universe, whether we like it or not.  It's about consensus and teamwork and respectful critical argument, working with, and through, natural law.  It requires that we utter, frequently, those hateful words--'I might be wrong.'

Other ways of thinking --magic-- do not face that ultimate challenge for if something is not to one's liking, one simply ignores it or mentally rewrites it.  It may be more emotionally satisfying, but that really doesn't solve real world problems such as environmental pollution of water and air or global warming or disputes among belief systems.  We must learn to face problems and do something about them or go the way of the dinosaur.

13 comments:

  1. I would suggest substituting or adding the word "literature" after "magic" in the Robbins quote.

    So, if I begin to read Brin, with which novel do I begin?

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  2. RT,

    Yes, clearly he is referring to literature as being one way of tapping into the human facility for believing what one knows not to be true. And Hamish, an SF writer, plays with that when he constructs his anti-science SF works.


    If you are interested in him, this is the url for his blog. or you can locate it in the blog list on the right side of the paqe.
    http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

    Some starters?

    The Practice Effect--light, fantasy set in a universe where usage makes an item more effective. For example, an ax when new would be blunt, etc., but once it starts being used, it gets
    sharper.

    The first two I read by him are _Sundiver_ (1980) and _Startide Rising. They are part of his ":Uplift series" but are complete novels on their own. In fact, in the one I'm reading now, he provides information that precedes those two works.

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  3. This makes me think of Richard Dawkins, or more specifically, some of his recent comments on fairytales.
    [Off-topic: I guess you don't use facebook?]

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  4. Di,

    While in grad school, I encountered various theories about fairy tales, legends, and myths. Many suggested that they weren't just entertaining tales but had a very serious role to play in the culture.

    No, I was on Facebook for a very short time but lost interest in it. I also was on Twitter for a while, but found the limitations too strangling to hold a conversation that went deeper than bumper sticker thinking. It was the frustration with Twitter that moved me to try doing a blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah I used twitter for a while, and couldn't write anything there. 140 characters was too little.
      Facebook I think is OK- I have an on-and-off relationship with it. Just wondering, because I just came back to fb after some months. That's all.

      Delete
    2. Di,

      What do you find most useful about Facebook?

      Delete
  5. Oh no, did my comment just disappear?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh gosh.
    Anyway, must write it again:

    1/ I moved from 1 country to another, so did many of my friends, whilst some others are studying abroad- on fb I can keep in touch with many people I haven't met for years and perhaps won't meet again any time soon (or ever).
    So let's say that fb is my social side and my blog is my private, solitary side (don't worry- I don't mistake fb for real social life, nor fb friends for real friends).
    2/ I come from a country where 700 newspapers as well as other media are owned and controlled by the state, where one may be sent to prison for being a blogger, criticising the government. Fb is therefore a great place for people to talk politics, update news, discuss what's going on (there are dangers, of course); and a good tool for activists.
    Not that I'm an activist myself. But I'm interested in literature and arts, which obviously can only flourish in a free environment. And I care about the individual.

    Fb can be fun, exciting. Sometimes when it's too noisy, chaotic, depressing, I go away. Sometimes it's fun.

    [Now if this comment also disappears, I won't write again].

    ReplyDelete
  7. Di,

    I can see where Facebook would be helpful or useful to you in your situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.
      Btw, are you gonna watch WC?

      Delete
    2. Di,

      You mean the fiasco about to happen in Brazil? No, I don't watch TV. If an interesting TV shows up, I can get it later on Netflix or at the public library.

      Delete