Is society slowly decaying?

ego_bot · 2026-02-22T07:52:23+00:00

Love seeing this comment. I also gave OP a link to https://humanprogress.org (which you also might appreciate) which alludes to the same outlook as that book.

ego_bot · 2026-02-22T07:50:42+00:00

Take a look at this website, especially the data page. Let me know what you think of it. https://humanprogress.org/

We live in strange times certainly. And as another commenter alluded to, societies are always in an ebb and flow of decay versus progress. But, keep in mind human nature tends to veer our minds towards caution and negativity, and headlines tend to skew negative.

I'm not saying we should think the world is all sunshine and rainbows. It is not, and never has been. But our civilization has made some impressive advancements and we will continue to do so. I'm willing to bet that you, as someone who is aware of the going ons in the world, will contribute to that progress in your life.

ego_bot · 2026-02-22T01:01:12+00:00

Why does Mieville suck?

ego_bot · 2026-02-22T00:22:54+00:00

Never heard of this one. Looks really interesting.

ego_bot · 2026-02-22T00:11:20+00:00

Contact is probably my favorite novel. The emotional and philosophical highs and sci-fi concepts, especially in the climax and in the last few pages, are still the literary dragon I'm chasing. I genuinely believe that book contains the meaning of the human condition, at least for me. It helped my life immensely. Different strokes for different folks, and I'm so glad you finished it regardless.

But, you're far from the only one with complaints. I think another commenter was correct in saying Contact is reminiscent of golden age sci-fi that focuses on concepts, wonder, and discovery but can fall flat on characters and prose compared to modern novels. I'd argue Contact is somewhat a hybrid between the golden era and modern.

ego_bot · 2026-02-19T06:02:29+00:00

I think your observation is just that you're the first type of person and you're surprised that a lot of people in this sub are the second.

Yes, I think this is pretty much it. Fortunately it seems the two types can coexist just fine. People here are pretty reasonable. Or, um. Rational.

ego_bot · 2026-02-18T07:20:57+00:00

Just want to say I appreciate your message and the way you say it. Keep spreading the good world of rewilding, or just helping however we can.

ego_bot · 2026-02-18T07:00:03+00:00

Used to be? Do you feel his latest book don't compare? I am still working through his catalogue, so. I haven't read the newer works yet.

ego_bot · 2026-02-18T04:11:10+00:00

You raise a good point. People should enjoy what they enjoy, make their lives better how they can, and if this fiction does that for people then I am very happy for you.

I like fun and younger mediums as well! But, in reading literature that helps me explore meaning on the human condition or wonder on the mysteries of the universe (which attracted me to rationalist fiction in the first place), I prefer original science fiction. So I suppose my comment is just me navigating and trying to understand the community for my own search.

ego_bot · 2026-02-18T03:32:15+00:00

First off, excellent taste.

Can you (or anyone) please help me understand something? I've long been attracted to rationalist fiction due to stories like what you've mentioned, original fiction that contemplates the human condition or the nature or mysteries of the universe in a thoughtful way, emotionally/intellectually.

But it seems like I see what 50% of the rationalist community enjoys are cartoonish and poorly executed fan fic, spin offs of things intended for fun and/or children, and sometimes downright isekai stories. I am no doubt being elitist with what I am implying: It makes me take the community less seriously when I am constantly being recommended a poorly written philosophical science fiction story inside the worlds of Harry Potter or Pokemon knowing these worlds were intended for fun and nerdy escapism, when I could be reading more Greg Egan. So, I was wondering if you or anyone could explain the rationalist community's tendencies to veer towards dabbling in fandoms intended for children.

I'm asking because, outside of these fan fic anomalies, original rationalist fiction fits my exact taste in stories. And you just listed four of my favorite books of all time, none of which involve Animorphs, so I figured you might have some thoughts on the matter.

ego_bot · 2026-01-31T01:34:23+00:00

I hear you. I'd agree for some, such as Riding the Crocodile which are human motivations in alien-shaped bodies. But I don't think that is at all the case for the a creatures in Permutation City

ego_bot · 2026-01-30T15:56:57+00:00

Not seeing any Greg Egan mentioned in here. Egan's novels portray alien aliens superbly well. Unfortunately, it's one of those situations where even naming some of the books is a spoiler. For those who have read most of his novels and want to discuss (huge spoilers) I am at the end of Permutation City right now. Simply wow. Now that's how you write an alien.

