Below is a video of Richard Dawkins reading the new preface to the paperback of The God Delusion. Those people that have already formed stringent opinions about Dawkins probably won’t be reassured by him rattling off a list of responses to the press criticisms of his book. Nevertheless have a listen to the content of what he has to say anyway. There is a response to every pub-based criticism of his book also and that is nice to hear coming from the man himself. I’m rather pleased that this book became a best seller, and with the paperback edition coming out, it could well become a fixture of many household shelves.
It seems that God is really messing with our heads at the moment with the announcement in Nature today of the discovery of Gigantoraptor fossils. A sort of flesh eating dino-bird twice as tall as a man. Yeah right like that ever even existed.
In 2004 president George W. Bush talked of a new commitment to putting a permanent base on the moon and to a 
manned mission to Mars. One wonders, as many did at the time, whether this was just an attempt to distract the electorate from the disastrous war in Iraq. Across the pond the European Space Agency (ESA), has a project named ‘Aurora‘ with a long term aim of putting human beings on Mars by around 2030. We have the technology, not withstanding significant practical difficulties (not least of which the difficulty of sustaining human beings over such long periods of time and distance in space), to make the trip. Only the most stubborn and unimaginative argue for the wisdom of robots over human beings. Human beings have a long overdue rendezvous with the red planet. It would be a seismic technological and cultural achievement with ramifications for the whole of humanity. On a practical level human beings are more effective scientists on the ground than robots, and human footsteps on that alien world would serve to reinforce the uniqueness and fragility of our own planet. The cost is undeniably massive; but it could could be lessened by more cooperation between nations. The US military budget still dwarfs the amount given to NASA each year. There is no way that, with improving technologies considered, cost should still be an impediment for this voyage.
But my guess is that if we are going to get there in the next couple of decades or so the impetus is not going to come from greater international cooperation, but rather from competition and new global tensions. If we’ve learned anything from the Apollo missions and of the earlier space race of the Cold War period, it is that political expediency rather than scientific advancement has driven space exploration to take its boldest steps. In October of 2003 China became only the third nation to have launched a human being into space. The people who mocked this accomplishment at the time for being forty years too late to hold any significance, completely missed the point. In a subsequent Pentagon report China was upgraded in terms of the military threat it posed. As far as the military are concerned space flight has always been first and foremost about rocket power.
For the Chinese however this was matter of national prestige. The Pilot Yang Lewei (I’m tempted to say astronaut but perhaps cosmonaut might be more apt) is a national hero. Before embarking he is reported to have said:
I will not disappoint the motherland. I will complete each movement with total concentration. And I will gain honor for the People’s Liberation Army.
The economy of China will soon be on a par with the US and so it follows that there will be a power struggle played out in a variety of domains. Is it foolish to imagine that this one party state might see a terrific opportunity to beat the US and the West to the punch and land humans on Mars first? It would certainly be a delicious twist in world history if China, having suffered centuries of humiliation and defeat both militarily and economically at the hands of the West, was the first to conquer another autonomous planet in our solar system. In a way it would be a resumption of normal service in terms of cultural achievements with regard to the many centuries Chinese civilization blossomed and prospered out in front whilst the west slumbered under the reign of medieval tyrannies. Who knows, for future historians China landing on Mars might come to signify the moment they consolidated their position as the dominant world power. Wild speculation though this may be, maybe space exploration will once again figure as a marker for relative development and vitality.
If China were even in the race, it would certainly spur on American and European projects just as the Moon landing became a cold war imperative in the sixties. Who knows, in the interest of science perhaps this competitive edge is what’s needed; we could do without the prospect of nuclear apocalypse that may accompany it however.
But relations between nation states aside the landing of Human Beings on Mars would be a beautiful and awe-inspiring thing, whoever manages to achieve it. I hope in my lifetime to have the privilege of witnessing this event.
