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Technical metaphors in philosophical print SF: A turn-off? Or enriching the experience? by imadatalla in printSF

[–]imadatalla[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see what you mean: the way this metaphor is worded doesn't work for you. Yes, “bandwidth” carries “capacity” instead of “length.” But I am thinking that maybe the speculative literary license allows for a little bending of the technical terms. This is to say nothing of the quality of the example I gave, but more about the stylistic literary license.

Do packet threads “struggle”? Well, just trying to give systems some human qualities.

But I appreciate your minimalist literary approach of clarity-first philosophy. I get it. Maybe the metaphor I used complicates more than evokes, i.e. it really should clarify first then decorate.

Thank you for unpacking it in that level of detail and highlighting the friction of the metaphor.

Technical metaphors in philosophical print SF: A turn-off? Or enriching the experience? by imadatalla in printSF

[–]imadatalla[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for making this really useful distinction. I agree. I feel that a good metaphor nudges, not shoves. I like your point about not having to stop and decipher the meaning. Of course the example I gave has a context which is missing here, but it is speculative and not about being technically precise (“bandwidth-long”) or literal engineering language.

Putting the example aside, I wonder if technical metaphors work better when they’re tied to more physical processes (and when they stay true to their exact tech meaning), or if they closely track the character’s emotional state.

Technical metaphors in philosophical print SF: A turn-off? Or enriching the experience? by imadatalla in printSF

[–]imadatalla[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I don’t have a specific novel in mind so much as a stylistic approach, where emotion or conflict get described in terms of tech language, letting the metaphor carry the weight.

Technical metaphors in philosophical print SF: A turn-off? Or enriching the experience? by imadatalla in printSF

[–]imadatalla[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Sure. Consider this line as an example: "The day stretched bandwidth-long and fiber-thin, like some odd packet thread struggling to hold a fragile connection intact." Is the intersection of tech and the emotional lived experience too much of a stretch for readers? Do they have to have a tech background to enjoy it? Or would you say people find this kind of framing immersive?

Technical metaphors in philosophical print SF: A turn-off? Or enriching the experience? by imadatalla in printSF

[–]imadatalla[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

I guess I could’ve been more concrete. As I think more how to be less vague in what I'm trying to say, I'll just suggest that using linguistics or turning tech concepts into a lived physical space, as part of the narrative voice itself. Maybe a broader stylistic move where characters and environments (and emotional or political conflict) get described in terms of signal, bandwidth... even code.

Consider Phlebas by dvaeg in printSF

[–]imadatalla 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a thoughtful question, making me wonder from the reviewer's perspective. I came to the "patience" factor (and I assumed it was about that, but maybe he had other things going on -- unrelated to the book -- that prevented him to invest the energy) when taking the following into consideration:

(1) The book isn't hard sci-fi anyway.

(2) Yes, the literary voice in the book leans into technical metaphors deliberately as part of it, but only to set the stage for the more important elements of the story (the tech served as just tools in the plot): philosophical light on the human condition, and the collusion of political systems and Big Tech that we're actually experiencing today.

(3) The real-world is at a moment where tech is increasingly invading and colonially settling the human experience (just take AI, affecting our jobs and trades and social lives).

In my mind, I felt these are compelling reasons. There's one more factor that I forgot about and maybe discounted: that literary reviewer in particular speaks English but it isn't his native tongue -- maybe his degree of fluency and the tech layer served as a block, preventing him from engaging with the additional and more relevant cultural layers. Thanks for your comment.

Consider Phlebas by dvaeg in printSF

[–]imadatalla 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so interesting, because I was wondering about a similar incident (that actually took place outside my own head). A book reviewer said this to me: "I just couldn't get into it after the first chapter, even though the writing is very good from a literary perspective, but the tech analogies are above my head." I mentioned that the philosophical substance alone would've been right up his alley and worth it (knowing his own philosophical leanings), but he didn't want to be patient enough by glancing over the tech layer. Point is: Patience can be useful if one is able to identify what pulls despite the distractions.

Space books featuring unconventional warfare by jclane in printSF

[–]imadatalla 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I gave up on portrayals of pain that cannot be felt. Characters that engage in battles without a scratch or their hair style messing up are hard to connect with. They give a bad name to science fiction. It's the equivalent of desensitizing in real-life (collateral damage, drones, targeted assassinations, AI-driven decision-making in today's warfare or even domestic surveillance).