Consciousness
by morgan on Jul.14, 2009, under Robert J. Sawyer
What are the dramatic implications of consciousness exploration? Am I understanding you that the issue is largely one of perception, how a change in our perception of reality or our place in reality alters how we interact with the world? Does it relate more to intelligence? Is it more than that?
From a writer’s point of view, is it more challenging to inject drama and action into stories built around consciousness? On the surface, it doesn’t seem to pack the dramatic punch of alien invasion or giant space battles, but I’m certain that appearances are deceiving.
On a side note, we’ve made some changes to the Borders Science Fiction landing page so it is easier for browsers to f ind the link to our page. Check out the link here to see the new look…
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July 14th, 2009 on 9:38 am
Well, yes, it’s challenging. My latest novel, WWW: WAKE, is all about the emergence of consciousness in the World Wide Web — an entity that has no moving parts. So, the action scenes were hard to write. (In fact, I decided to interleave two subplots NOT involving the nascent consciousness directly, in part so that I COULD include action scenes in an othewise fairly cerebral narrative.)
But, y’know, for me the action/adventure parts of any book or movie are usually the least interesting parts. I’d trade the entire sword fight on the mining platform in the latest STAR TREK movie for that brief moment between Spock and Uhura in the turbolift any day.
July 14th, 2009 on 10:09 am
I guess for me it really comes down to whether SF is “the literature of ideas” or “the literature of eye candy.” I think it’s the former, and so I’d way rather read a rumination on consciousness than yet another adolescent power-trip fantasy in which things blow up real good.
July 14th, 2009 on 11:14 am
An interesting tangent that seems to be exploring consciousness can be found in videogames. Persona 3 and Persona 4 for the PS2 both explore how the subconscious mind affects ‘the real world.’ Part of the plot of Final Fantasy X is that one of the main characters is alive only because he has been remembered by a collective conscious of beings. Also, some anime shows explore the idea as well. The Homunculi in “Full Metal Alchemist” are soulless beings created when a person tries to resurrect a loved one. The majority of the plot of “Bleach” is based around characters called ‘Soul-reapers.’
I think all outlets for scifi/fantasy explore consciousness in different ways. That’s what draws the reader/player in. The author/designer is able to explore different ideas beyond what is believed to be realistic, but usually expresses them in a way that is a reflection on the real world. And the critics say it is all escapist