Partly it’s just that I wanted to add this image to my blog somewhere and partly it’s because I want to show my support for the idea put forward by this journalist here; but here it is, Damien Hirst’s latest sensational creation. I think it’s hella cool. It was doing the rounds in all the weekend glossies last weekend (it seems to have been made for this kind of consumption); of particular note was an interview with the artist by Will Self in the Telegraph. I think it’s a marvelous thing and undoubtedly when seen in the flesh it’s all the more impressive. Johnathan Jones believes (and I agree) that the object should be retained for a British museum rather than sold to a rich foreign collector only to be buried in storage somewhere:
Yet what masterpiece will remain in London to remind us of the best British artist of modern times? The Tate will have only a few shells and pill bottles as mementos of Hirst. For the Love of God – the diamond skull – is the perfect Hirst for a museum. Unlike the shark, which decayed, it is almost totally imperishable. It is designed to be a rock for the ages, covered in rocks. It’s a wonder of the modern world, with all the darkness at its hollow center that implies. It is, in its rarity and eerie beauty, one of the most amazing artefacts ever made in this country.
Now for the task of convincing the public that it’s worth the price tag, and as the author notes, deciding on an apt location.
It’s proper good reading this Augie March, it really is. Don’t always get it and some of it is frankly over my head, but so often passages deserve to be read again and savored. Like this one where Augie is returning from an accidental road trip across Michigan:
When evening came on we were tearing out of Gary and toward South Chicago, the fire and smudge mouth of the city gorping to us. As the flamy bay shivers for home-coming Neopolitans. You enter your native water like a fish. And there sits the great fish god or Dragon. You then bear your soul like a minnow before Dragon, in your familiar water.
Or this passage where Augie is ruminating on the subjectivity of bitterness:
And if the highest should come in that empty overheated tavern with its flies and the hot radio buzzing between the plays and plugged beer from Sox Park, what are you supposed to do but take the mixture and say imperfection is always the condition as found; all great beauty too, my scratched eyeballs will always see scratched. And there may gods turn up anywhere.
It’s really bloody good this book.
Here is a lazily cobbled together list of likes and dislikes that have been sustaining me over the past few weeks. Other stuff has been happening, it’s just well, y’know…
Hates
1. That advert that features a guy using a car for a skateboard. I can’t begin to describe how much this advert annoys me. The thought of thousands of gawpers sat in their homes transfixed by this singularly empty imagery fills me with despair. I think it’s the tinkly piano music cynically employed to try and lend it some air of nuanced grace or profundity that gets to me. There was this jerk I went to University with who works in advertising and I imagine this to be exactly the kind of unadulterated crap he’d come up with.
Actually I can’t think of any more hates right now (aside from moaning about the British weather and my personal gripes with the department of work and pensions with whom I’ve had some regretful yet necessary dealings with lately), so I’ll just move on to more positive things instead.
Loves
1. Cosmos by Carl Sagan. I’ve been watching this seminal series from 1980 on tv links and believe it to be the best effort of its kind I’ve seen on television. Though they cover mostly things I’ve encountered before somewhere, the shows have a remarkable way of clarifying ideas and explaining them in a simple way. This must in part be down to the sympathetic and affable narrator himself, (though bizarrely I’ve noticed how a Sagan has a strong resemblance in speech to Agent Smith from the Matrix films). It also has a kind of retro appeal reminiscent of a gentler and more subtle time. A contemporary rendering of the same ideas would no doubt bombard you with impressive visuals but at the same time it would spoon feed you information and generally insult your intelligence.
2. The Adventures of Augie March. This is the most difficult but rewarding novel I’ve read in a
long time. I’ve struggled with Saul Bellow in the past but once you get into the flow of this one it’s really compelling. It reminds me a little of Felix Krull by Thomas Man. Both novels follow a young man into maturity and both central protagonists seem to have a similar quality of being empty vessels able to alter themselves chameleon-like to each new situation that presents itself. Though not having finished it yet, I’m sure its full off great insights into the the nature of the American experience. For instance, the way in which Augie’s brother Simon marries into a family of money despite being from a poverty stricken background. It is the very quality of having come from a modest background and being a self-made man that is seen as an attribute by the new in-laws, who themselves were once poor. This is the very opposite of the European way where almost invariably the monied marry the monied and the nouveau riche are to be looked down upon. The way immigrant families picked themselves up and carried on after the great depression is at the heart of the American myth and a prelude to its becoming the undisputed superpower in the second half of the twentieth century. The text is peppered with references to European literature and history that, though perplexing and obscure at times, throw into the relief the human drama playing out in the New World. I’m also enjoying the rather lost quality of Augie as he tries to find a place in the world for himself.
