Superintelligence fiction - "Understand", by Ted Chiang

D_Alex

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/under.htm?2. 15-30 min read time, rated "pretty good" by me.

There are a couple of interesting features of this story that I would like to discuss - but I don't want to introduce any spoilers, so I'll just leave this here for now.

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/under.htm?2. 15-30 min read time, rated "pretty good" by me.

There are a couple of interesting features of this story that I would like to discuss - but I don't want to introduce any spoilers, so I'll just leave this here for now.

Oooh, I read this and...

Nf hfhny, V ybir ernqvat Puvnat. (Vagebqhprq gb uvz guebhtu "Uryy vf gur Nofrapr bs Tbq" juvpu vf rkpryyrag). Ohg rira gubhtu V jnf snfpvangrq ol guvf fgbel nf vg hasbyqrq, V sryg purngrq ol gur pyvznk. Vg jnf whfg fb sehfgengvat gb unir gur pbaarpgvba orgjrra gjb pyrire crbcyr (znavchyngvat gur znexrgf gb fraq n zrffntr! fdhrr!) or fb crggl naq fznyy. Creuncf gur cbvag jnf gung vagryyvtrapr nhtzragngvba vf begubtbany gb rguvpny nqinapr, ohg V jnfa'g pbaivaprq gung gurfr gjb crbcyr jrer fb hacyrnfnag gb ortva jvgu, fb gur jnfgr enaxyrq.

I see it as an example of the kind of story where the author has a really cool idea, but forces a pointless conflict onto it so that there will be a plot.

4Shmi13y

Fictional evidence for the orthogonality thesis :)

7Bayeslisk13y

I quite like Chiang myself. There is a quality to a few authors like him, Mieville, and Egan that I can't figure out what it is but really like. Possibly linguistics, good worldbuilding, and rarely having their characters be inexplicable idiots.