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Manny's Reviews > Permutation City
Permutation City
by
by
Manny's review
bookshelves: australia, science-fiction, linguistics-and-philosophy, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, transcendent-experiences
Jan 13, 2019
bookshelves: australia, science-fiction, linguistics-and-philosophy, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, transcendent-experiences
The Book of Greg
1. And the LORD said, lo, for now seest thou through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now knowest thou in part; but then shalt thou know even as also I am known.
2. And Greg said, come on God. Stop tantalising me with all this mystical bullshit and givest Thou me the straight dope. Please?
(view spoiler)
1. And the LORD said, lo, for now seest thou through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now knowest thou in part; but then shalt thou know even as also I am known.
2. And Greg said, come on God. Stop tantalising me with all this mystical bullshit and givest Thou me the straight dope. Please?
(view spoiler)
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Reading Progress
January 25, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 25, 2015
– Shelved
January 7, 2019
–
Started Reading
January 7, 2019
–
2.66%
"Don't you just hate it when you wake up and discover that you're not you, but just a copy of you that you decided to run in a simulated universe? You're sitting there thinking how unfair it is that you're in this crappy computer while you're having fun out there in the real world. Why couldn't you have been you instead?
Well, so far so good, but I bet it gets more complicated soon."
page
10
Well, so far so good, but I bet it gets more complicated soon."
January 7, 2019
–
11.97%
"- So when does this info-dump end?
- Honey, the whole book is an info-dump. Relax and enjoy the ride."
page
45
- Honey, the whole book is an info-dump. Relax and enjoy the ride."
January 8, 2019
–
26.6%
"I want to know more about the relationship between the Church of the God Who Makes No Difference and the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent. Has there been a schism or something?"
page
100
January 9, 2019
–
47.87%
"Well, the city sounds intriguing, but I'm pretty dubious about the permutations. They requires more suspension of disbelief than Julian Barbour, and I don't say that lightly."
page
180
January 10, 2019
–
63.83%
"So you're a simulated person who's just been switched on, and your first thought is that you remember you're a perfect copy of another simulated person who's created you to undertake a hazardous one-way mission. What do you do?
a) Just head off towards the abyss, this was the plan all along.
b) Try to kill your creator and escape.
c) Offer to flip a coin, loser goes on the mission and winner stays behind."
page
240
a) Just head off towards the abyss, this was the plan all along.
b) Try to kill your creator and escape.
c) Offer to flip a coin, loser goes on the mission and winner stays behind."
January 11, 2019
–
77.13%
"The worst part of creating an artificial universe is that it can easily evolve beings intelligent enough to be able to figure out that they, or their distant ancestors, or their world, must be designed. Then what do you do? You're kind of morally obligated to tell them where they came from, but if you choose that path then you've probably screwed up the experiment. No wonder so few people want to be God."
page
290
January 13, 2019
–
91.76%
"So, let's suppose you were God, and you'd done such a good job of creating the world that you couldn't break your own laws and make miracles happen, but you'd actually only created the solar system and a bit of space around it. Then if you wanted to manifest yourself, wouldn't it make sense to manipulate the external boundary conditions and appear as an alien in a UFO? I don't know why I never thought of that."
page
345
January 13, 2019
– Shelved as:
australia
January 13, 2019
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
January 13, 2019
– Shelved as:
linguistics-and-philosophy
January 13, 2019
– Shelved as:
too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts
January 13, 2019
– Shelved as:
transcendent-experiences
January 13, 2019
–
Finished Reading
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Jan 13, 2019 10:30AM
"And when all of your children start to resent you; won't you come see me Queen Jane?" - Bob Dylan
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It turns out that (view spoiler) I am unconvinced by the argument, but then I have never owned a turtle or studied the theology of logic.
Manny wrote: "It turns out that [spoilers removed] I am unconvinced by the argument, but then I have never owned a turtle or studied the theology of logic."I really think I'm lying on the main deck of my super yacht while slowly cruising around the Mediterranean, but for some reason, I never get a tan... the logic has failed me here...
Manny wrote: "[spoilers removed]"I better get a few books and magazines to help pass the time...
This really is an engagingly crazy book. The author is very clever, knows a lot of science and philosophy, and has come up with all kinds of startling ideas. It's sort of H.G. Wells for the twenty-first century.
Jim wrote: "right, but what's the turtle standing on?"
I think donkey's back last I heard.
I think donkey's back last I heard.
Manny wrote: "This really is an engagingly crazy book. The author is very clever, knows a lot of science and philosophy, and has come up with all kinds of startling ideas. It's sort of H.G. Wells for the twenty-..."adding it to the tbr list...
btw, have you read PKDick's Vulcan's Hammer? there's a supercomputer, headquartered in Geneva, that is essentially in charge of the globe and has the final say on all decisions of the global government... made me think of you and AI machines
Manny wrote; "1. And the LORD said, lo, for now seest thou through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now knowest thou in part; but then shalt thou know even as also I am known."
Well you know, if the LORD has to start off with a Bergman plagiarization, it's only logical that the LORD be secretive regarding background. ………………… Freaky. I googled it and came up with Otis T. You don't think that …………………...
Well you know, if the LORD has to start off with a Bergman plagiarization, it's only logical that the LORD be secretive regarding background. ………………… Freaky. I googled it and came up with Otis T. You don't think that …………………...
No, Vulcan's Hammer is a PKD that I still haven't checked out. Didn't know about the Geneva connection :)
I'm listening to the audio book. Difficult to keep straight who is flesh-and-blood and who is a copy. Then, midway through there's that twist - copy Paul wakes up in the hospital and it is revealed his experience has been medically induced - he's the real Paul and not a copy. It strikes me this potentially undercuts the other copies, like Peer. And why does everyone appear to be obsessed with the quantity of life while neglecting the quality of life? Who would have thought people in this future world would be following the philosophy of Jeremy Bentham more than any other thinker?
It's incredibly annoying when you think you're real and you find out you're just a copy. I don't think the reverse is as bad, but it's still pretty embarrassing. I looked around and found a good suggestion in Carl Sagan - now when I'm creating a simulated universe I leave a PostIt note a few million digits into the decimal expansion of pi, and it makes life a whole lot pleasanter.
Manny wrote: "It's incredibly annoying when you think you're real and you find out you're just a copy. I don't think the reverse is as bad, but it's still pretty embarrassing. I looked around and found a good ..."
As when you find out your supposedly identical twin is actually fraternal..annoying.
It's not as bad as discovering that the person you think you are is really your identical twin, you've killed them, and you're both androids. That, uh, happened to a friend of mine.
Finally got around to finishing. Greg Egan wrote a dozy. So much going on.
Just did post my review of this incredible novel. One focus: the possibility of modifying yourself if you were to become a Copy in a simulated universe (I note several possibilities in my review). So the question is: What modification would you make on yourself, Manny, if you were to spend several years as a copy?