3. The Office (US Vesrion). Like most people I was a bit prejudiced when I heard that there was to be an American version of the classic British comedy, and this probably explains why I’d not given this show a try until very recently (again through the generosity of tv links). I’m pleased to be able to report that it works! Sometimes marvelously so; I have on occasion uttered forth proper belly-laughs when viewing it. It fills a gap left by the end of the brilliant Peep Show 4. Once you get over the fact that it’s just different actors playing the same parts, and realise that they’ve achieved more or less the same formula its really very enjoyable. ‘Michael Scott’ i.e. David Brent is played by Steve Carall who is as we all know a gifted comic. Give it a try.
At perhaps arguably the slightly too old age of twenty six I am officially no longer a student. From now on I’m only going to read books I really want to read; in fact I’m only going to read science fiction from now on. Don’t try and talk me out of it. I know where my place is and it’s thousands of light years from the here and now.
I went to see Alex Garland and Danny Boyle’s new film Sunshine the other day. I really enjoyed it. Despite failing on the science front somewhat (it’s never explained why the sun is suddenly dying in the near future, or how putting a bomb in it will somehow replenish its fuel), it does get you thinking about some big questions: for instance, is conscious life the supreme accomplishment of the universe, and can life outlive it’s own solar system of origin? All the way through I was thinking about that saying, I can’t remember which physicists said it, that “human beings are atoms way of thinking about atoms”.
Speaking of sunshine, I can’t believe the weather we’re having. It’s been great for about a month now. Last year was the hottest on record and April this year was the hottest April on record. Perfect weather for sitting in the garden reading.
So before I go outside myself I just want to draw your attention to the video below. I was searching for footage of Christopher Hitchens’ recent appearance on the daily show when I came across the video below. I didn’t realise that Penn and Teller did this kind of thing. They haven’t been on our screens for ages it seems which is a shame. incidentally I’m sure everyone is excited about the release of Hitchens’ new book ‘God is Not Great’. I’ve got mine pre-ordered already.
Just in case anyone hasn’t discovered Sarah Silverman yet and isn’t completely in love with her, here’s a little taster. I can’t really post much at the moment because I’m busy with other things so this’ll have to keep you going for a while. That said Joe and Matt have agreed to write for this blog so watch out for their contributions coming soon. Actually if you read some of the comments it will tell you that Joe has already posted, but this is incorrect. There are few bugs in the system that need to be looked at (or rather it’s me being an idiot) . It could get confusing.
I’ve just noticed that when you log out of MySpace you’re confronted with a full page advert for gym membership. I suppose this is because they’re trying to capitalize on that unloved johnny no-mates feeling that sometimes accompanies a fruitless trip to the all conquering social networking site (nobody likes facebook). People think “I really have to do something about my fat arse or nobody is going to want to be friends with me or sleep with me ever again”, and hey presto there’s the solution. I wouldn’t know about any of this of course, it’s merely speculation.
It’s really interesting reading Huxley’s Brave New World again after Houllebecq. Houellebecq’s reading of the society portrayed in the novel is morally ambiguous in comparison to the way in which the phrase ‘Brave New World’ has entered the vernacular to signify a technological consumerist dystopia.
The idea that Houllebecq borrows is that, in late capitalist society the traditional family unit and viviparous motherhood are totally incommensurate with a system where sex is just another commodity. This dissonance results in epidemic levels of depression and to some degree, ideological conflict. The so-called sexual revolution of the sixties, in conjunction with certain other factors, precipitated the total meltdown of western society.
The solution: remove competitiveness from reproduction; engineer the animal out of the man. Humans have outgrown their biology. It’s time create our successors. Pretty wacky I know – but after you’ve read enough sordid Houellebecq sex scenes it seems quite an attractive idea.
Sometimes when I look at the all the evidence of our ‘raunch’ culture I think Houellebecq may be correct in this rather depressing view of things. Maybe the Jihadists are right! But predictably enough, I’m more inclined to just blame capitalism, or rather the way it’s managed, or not managed, if you see what I mean. Not much of a conclusion I know, but it’s a start.