Bruce Farrar's blog

Do you have one, and can it be changed?

There is no way to change the past, but is a person’s future bound by the same inflexible law? Philosophers and theologians have pondered this for ages and have come to different conclusions. In the realm of the literary imagination, writers have often speculated on the same question resulting in more lively to read if not necessarily more optimistic conclusions. Consider these three novels. Hanging over the characters in each is a brooding sense of destiny.

What does a nine-year-old military genius have in common with an oversized modern dancer?

Neither one of them cares about up or down. They don’t become disoriented in a free fall or microgravity environments, and it gives them both the edge over the rest of humanity when it comes to defeating hostile aliens. Two books that have become classics of science fiction start by questioning whether creatures that spend their lives at the bottom of a gravity well will adapt to life and be able to orient themselves when gravity becomes a force that’s as gentle as a mild breeze. It might be a skill that could save all of us from extinction at the mandibles of hostile aliens.

Dreams and Alternative Histories

The Chinese Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi (also transliterated into English as Chuang Tzŭ) recorded in the book bearing his name a very striking dream. He dreamed that he was a butterfly. Then he awoke to discover that he was still Zhuangzi. Then he wondered if perhaps he was a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuangzi.