the prime calcula/his citadel and other quotes

Lee Berman · 17 Jan 2011, 23:03 · from 2011-January.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:03:55 -0500
Subject: (urth) the prime calcula/his citadel and other quotes
Message-ID: <SNT123-W55D70BC05BB71ACE31371ECFF40 at phx.gbl>

>Gerry Quinn: Why do I feel the sky is blue?  Because alternatives are disturbing to me? 
>Or maybe, just maybe, because it's blue.

I think perhaps alternatives are disturbing. After all, the sky is only blue to those who
choose to view it exclusively during daylight hours and from ground level. Alternate  
viewpoints can provide much insight about the sky, as poets, wolfes, star gazers and 
astronauts can testify.

>We *are* talking about science fiction stories here, not the Kabbalah.  It 
>is reasonable to take the form into account when interpreting, no?

Well, are these science fiction stories? Or are there elements of fantasy and religion
woven in? Mostly my question about your feelings relates to this: Why do you think 
a science fiction story must exclude these elements?

>But the main reason is what one can see so often on this list:  people get 
>caught up on some idea they think must be the secret key to a Wolfe story, 
>or mistake metaphor for plot - and end up building tottering towers of 
>babble that don't make any sense at all in terms of the concrete elements of 
>the story.

Such honesty is refreshing. The metaphor of boys playing with toys is apt. Every daycare
is populated with those who delight in building block towers and those who delight in
knocking them down. I think when people's roles are so explicitly defined, there is less
cause for argument and strife.

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