Programmer; aspiring fiction writer; interested in science, philosophy, history, science fiction, fantasy, skepticism
Old posts (pre 8/15/23): https://universeodon.com/@selfawarepatterns
Shroud
I was initially leery of picking up Adrian Tchaikovsky's latest book Shroud. It seemed to have a space horror vibe, and while I've enjoyed a lot of Tchaikovsky's work, I'm not a horror fan. I don't mind if a story has elements of it, but usually don't enjoy straight horror. Thankfully, Shroud isn't horror, but more a demonstration of how hard it could be to communicate with an alien intelligence living in a radically different environment.
A reread of Consider Phlebas
Iain Banks' Culture setting is probably the closest thing to outright paradise in science fiction. It's an interstellar post-scarcity techno-anarchist utopia, where sentient machines do all the work and the humans hang around engaging in hobbies or other hedonistic pursuits. Some do choose to work, but there's no requirement for it since money isn't required. Everyone is effectively immortal and lives as long as they want.
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/06/29/a-reread-of-consider-phlebas/
Not Till We Are Lost
Not Till We Are Lost is the fifth Bobiverse book by Dennis Taylor. I've been following these books for years. Although there's usually a delay in reading new releases because they're initially exclusive to Audible. I do listen to the occasional audiobook, but most of my reading is Kindle editions. Thankfully they subsequently get released under Kindle Unlimited, which is nice.
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/06/21/not-till-we-are-lost/
The Forever War
For some reason I had never read Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, and recently decided to remedy that. Like most classic sci-fi novels, it's a quick read, much shorter than most contemporary novels. It's often been called a Vietnam veteran's response to Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Haldeman himself disputes that, although he admits it's heavily inspired by Vietnam, and overall much more antiwar than Heinlein's story.
The Agent Cormac series
A few weeks ago I reviewed Neal Asher's new book Dark Diamond. It takes place in his Polity universe, a future interstellar society ruled by AIs, where everyone is effectively immortal, but in a dangerous universe. That book featured Ian Cormac and other characters from his earlier Agent Cormac series. I read the first book in that series, Gridlinked…
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/06/14/the-agent-cormac-series/
Mickey 7
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the movie Mickey 17, which I found fairly intelligent. That movie is based on a book, Mickey 7, by Edward Ashton. The book turned out to be on Kindle Unlimited and didn't look long, and I needed a break from some of the other stuff I was reading, so it fit the bill.
@edwiebe The standard math of QM actually does imply it. There might well be data discovered at some point revealing additional variables that prevent it. But until then the only way to avoid it is to introduce assumptions essentially motivated by our preferred metaphysics.
@edwiebe If success isn't an indication of reality, then what is?
I personally don't see following the implications of successful theories as a waste of time. Black holes were an unconfirmed prediction of general relativity for decades. Einstein didn't think they were real. We can't know ahead of time which of these unconfirmed predictions will eventually be validated, and which won't.
Is quantum immortality a real thing?
In discussions about the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics, one of the concerns I often see expressed is for the perverse low probability outcomes that would exist in the quantum multiverse. For example, if every quantum outcome is reality, then in some branches of the wave function, entropy has never increased. In some branches, quantum computing doesn't work because every attempt at it has produced the wrong result and…
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/06/07/is-quantum-immortality-a-real-thing/
Murderbot, Mickey 17, and other TV notes
First a gripe. This week Amazon Prime announced that they were canceling The Wheel of Time. Amazon is in business to make money, and it makes sense to cancel shows that don't get viewership. But it seems like a lot of people didn't even know the third season was out. Those who did felt like it was finally starting to grow into its own.
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/06/01/murderbot-mickey-17-and-other-tv-notes/
Dark Diamond
Over the years I've recommended a number of Neal Asher's books. Although recently I haven't found his stuff as compelling. Dark Diamond represents something of a return to form for him: epic space opera. The story takes place in his Polity universe, one where Earth and its interstellar colonies are ruled by AI. The AIs ostensibly act in humanity's best interests, but in a way that humans don't always agree with.
What is it like to be you?
In 1974, in a landmark paper, Thomas Nagel asks what it's like to be a bat. He argues that we can never know. I've expressed my skepticism about the phrase "what it's like" or "something it is like" before, and that skepticism still stands. I think a lot of people nod at it, seeing it as self explanatory, while holding disparate views about what it actually means.
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/05/10/what-is-it-like-to-be-you/
@edwiebe Thanks! I had seen it but it was good to be reminded.
Although I remember thinking that it's a matter of degree. Both the avian pallium and mammalian cortex are descended from fish and other early palliums.
And cephalopods seem like a more striking example of independent evolution of intelligence.
But nonetheless cool stuff!
What is a non-functional account of consciousness supposed to be?
I'm a functionalist. I think the mind and consciousness is about what the brain does, rather than its particular composition, or some other attribute. Which means that if another system did the same or similar things, it would make sense to say it was conscious. Consciousness is as consciousness does. Functionalism has some advantages over other meta-theories of consciousness. One is that since we're…
The Kraken Wakes
Adrian Tchaikovsky announced the other day that he and Emma Newman were starting a new podcast: Starship Alexandria, where they will take turns recommending sci-fi and fantasy books, with most of the episode devoted to discussing them. Their first episode dropped a couple of weeks ago, and Newman made the first recommendation: The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham. This is a classic science fiction novel from 1953 that I had never heard of.
Many-worlds without necessarily many worlds?
IAI has a brief interview of David Deutsch on his advocacy for the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. (Warning: possible paywall.) Deutsch has a history of showing little patience with other interpretations, and this interview is no different. A lot of the discussion centers around his advocacy for scientific realism, the idea that science is actually telling us about the world, rather than just providing…
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/04/17/many-worlds-without-necessarily-many-worlds/
Alien Clay
What would aliens look like? Not just another intelligent species, but alien animals, or entire ecosystems? It's very hard for us to imagine them without falling back on variations of Earth animals. So aliens in sci-fi often look like insects, octopuses, or other species we're familiar with. To be sure, aliens would have evolved in the same universe we're in, with the same laws of physics.
Severance and other TV notes
Just my usual thoughts on a number of shows I've been watching. The third season of Wheel of Time is six episodes in. It starts off with a lot of action and movement. I'm still enjoying the series, particularly since we now appear to be well past what I might have read in the books decades ago, so it's all new at this point.
http://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/04/06/severance-and-other-tv-notes/
Sci-fi and fantasy writing podcasts and advice worth checking out
I've recently come across a couple of writing podcasts that are worth checking out for any aspiring sci-fi or fantasy authors. The first is On Writing With Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson is a bestselling epic fantasy author with a number of major series under his belt, not the least of which was completing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series after Jordan died.
Reducing felt experience requires not preemptively dismissing the solutions
Annaka Harris has a new audio book out which she is promoting. I haven't listened to it, but based on the interviews and spots like the one below, it appears that she's doubling down on the conclusions she reached in her book from a few years ago, that consciousness is fundamental and pervasive.