#axiomatic

[moons-wish]

'together, we might as well have been alone, so we had no choice but to part. nobody wants to spend eternity alone.'

greg egan, 'closer' (1992).

[midnights-wish]

''And I wonder: in how many infinite sets of worlds will I take one more step? And how many countless versions of me will turn around instead, and walk out of this room? Who exactly am I saving from shame, when I'll live and die in every possible way? Myself.''

Greg Egan, 'The Infinite Assassin' (Axiomatic, 1990).

[ghoulchantsister]

I’m constantly amazed by how much Eve Sedgwick’s Epistemology of the Closet is considered a founding cornerstone of queer theory/queer studies, while almost no one actually seriously considers her core understandings in “Axiomatic” and their potential consequences.

[i-like-my-books]

A scene from Greg Egan’s collection of short stories, Axiomatic. A near-contemporary couple receives messages from the future—from a child that’s still in the womb, and whom they’re  giving intellect-enhancing gene therapy

“If you were speaking to us from the future,” Angela asked carefully, ”what would you tell us? That you’ve reversed the Greenhouse Effect?” Eugene shook his head sadly. ”That you’ve made war obsolete?” No. ”That you’ve abolished hunger?” No. ”That you’ve found a cure for cancer?” No. ”What, then?”

”I would say that I have found a way to Nirvana.”

[...] Angela was distraught. ”But … why would you waste your talents on destroying yourself, when you could have lived a happy, productive life, and done great things for the whole human race?”

”Why?” Eugene frowned. ”Don’t ask me to account for my actions; you’re the ones who would have made me what I would have been. If you want my subjective opinion: personally, I can’t see any point in existence when I can achieve so much without it—but I wouldn’t call that an explanation; it’s merely a rationalisation of processes best described at a neural level.” He shrugged apologetically. ”The question really has no meaning. Why anything? The laws of physics, and the boundary conditions of space-time. What more can I say?”

[left-handlibrary]

I had wonderful time listening to Maria Tumarkin in conversation with Kate Mildenhall at work last weekend and cannot wait to dive into her book. Tumarkin is a cultural historian and professor of writing at the University of Melbourne. The conversation was utterly stimulating - both Tumarkin and Mildenhall are fantastic, thoughtful speakers. Axiomatic will be the next book I pick up along with my uni reads. I’ve also seen that the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne is hosting an event with Tumarkin - well worth seeing if you can make it (or just listen to the podcast online!)

[contre-qui]

Word of the Day // 9.10.2017

Axiomatic

adjective.

Middle Greek.

taken for granted.

"It is axiomatic that good athletes have a strong mental attitude."

Merriam Webster.

[lakanen]

Parapsychology is the science dealing with those biological or psychological events which show that the categories of matter, space, and time (and thus of causality) are not axiomatic.

Carl Jung

[midnights-wish]

''Out of all those hundreds of billions, don't you think there'll be people who are just like you?' 'What are you talking about now? Reincarnation?' 'No. Statistics. There can be no 'reincarnation' - there are no souls to be reborn. But eventually - by pure chance - someone will come along who'll embody everything that defines you.''

Greg Egan, 'The Walk' (Axiomatic, 1990),