tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post6465290664011844102..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: More on Artificial WorldAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-60549981112484177772021-07-12T17:48:21.840-04:002021-07-12T17:48:21.840-04:00I don't know if you saw this post, but it trea...I don't know if you saw this post, but it treats a similar problem arising from novels in the era of Goethe: <br /><br />https://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/2021/07/more-on-imagination-and-sexuality.html<br /><br />In a way it's the same problem, because it arises from shifting sexuality into the realm of the imaginary and ideal rather than the physical. But -- as David Foster suggests -- there is another parallel. The loss of a beloved probably bit harder in the 18th century when you were only going to meet so many girls in your lifetime, and the ones physically close to you were practically often your only options. (Substitute 'boys' etc for those so inclined.) <br /><br />Today it bites hard because, though there are a gigantic number of girls on the internet, practically a young person actually know almost none. They're unavailable images on a screen, ready fodder for imaginations but untouchable in the literal sense. Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-3263816510335173032021-07-12T12:06:20.981-04:002021-07-12T12:06:20.981-04:00Another factor is that with smaller families, fewe...Another factor is that with smaller families, fewer people grow up with *siblings*, which also means that they don't meet and interact with the friends of those siblings.David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-63206854063337160382021-07-11T19:48:25.823-04:002021-07-11T19:48:25.823-04:00The alien Egtverchi hatches inside the vase. His ...The alien Egtverchi hatches inside the vase. His kind is supposed to metamorphosize through many phases--froglike, etc--and his confinement to the vase prevents his developing the strengths appropriate to each phase in turn. He emerges apparently normal, but in fact crippled physically and psychologically--and with a mean streak unknown to his ancestors.<br /><br />It seemed like an interesting, though fictional, example. Unless you're a fan of the genre, you aren't missing much.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-40451384860185009802021-07-11T18:50:46.705-04:002021-07-11T18:50:46.705-04:00I had not read it. I just read the wiki. Point s...I had not read it. I just read the wiki. Point some things out to me it would be good to know.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-78860235041677127012021-07-11T17:26:26.071-04:002021-07-11T17:26:26.071-04:00That they are crippled seems plausible. Did you e...That they are crippled seems plausible. Did you ever read <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Case_of_Conscience" rel="nofollow">A Case of Conscience</a> by James Blish?jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.com