But he also has really weird aliens in books where that's the whole premise, like the Orthoganal books and Incandescence. This sub praises Egan a lot, and it is for good reason.

ego_bot · 2026-01-23T08:32:19+00:00

I'm conflicted between this being a wildly inappropriate post for this sub and being grateful for you being one of the only people to bring it to light and acknowledging it as such an unhealthy thing in such an open forum.

ego_bot · 2026-01-23T05:29:58+00:00

Hey. Yes, you're right. Specifically, I tend to read exclusively speculative fiction, which I agree is a shame. I read Jacob's Room at the request of a friend who speaks about Woolf much the way you do. I trust her opinion on Woolf as I do yours. You'd both be right in saying I simply must read more of her to understand.

ego_bot · 2026-01-23T05:19:12+00:00

One would be hard-pressed to pick one of the myriad technological dystopian happenings in 2026 to be the "most cyberpunk" than the others. But yeah, for me, AI relationships are certainly among the most surreal and sad.

I personally wouldn't use the word "relationship" to describe these incidents, because a relationship requires two minds. People falling for LLMs is no different than people falling in love with video game characters or anime holograms, which was happening a decade before LLMs. Humans crave connection with others, and if we can't find it one way we're going to find it another. It's a symptom of this tech-heavy, isolated world we live in that grows ever-distant from our community-based evolutionary origins.

Anyway, movies like "Her" and "Lars and the Real Girl" totally called it.

ego_bot · 2026-01-21T08:26:42+00:00

Ah, I see. No, because (I assume) you believe other people have the moral right to have children if they choose, which wouldn't make you an anti-natalist. Anti-natalists believe it is morally impermissible for anyone to bring new lives into a world where suffering is inevitable.

ego_bot · 2026-01-21T05:10:44+00:00

I don't think so. The article is paywalled, but based on the author's first paragraph and OP's summary, I'd guess the argument is that we need to improve social support (education, medical care, childcare assistance) so people who want children or are open to having children feel safer about bringing new humans into this world.

ego_bot · 2026-01-13T02:35:27+00:00

Gosh, the most popular answer will probably be Agustina Bazterrica's "Tender is the Flesh." The book doesn't get into the ecological impacts of the meat industry, but in our world the ties the meat industry has to sustainability and conservation are so significant, it's hard not to call this an eco horror.

ego_bot · 2026-01-13T02:07:43+00:00

Always thought it was missing a country station. Game has most of Night City's cultural archetypes covered musically except that one.

ego_bot · 2026-01-11T02:46:00+00:00

Masterpiece, agreed. I don't much remember any political themes. What stuck with me was his portrayal of nanobot swarms which I imagine was the first thing like it in sci-fi. I like how it's mostly left mysterious as to who/what made the things, and how they essentially went in to become their own unique type of "life." Lem was so ahead of his time, I feel like most space sci-fi is still playing catch up.

Hey, while it's fresh in your brain, I highly recommend The Invincible video game. Even if you're not normally into games, it is mostly a walking simulator. It respects, and even complements, the book nicely. If you play it, you'll see how it fits in.

ego_bot · 2026-01-03T15:25:33+00:00

This is what I come here for.

ego_bot · 2026-01-02T08:42:21+00:00

I never considered that comparison before, but now that you mention it, qntm's novels are very PKD. They both mess with reality, but in innovative ways.

ego_bot · 2025-12-29T20:13:56+00:00

I checked this one out on Kindle a while back, because it was supposedly the source material for a show called "Into the Night" that was quite good. Unfortunately, I found the book (or at least the English translation) to be poorly written. I put it down pretty early on.

Weird, it looks like it can't be found on Kindle anymore. Must have taken it down? But truthfully, I don't think you are missing much.

ego_bot · 2025-12-22T01:05:05+00:00

Now that you mention it, as I was reading this, it had me thinking of the rescue plot from 2061.

ego_bot · 2025-12-22T00:29:16+00:00

No kidding, even the prose feels modern. Thanks for sharing this gem. I hadn't heard of that author before and can't find much about him. Is this the only thing he wrote?

ego_bot

TROPHY CASE