Okay so NOW this FREE cyberpunk collection (which is so old you can see on the cover that it was only $3.50 for a paperback copy), is available as an #ebook download (FREE, I said!) as well as just opening it to read on your device. If you want it in that format, you can go there and try out the two ebook download systems it's offered on, let me know if it's not working.
Good cyberpunk touch for cybermonday. A free book pirated by its authors. For many years in print, we decided to allow it to be free online...
The MIRRORSHADES cyberpunk story collection, the original, with stories by William Gibson, Rudy Rucker, Greg Bear, Lew Shiner, Marc Laidlaw, Pat Cadigan, Bruce Sterling, Tom Maddox, Paul Di Filippo , James Patrick Kelly, and, yes, me--
Still pondering the supposed scientific proof of determinism; its claim of "there is no free will". 1st, seems likely there's much we don't know about the cause & effect of experience & behavior. There may be a sort orthogonal or gestalt factor we're unaware of. 2nd, determined events happen within time. It is possible to seat the mind outside of time, in eternity. Not figuratively, actually. Once there, conscious choice becomes possible, outside the subjective routine of cause & effect.
@GustavinoBevilacqua@johnshirley2024 The science suggests something more interesting, actually, which is that when you think you've made a decision, parts of your brain have already started acting on it earlier.
All that says is that what we think of our consciousness is really the story we tell ourselves to rationalize decisions, while the actual decision making is subconscious and already occurred.
This does not say free will is impossible. Just that our experience of it is inevitable.
@johnshirley2024@GustavinoBevilacqua Yes, of course that's also "me". And yes, there is an overwhelming number of factors influencing the decision in whichever part of my brain it happens.
I'm less concerned with woo-woo than that I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that part 😃
Science fiction/ fantasy legend Terry Bisson is now written up in The New Yorker. Why, after Big Ink ignored him all these years? Because of his "This Month in History" series in Locus. Terry Bisson is a friend of mine, an editor of mine, and a mentor of mine. Avoiding any paywall, you can read the article here: https://archive.ph/k0RRI
Two Techno Tales by John Shirley --hey! that's me!-- appear at THE FREEZINE today. Good illustrations. Each piece is short, essentially flash fiction. Check out the Freezine generally--it is, yes, free and requires no registration. Lots of good stuff there.
The first piece is To Live and Die in Googletown. The second is Flibbertigibbet.
Today and Sunday! I'm doing a Mini Book Tour with Cody Goodfellow and David Agranoff. I'll be signing SubOrbital 7 & talking at two events:
16 September 2023 at 3:00 p.m.: Artifact Books 603 S. Coast Hwy 101 Encinitas, CA 92024.
17 September 2023 at 3:00 p.m.: Dark Delicacies 822 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505.
@johnshirley2024 A fine appearance, with readings even. I am now three books deeper in my 'to read' stack... Everybody go see John and Cody and David tomorrow in LA.
Are you in LA area? I'll be at Dark Delicacies bookstore with these fellow writers (see pic) this Sunday the 17th starting around 3 pm. We'll be reading excerpts, signing, answering questions, scratching our privates, and generally hanging out. I'll sign anything but a check. 822 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505
"QAnon 2.0: 'Sound of Freedom' and the Rise of MAGA Vigilantism," which analyzes the bizarre success of SOUND OF FREEDOM, Trump's dystopian Agenda 47, and the rise of MAGA vigilantism at the southern border:
I'm in this huge CYBERPUNK book, along with William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Cory Doctorow @pluralistic and lots more.
The Big Book of Cyberpunk arrives September 26. Editor Jared Shurin tells File 770, “As with any attempt at a definitive collection, I suspect (and hope) it will provoke conversation!”
At over a thousand pages it is the largest anthology of the genre, with authors from over two dozen countries. #bookstodon#sff#scifi#books
One strange thing about consciousness is that it doesn't know what consciousness is. That is, most discrete consciousnesses do not know themselves. Consciousness is baffled by consciousness. It's like a blind man that can feel and smell but can't see itself in a mirror. If consciousness increases its level of consciousness it can see itself and know what it is. Til then, this disability will prevent programmers and developers from understanding that AI cannot become conscious.
@johnshirley2024 I think you would dig this article on consciousness and quantum entanglement. What interesting about this theory is that it suggests consciousness arises from entanglements within the quantum field. This would, theoretically, mean that for an AI to achieve consciousness, it would need to simulate or recreate the quantum entanglement of neurons in the brain.
I've been reading through your posts, and you have a fascinating mind. I'd like to extend an invitation to you to the @13thFloor if you're so inclined - direct kbin link here: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor. We're a bit new, but very fond of OC, and the space is open to you should you care to share your thoughts, or promote your published work.