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Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

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Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#91

Post by zem »

mangamadaiyan wrote: post #25
arethuza wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consulted an AI to see if it could recommend a better title for "Lord of the Rings" - and (I am not making this up) it suggested "Ringworld"....

Do I hear the librarian going "Ook"? Sir Terry must be turning in his grave. Edit: Note -- I confused Ringworld with Discworld, as pointed out by rowyourboat below.

to bring this full circle, terry pratchett's early science fiction novel "strata" was largely a parody of "ringworld". not as good as his post-stride-hitting discworld books, but worth a read anyway

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#92

Post by mbb70 »

You will experience decline across many axis of your life as you age. An exercise that helps me accept this is to frame my identify in terms of things I will not lose.

- I like to hike, but what I really love is to be in nature and surrounded by trees.

- I like being funny and quick-witted, but what I really love is to laugh and see other laugh.

- I like to dance, but what I really love is to feel the rhythm of music in my body.

Obviously some of this is self-delusion (I'd also like to be young, strong and smart) but I find it helps.

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#93

Post by klibertp »

My biggest fear. The nightmares I had for years after reading. They returned, years later, when observing Alzheimer's from up close, in family members. No way out, no cure. Memory, reasoning capabilities, character, everything that makes you yourself decline, disappear; you're still breathing, but you're more dead day after day. And then, when you stop being aware of all that... does it make it better? or worse? I don't want to imagine this.

Two follow-ups: "Rainbows End" by V. Vinge. Maybe there'll be a cure. Or "Choosing to Die" by Terry Pratchett. Maybe there's no cure and there won't be. At least, you can decide to go on your own terms, as a person still, not a vegetable yet.

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#94

Post by 0xEF »

NeoTar wrote: post #84
midn1ghtexpress wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly, everyone's familiar with the Dunning-Kruger effect, but the lack of intelligence in this story reminds me of Roog by Philip K. Dick. It's about a dog's paranoia regarding the local garbage men. He tries to warn his "guardian," but all he can say is: Roog.

Everyone thinks they are familiar with the Dunning Kruger effect. Probably 95% of people get it wrong. [I am not a psychologist, but here is my summary of how I think the real effect works... Let's say we have a skill we can be assessed on a scale of 1-10. 1 is worst, 10 is best. The popular perception of the Dunning Kruger effect is that people lower on the scale, say 2 or 3, rate themselves highly - say 7 or 8. And…

You can't call out a percentage of people you plucked from thin air on not understanding something, then qualify your understanding as your own interpretation.

Are you aware that your whole post just said "Nobody understands the version of this thing in my head?" This us a studied thing. You need sources and conclusions drawn from them, not your own speculation (not that it was horribly off the mark, but come on, man)

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#95

Post by dirtyhippiefree »

Daniel Keyes wrote a book in 2000 about writing the book…Algernon, Charlie and I…

The ending has the author talking to the scientists doing the research described in Flowers for Algernon.

Science wasn’t anymore put off by fiction than the scientists currently resurrecting the woolly mammoth (see novel Jurassic Park)…

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#97

Post by BitwiseFool »

NeoTar wrote: post #84
midn1ghtexpress wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly, everyone's familiar with the Dunning-Kruger effect, but the lack of intelligence in this story reminds me of Roog by Philip K. Dick. It's about a dog's paranoia regarding the local garbage men. He tries to warn his "guardian," but all he can say is: Roog.

Everyone thinks they are familiar with the Dunning Kruger effect. Probably 95% of people get it wrong. [I am not a psychologist, but here is my summary of how I think the real effect works... Let's say we have a skill we can be assessed on a scale of 1-10. 1 is worst, 10 is best. The popular perception of the Dunning Kruger effect is that people lower on the scale, say 2 or 3, rate themselves highly - say 7 or 8. And…

>"Everyone thinks they are familiar with the Dunning Kruger effect. Probably 95% of people get it wrong."

How sublimely apropos!

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#98

Post by neogodless »

eismcc wrote: post #51

After my class read this book in high school, we wrote the author and he responded. How often does that happen in today’s schools?

Just yesterday, my spouse was unpacking and came across a stack of envelopes containing correspondence I had received from authors I'd written to as a kid. I know then it felt really magical to have them write to me, especially since most of them were actually hand-written and discussed what I said meaningfully.

I don't remember it being a result of a teacher prompting me, though I suspect it was. They weren't books I read in school, but perhaps a teacher asked us what books were our favorites and had us send out letters. They're all laminated, too, which makes me think the teacher(s) took them and preserved them for us.

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#99

Post by throwway120385 »

icedchai wrote: post #88
yurishimo wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, there is a difference between an informed estimate and knowing for sure. Maybe that person you always work with is not the brightest programmer, but maybe they don't care about it as much as you. People can demonstrate intelligence is many different ways. Plus, if they doesn't want to know, why does it matter? It's their life to live in ignorance. For this specific topic, I don't see any harm in leaving your…

As an 1980's "gifted" kid, believe me, they made sure you knew. IQ tests in 3rd grade, "enrichment" classes 3x a week, taking the SAT in 7th grade for some special program. Later in life, most of these gifted kids were total disappointments. I know I am.

I was a 1990's "gifted" kid and would later come to appreciate the enrichment classes as an opportunity to interact with other kids who wouldn't make fun of me for knowing things and being able to figure things out fast. In the "normal" track you have to learn to hide all of that quickly or you get picked on. Once a week I could experience being normal.

If the expectation was that I would end up saving the world or something then sure I'm a disappointment, but I like to think I've gotten pretty far considering where I started.

Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]

#100

Post by lolinder »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #90
presidentender wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still go die in the forest. One fellow had a book written about him for doing just that.

It's not the dying that matters. It's the opportunity to live in the forest that I would like. Life and death are part of existence and we should not try and escape that. It is only the pathological dream of modern technologists to escape death, which creates a rather abysmal life.

> It is only the pathological dream of modern technologists to escape death

It's not only their dream, it's also the plot of one of the world's oldest works of literature (The Epic of Gilgamesh). Distress over the inevitability of death is not a modern phenomenon, but we have succeeded in extending our lives further than any previous generation.

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