(ii) ...because goals occur to us as we develop our capabilities;
(iii) ...when "'...individuals fearlessly work out their private destinies.'" (ibid.);
(iv) ...because "'...things simply happen.'" (ibid.) - and could have happened differently.
In Tales Of The Flying Mountains, Interlude 4, Lindgren summarizes others' views, (i)-(iii), then states his own, (iv). In denying that there are "'...any general rules....,'" (ibid.) he contradicts characters in some other future histories, including two by Anderson, but sf is about exploring alternative possibilities.
"...things simply happen..." is a sound empirical theory of history and society.
2 comments:
History is a series of low-probability accidents bouncing off reach other. If you wound time back to 1000 CE, and let it run forward, 99.99% of the time you'd get an extremely different 21st century.
For example, we avoided nuclear war in the 1980's because one Russian officer didn't believe what their (faulty) system was telling him.
That was an unusual display of initiative.
Kaor, To Both!
I'm inclined to agree with point "iv" as well. Low probability accidents bouncing off each other and events turning out in totally unpredictable ways. I would add that individuals also matter--like that Russia officer who bucked the rigid Soviet command and control system to double check what his computer/radar system told him. It would have been so much easier (and "safer") to just go by the "book."
Ad astra! Sean
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