Did you guys read "the Forever War" as well? It has some really interesting political spinoffs.Grand Fromage wrote:Science fiction literary analysis. Sitting around talking about the political philosophy of Starship Troopers for credit. Oh yes, it was awesome.paazin wrote:Wha...?Grand Fromage wrote:...sci-fi class...
First habitable extrasolar planet discovered
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Mikayla
- Valsharess of ALFA
- Posts: 3707
- Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2004 5:37 pm
- Location: Qu'ellar Faen Tlabbar, Noble Room 7, Menzoberranzan, NorthUnderdark
Starship Troopers was a great book and I still think he had it right - I would support a "you must serve your country to get the vote" type of policy in America today, if anyone put it forward (note - serve your country in the sense of the Starship Troopers book does not necessarily mean military service, it only means Government Service).
The Forever War was good as well.
More recently, there was a book called "Old Man's War" along the same lines which I liked a lot. Not quite as political, but similar and fun none-the-less (and it has two sequels which I've not read yet).
The Forever War was good as well.
More recently, there was a book called "Old Man's War" along the same lines which I liked a lot. Not quite as political, but similar and fun none-the-less (and it has two sequels which I've not read yet).
ALFA1-NWN1: Sheyreiza Valakahsa
NWN2: Layla (aka Aliyah, Amira, Snake and others) and Vellya
NWN1-WD: Shein'n Valakasha
NWN2: Layla (aka Aliyah, Amira, Snake and others) and Vellya
NWN1-WD: Shein'n Valakasha
I liked Starship Troopers as well, but wouldn't be all that keen on the whole "All Anyone Needs Is A Good Strapping!" thing... Personally, I think the Government over employs as it is. Making people work for the government just to get the vote is going to exponentially increase governmental red tape, just so they can give people something to do!Mikayla wrote:Starship Troopers was a great book and I still think he had it right - I would support a "you must serve your country to get the vote" type of policy in America today, if anyone put it forward (note - serve your country in the sense of the Starship Troopers book does not necessarily mean military service, it only means Government Service).
The Forever War was good as well.
More recently, there was a book called "Old Man's War" along the same lines which I liked a lot. Not quite as political, but similar and fun none-the-less (and it has two sequels which I've not read yet).
The Forever War looks interesting. I'll look out for it.
Current PCs:
NWN1: Soppi Widenbottle, High Priestess of Yondalla.
NWN2: Gruuhilda, Tree Hugging Half-Orc
NWN1: Soppi Widenbottle, High Priestess of Yondalla.
NWN2: Gruuhilda, Tree Hugging Half-Orc
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Grand Fromage
- Goon Spy
- Posts: 1838
- Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2004 9:04 am
- Location: Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Yep. That was my favorite of the semester. Time dilation is lovely.Joos wrote: Did you guys read "the Forever War" as well? It has some really interesting political spinoffs.
Yeah, well. Anyone who read that book and thought Heinlein was promoting fascism spectacularly missed the point. Though I have seen lots of people accuse the general libertarian ideology of being fascist, which is so incredibly stupid it warps my mind.mxlm wrote:Heh. I've seen those comments from people who have read it. 'Course, they're crazy.None. It's surprising what people pick up on when they actually read the book.
The engine produces more thrust than drag, though simply through a loophole in physics involving static friction.NESchampion wrote:What the hell is "forward" energy? KE in the "forward" direction? Isn't it then given that KE is proportional to velocity? Say in an equation like KE = (1/2)mv^2?Charlie wrote:The ammount of forward-energy produced is porportional to the speed of the vechicle.
What does the time it takes for light to reach Earth have to do with slowing down a spaceship?There is still, I agree, the issue of slowing down. Takes 8 min for light to reach the earth from the sun.
Ah, and supposedly they think that the water-bearing planet in question is so large, the superheated water is solid by virtue of pressure. A giant hot-ice world. Big hot ball of mud. Would still work out as a mining operation for hydrogen and water, with space-stations in orbit for farming and nightclubs to satisfy the needs of crusty ice-miners.
I am surprised. Conditional democracy is something I would not expect from you. I agree that the thought is appealing in the book but as a proponent of everyones right to vote I have to disagree. We already tried conditional democracy of various types and the result was not that good (for instance we had number of votes according to your wealth 120 years ago in Sweden).Mikayla wrote:Starship Troopers was a great book and I still think he had it right - I would support a "you must serve your country to get the vote" type of policy in America today, if anyone put it forward (note - serve your country in the sense of the Starship Troopers book does not necessarily mean military service, it only means Government Service).