Posted this -- typos and all -- on my literary ruminations blog "Meaningful Words" and was so impressed with myself I thought I'd spread it around elsewhere as well. :-) Doubtless sober up when I discover this is a trite truism discovered fifteen times by other people starting in 300 B.C. but oh well. A girl's got to have thoughts.

Thought of the day: Maybe it doesn't matter what complex material a young mind engages in order for the resulting adult to be able to deal with complex realities. In order words, all that Latin in in my grandfather's era did train the minds of future lawyers whether or not they needed Latin later, and SF sagas (whether on TV or in books) do train minds to think about the moral issues of our era even though they aren't "real". In fact, I'm guessing it is better if the things we learn to think about are not real because it frees the mind to dig in without being hampered by preconceptions vital to one's ability to survive and succeed in one's own world. Our emotions are fashioned to let us "side" with cases and be united by beliefs that will promote our survival. That makes it very hard for us to think about our own circumstances with the kind of abandon and rigor that it is possible to think about artificial circumstances and thought experiments. Or to put it more simplistically, in an artificial setting we can dare to think. And the exercise will stand us in good stead.

Labels: epistomology, immersive worlds, philosophy, pragmatics

posted by Lynda at 10:47   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 

Far too infrequently, an original and true science fiction series comes
along that wholly captures our imaginations and takes us along for the
ride. Lynda Williams Okal Rel Universe does these things and very well.

- John Preet; Editor: "Okal Rel Anthology #2"

Labels: John Preet, testimonial

posted by Lynda at 08:57   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 

Okal Rel saga author Lynda Williams was the featured guest in Lyn Benne's University 101 class at the University of Northern B.C., in Prince George, on the evening of Jan 24, to discuss her novella The Lorel Experiment. The Lorel Experiment documents the origins of the bio-engineered super-pilots, known as Sevolites, who are the focus of the Okal Rel saga. Ideas about the value of making changes to the human genome to cure age-old problems of short-sighted planning and instincts as old as life that can endanger a species now empowered by science to be capable of mass destruction, are addressed in the story, together with a dramatization of what could go wrong. Students will discuss the Lorel Experiment with reference to ideas in professor Margaret Somerville's best-selling book The Ethical Imagination, which is part of the CBC Massey Lectures.
posted by Lynda at 09:49   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
Heard from Garth Spencer that ORU materials made an appearance at Rustycon even though I could not. Thank you Bobbie! I sent her books, buttons, brochures, etc. to distribute on the ORU's behalf.
posted by Lynda at 06:57   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments

 
A call from John Preet last night made me realize how long it has been since I've been attending to my e-mail. I really went "walkabout" over the holidays and sort of lapsed into one of my withdrawl periods, I guess. So it really was a wake-up call! Hadn't realized I'd been AWOL for quite so long as I had! Thanks for caring, John! And being a friend.
posted by Lynda at 07:37   permalink comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments