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Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

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Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#51

Post by rbanffy »

derefr wrote: post #49
tree_of_item wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel as if it's the exact opposite. Do any of Asimov's books on "positronic brains" hold up to genuine, in-depth scientific inquiry? He just glossed over the details of their workings. Does this mean they're not sci-fi?

It's not the setting that needs to be scientific for a work to be SF, though, but rather the conflict . The conflict in the Robot books isn't about "positronic brains," it's about robotic interactions with humanity. The science being employed is sociology. To put it another way—the initial state of the universe when the book starts can be anything you like, with any rules you like. SF is just a strict dedication sett…

> The science being employed is sociology.

Perhaps in the case of Avatar, the science would be anthropology with a small bite of psychology and history mixed in.

A lot of good sci-fi stories gloss over the details of several sciences (and often violate them in ways that would make a screenwriter turn red) to have the opportunity to examine one specific idea.

Or, to put it more concisely, they tell one story while pretending to tell another.

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#52

Post by rbanffy »

bobbyi wrote: post #24
megaduck wrote: post #10

I think he largely misses the point. Like many other sci-fi pieces, Avatar is a fantasia and not a serious look at our possible future. Much of the human technology was obviously modeled after current American military tech, and that was a deliberate choice. This approach allowed Cameron to tap into current feelings and cultural currents. If things had been more 'realistic', then it would have been alien to modern au…

His criticisms seem to amount to saying that he doesn't like this genre of movie. Complaining that a fantasy movie doesn't make realistic predictions about the future of technology is like complaining that a romantic comedy didn't have enough action scenes.

It's very hard to tell a story if you are to make an accurate enough prediction of the future.

Raw unadorned reality doesn't lend itself to make great movies.

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#54

Post by Jim72 »

Confusion wrote: post #48
Jim72 wrote: post #6

What bunk. He tries to say that riding the backs of the birds is a rip of Harry Potter. Does the guy know nothing of Greek Mythology? Did he not see Clash of the Titans with Persius riding the back of Pegasus; which clearly predates Potter.

He tries to say that You are putting words into his mouth to support your interpretation of those images. I interpreted those images as simply another demonstration of the lack of imagination the movie displays. Whether riding a big flying animal is derived from Greek mythology or from Harry Potter is irrelevant. Before flinging the first criticism that comes to your mind at him, be critical of your own criticism. Su…

I put no words in his mouth. You apparently failed to read the article.

"... and the flying birds were derivative of Potter creatures, including mastering flying on the back of big bird creatures."

And I am sure Kurzweil knows about Pegasus. All the more the reason his article was bunk!

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#56

Post by Adam503 »

I think Kurzweil completely missed the very important set up point that the campaign on Avavar was not being conducted by the most modern military forces of that time on Earth. It was being conducted entirely by a corporate entity and it's ex-military hirelings (think Blackwater).

I thought this point was particularly well though out.

No profit-driven model of an corporate military campaign to put down a native uprising would send state-of-the-art anything. They'd send on-hand dated military surplus weapons and equipment and troops to fire full auto machine guns, flamethrowers, napalm, white phosphorus rounds, field artillery, and lots of ammo.

State of the art military vs. peasant uprisings are useless. Watch the movie "Zulu Dawn" sometime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_Dawn

Like the gatling guns on the front of A-10s and A-10s themselves the Air Force kept pulling out of retirement. Some situations just don't require anything more sophisticated than a gatling gun and something well armored and maneuverable to hang a gatling gun on the front of.

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#57

Post by Confusion »

Jim72 wrote: post #54
Confusion wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He tries to say that You are putting words into his mouth to support your interpretation of those images. I interpreted those images as simply another demonstration of the lack of imagination the movie displays. Whether riding a big flying animal is derived from Greek mythology or from Harry Potter is irrelevant. Before flinging the first criticism that comes to your mind at him, be critical of your own criticism. Su…

I put no words in his mouth. You apparently failed to read the article. "... and the flying birds were derivative of Potter creatures, including mastering flying on the back of big bird creatures." And I am sure Kurzweil knows about Pegasus. All the more the reason his article was bunk!

I completely missed that line when I first read the article and I even missed it when I read it again, to figure out what you were talking about. I guess that shows how relevant the point about the flying thing is to the content of the article.

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#58

Post by Adam503 »

Jim72 wrote: post #6

What bunk. He tries to say that riding the backs of the birds is a rip of Harry Potter. Does the guy know nothing of Greek Mythology? Did he not see Clash of the Titans with Persius riding the back of Pegasus; which clearly predates Potter.

Kurzweil a smart guy, but I don't think I want to see him start up a movie review blog anytime soon

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#59

Post by [deleted] »

sliverstorm wrote: post #39
barmstrong wrote: post #4

Kurzweil probably has no room to criticize given that he has never attempted to make a film like that and probably couldn't do better himself - but I agree with his general point that the movie was anti-technology and anti-corporation. This is a disturbing and misinformed viewpoint held by many people in Hollywood for some reason.

disturbing? misinformed? To a certain degree, the detractors are a positive thing. They are like the brakes on a train, preventing it from becoming a runaway train. For example, Skynet... imho, that will NEVER happen, cause everybody is so fscking scared of it. We'll get to the point where it could have happened, but fear will probably ensure we have safeguards and such.

[deleted]

Re: Reflections on Avatar by Ray Kurzweil

#60

Post by hollerith »

sliverstorm wrote: post #39
barmstrong wrote: post #4

Kurzweil probably has no room to criticize given that he has never attempted to make a film like that and probably couldn't do better himself - but I agree with his general point that the movie was anti-technology and anti-corporation. This is a disturbing and misinformed viewpoint held by many people in Hollywood for some reason.

disturbing? misinformed? To a certain degree, the detractors are a positive thing. They are like the brakes on a train, preventing it from becoming a runaway train. For example, Skynet... imho, that will NEVER happen, cause everybody is so fscking scared of it. We'll get to the point where it could have happened, but fear will probably ensure we have safeguards and such.

You haven't talked to many AGI (artificial general intelligence) researchers, have you?
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