Reading 2 - Sea of Tranquility 4 - Bad Chickens / 2401 5 - Last Book Tour on Earth / 2203 In the fall of 1990, Dr. Phil Neujahr strode to the front of my Intro to Philosophy class at Oglethorpe University, looked at the 15 or so of us gathered in front of him and asked us to consider, just for a moment, that our head was not on our shoulders, but was instead in a vat of fluid with electrodes attached, feeding our brain with electrical stimulations that made us think and feel everything around us. He asked us to consider, for a moment, what it meant when we said something was real.
Generic Comment: It was sad to read about the fake reality on the moon to make people feel more at home. Some day, the younger people would no longer remember the earth and the fake may seem real. However, to those who "migrated" from earth to the moon colony, their new reality was a pale imitation of what they thought was real.
End of World: Yes. I think that each generation questions this, especially in light of the continuation of wars and pestilence. And, frankly, just because the world still exists does not mean that one day it really will be the end of the world (defined as our planet).
Self Protection Oh, yes, I believe that any organism (individual or corporation or business or group) spends a lot of energy in protecting their "spot in the sun." Some organizations talk about working themselves out of a job but right now I cannot think of one. Can you?
Pandemic: One day our dining hall was open and we were allowed to get take-out. The next day, with no notice, there was only delivery. We were definitely caught by surprise. And, of course, we had no idea how long the restrictions were going to last. It was claustrophobic to be 24/7 in our apartment. We were only allowed to go get our mail. The descriptions in the book struck me as very realistic.
Generic Comment: It was sad to read about the fake reality on the moon to make people feel more at home. Some day, the younger people would no longer remember the earth and the fake may seem real. However, to those who "migrated" from earth to the moon colony, their new reality was a pale imitation of what they thought was real.
End of World: Yes. I think that each generation questions this, especially in light of the continuation of wars and pestilence. And, frankly, just because the world still exists does not mean that one day it really will be the end of the world (defined as our planet).
Self Protection Oh, yes, I believe that any organism (individual or corporation or business or group) spends a lot of energy in protecting their "spot in the sun." Some organizations talk about working themselves out of a job but right now I cannot think of one. Can you?
Pandemic: One day our dining hall was open and we were allowed to get take-out. The next day, with no notice, there was only delivery. We were definitely caught by surprise. And, of course, we had no idea how long the restrictions were going to last. It was claustrophobic to be 24/7 in our apartment. We were only allowed to go get our mail. The descriptions in the book struck me as very realistic.