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troyunrau t1_iy90vyz wrote

I really like Clarke, and yet disliked this book a lot. And probably for the same reasons you liked it.

In the 1950s and 1960s there was a lot of sci fi that sort of dealt with the premise: "we only use a fraction of our brain! Imagine what we could do if we unlocked the rest of it!" There are many books that follow this notion in a variety of ways, including: Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Le Guin's City of Illusions, and of course, Childhood's End -- and many many more. But it is all largely wishful thinking and power fantasy. No, our brains don't have an unused organ that will unlock telepathy! There are more recent examples too.

So, while it's a fun book, it's flawed by "magic". And not the good kind of magic, as defined by Clarke as "sufficiently advanced technology"

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I_Speak_For_The_Ents t1_iyb1kyo wrote

Either you or I is remembering that book wrong

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troyunrau t1_iyb791p wrote

>!aliens show up. Put humans into little reservations until a kid unlocka part of their mind. That kid can then spread that unlock to the rest of humanity.!<

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Piorn t1_iyc3qxw wrote

The great thing about metaphysics is that it doesn't have to be rooted in physics.

But I guess you're the kind of person that argues "Dreams" don't exist.

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