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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/01/10/magazine/neal-stephenson-interview.html>
"It’s easy, especially now, to imagine a bleak and withered future, and that’s
largely what our storytellers are doing. Whether it’s in novels, TV shows,
films or video games, speculative imaginings of the world we’re heading toward
tilt strongly to fatalistic despair. And while I can’t say with much conviction
that I have hope for where our current path may lead, I have wondered why more
artists aren’t pushing back and composing visions of the future in more than
just minor keys. (Lord knows we could use it.) One artist who has done that
over the course of his career is the best-selling sci-fi novelist Neal
Stephenson. His books, the best known of which are probably the cyberpunk
thriller “Snow Crash” and “Cryptonomicon,” an opus about money and
code-breaking, have long dealt in apocalyptic events and malevolent uses of new
technology. But — and this is particularly true of his latest novel, the
climate-change-focused “Termination Shock” — their renderings of the future
also include potential solutions (morally and technically complicated though
they may be) to the problems of living in a radically changed world. That is to
say, their imagination extends beyond the edge of the cliff. “To portray a more
utopian future,” says Stephenson, who is 62 and, to be clear, far from
starry-eyed, “is to lay oneself open to a certain level of mockery from critics
and skeptical audience members. Whereas there doesn’t seem to be any level of
grim dystopian imagery that will make the fans and the critics say ‘enough
already.’”"
Via Bill Daul.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
