When Anderson treats religious believers sympathetically, do you share the beliefs or respect them or regard them as merely irrational?
Will civilizations continue to rise and fall or is it possible to break out of this cycle?
Is technology liberating, oppressive or both?
Is Artificial Intelligence possible? Will it supersede its creators?
Is a space program a waste of resources needed on Earth?
Is the universe full of intelligences or are we the first?
Is Nicholas van Rijn admirable or a greedy hog?
Can you identify all of the covers displayed in the attached image?
What makes me think that I can get away with a post that merely repeats earlier questions?
I can because it's my blog! But I have no control over what other people write so please do.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I don't know how emphatically I can answer the questions you proposed to fans of Poul Anderson and readers of your blog, but I will answer them.
When Anderson wrote about Catholic characters in his works, I naturally agreed with them on matters of defined doctrine.
It is my belief that civilizations will continue to rise and fall. Also, this seems to have been of Anderson's own belief, even if he sometimes speculated about somehow breaking out of this cycle.
Technology is liberating, not oppressive.
I am skeptical AIs are possible. So, NO to both.
NO, the space program has NOT been a waste of resources. Accurate weather forecasting alone, due to weather satellites orbiting Earth, has all by itself vastly repaid every penny spent on the space program.
We don't know, yet, that intelligent life exists on other planets.
Nicholas van Rijn is a VERY admirable man, and one of my most favorite of the characters created by Poul Anderson.
Some of the book covers in the illustration you chose are too blurry to make out, but here goes, from top down:
THE BOOK OF POUL ANDERSON
THE QUEEN OF AIR AND DARKNESS
INCONSTANT STAR
THE SHIELD OF TIME
THE UNICORN TRADE
PAST TIMES
TIME WARS
THE BROKEN SWORD
THE GAME OF EMPIRE
FLANDRY OF TERRA
AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE
ENSIGN FLANDRY
A STONE IN HEAVEN
Sean
Sean,
Thanks.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Anytime! Also, I made a mistake about the illustration. Second row, the book I thought was INCONSTANT STAR is actually THE AVATAR. Third row, I recognized another cover illustration: DIALOGUE WITH DARKNESS.
Sean
Correction: DIALOGUE WITH DARKNESS is in the second row, not the third.
Sean
"Is Nicholas van Rijn admirable or a greedy hog?"
Yes.
He's complex.
Kaor, DAVID!
Maybe Nicholas vam Rijn is a little too fond of eating, but that is the only real criticism of him I would make! (Smiles)
Of all the characters created by Poul Anderson, he seems to have been most fond of Old Nick and Dominic Flandry. Next would come, I think, C. Valerius Gratillonius and Anson Guthrie.
Sean
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