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# 2019-11-22 - The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon |
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A friend recommended Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon. The |
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local library did not have that book, but they had The Speed of Dark. |
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The premise sounded fascinating. The protagonist is an autistic man |
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who is employed for his superior skills working with mathematical |
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patterns. He then has to make a decision whether to undergo an |
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experimental treatment to cure his autism. |
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The book reminded me a little of Flowers for Algernon, a similar |
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story that i read in high school. |
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I really liked how easy it was to identify with Lou, the protagonist. |
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He handles his life challenges with incredible dignity and grace. |
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The toxic relationships and office politics were a little difficult |
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for me to read because they brought to mind personal memories. This |
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book was a little too realistic in this regard. |
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Below are some passages that caught my attention. |
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If i want to understand what this treatment can do that will make Mr. |
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Crenshaw rich, then i need to know how the brain works. Not the |
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vague terms people use, but how it really works as a machine. |
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[Personally, i assume the attitude that the brain is not a computer. |
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We don't know enough about the brain yet to call it a computer.] |
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My questions were wrong questions because no one else asked them. |
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Maybe no one thought of them. Maybe darkness got there first. Maybe |
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i am the first light touching a gulf of ignorance. Maybe my |
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questions matter. |
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[I feel inspired by this paragraph. It is the essence of the whole |
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book. Lou could reasonably be considered the most important person |
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on the planet, but nobody recognizes it. He is treated like crap and |
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he goes through a period of time believing that something is wrong |
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with him. Gradually it dawns on him that nothing is wrong with him, |
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and that he has been actively lied to. Lou learns that he matters.] |
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"Recidivism," Mr. Stacy says, pawing through a pile of hard copies. |
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"They do it again. It's been proved. Just like you can't stop being |
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you, the person who is autistic, he can't stop being him, the person |
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who is jealous and violent." |
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[This would seem to be a static mindset, saying that some people are |
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effectively born jealous and violent and they cannot change. I |
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realize that i am arguing with a fictional society set in a |
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speculative future, but i believe people can change.] |
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author: Moon, Elizabeth |
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detail: gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/Speed_of_Dark |
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LOC: PS3563.O557 S64 |
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tags: book,fiction,sci-fi |
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title: The Speed of Dark |
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# Tags |
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book |
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fiction |
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sci-fi |
