Project Hail Mary Discussion

[Retros_x]

And of course his own work is full of political and social commentary that he doesn’t seem to have noticed, such as the value of large well-funded government space agencies, evidence-based scientific research and policy, well-implemented and rigorously tested incremental technological development, or international cooperation and diplomacy to solve a huge global crisis, all of which he presumably thinks are good things. It wouldn’t be the first time that an unreflective author hasn’t examined their own views or how they might be evident in their writing.

I find it always so weird when well-spoken people assume they can write/act with "politics removed" not realizing their own deeds are full of politics. Its such an easy bias to overcome and I always wrongly assume that educated people know about it.

 

[Ryujin]

Hmm. I'd like to see the maths on how long his trip would take from Earth's perspective, assuming his ship didn't reach full light speed. Because he told the kiddies that the sun would be eaten in 30 years... and that's cutting it pretty close.

?It wouldn't be a straightforward calculation as it would be continuous acceleration, to a turn-over point, and then constant deceleration to the destination. It wouldn't be too difficult to work it out, if that was all, as you could just find an average speed. The problem is that speed based time dilation isn't linear. It increased the closer you get to the speed of light. That math is beyond my experience.

 

[Clint_L]

I find it always so weird when well-spoken people assume they can write/act with "politics removed" not realizing their own deeds are full of politics. Its such an easy bias to overcome and I always wrongly assume that educated people know about it.

I don't think he assume that at all - it is very clear that PHM, for instance, has political implications, which is why it has been attacked by some conservative groups. I took him to be suggesting that he wasn't a fan of using using his art to make overtly politcal statements, which I get, especially in the current American climate where it seems like everyone wants to argue politics, all the time.