I ended up skimming a lot of it, though I closely read the beginning and the end. This is not a vision of humanity I agree with.

Technology is not the only path towards expansion of consciousness, even though in this day and age, it appears so. The wonders, marvels, and growth described in this story can be experienced through other means. To act and build as if it is the only path is, in my opinion, deeply misguided.

Probably not the most popular stance in this crowd.

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solenoid0937 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

Reading the beginning and end is like eating just the buns off a burger and declaring it bland and tasteless.

Part of the magic of this story is that it can change what you agree with (as it did for me.) Not saying it will do the same for you, but it is a compelling vision; I can't think of other ways to get there without getting unscientific.

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hosh 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

I am familiar with NLP and persuasion techniques, and when I started feeling it creep in as I read this story, I started skimming. I have learned that a compelling vision alone does not mean it is correct or even wise.

The analogy is not correct. I know that burger is rich in taste and marvelous. It is also my opinion that it is an illusion, and lacks substance.

There is so much more to the cosmos than science, though I get that this is the current preoccupation of our civilization. Maybe one day, people will expand their consciousness beyond science the way the main character expanded her’s to communicate with aliens. Until then, I recognize I am in the minority here in HN with this view.

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GolDDranks 3 days ago | parent [-]

Where in the story does NLP (I guess you mean "Neurolinguistic programming" and not "Natural Language Processing") factor in?

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hosh 3 days ago | parent [-]

It isn’t in the content of the story, but in the craft of storywriting itself. The author does not have to know these to make use of the methods identified by NLP. Rhetoric (as a study in and of itself) and persuasion has long been studied and practiced by humanity.

	▲	solenoid0937 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I do not understand why you'd intentionally close your mind to persuasive arguments. Sure, let's say the author does use NLP. What of it?
	▲	procaryote 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		As I understand it, NLP is pseudoscience. Rhetoric and persuation has long been studied by humanity, but that doesn't make NLP real

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amenhotep 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It's pretty obvious what it's doing, honestly. I did skim the entire thing but I don't think you need much more than the beginning and end once you see the point. Which is more or less lampposted by the title.

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tenuousemphasis 3 days ago | parent [-]

Ok, what is it doing?

	▲	sdwr 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		It's technology propaganda. The protagonist is initially skeptical, but learns to accept the wonders of tech as her life is magically transformed by it.

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cheschire 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Hah! I found myself doing the same thing. I recognized the frog boiling story, of course, and was mildly interested to see if the linear development ever got subverted, but it didn’t. The conflict never really appeared.

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geysersam 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In some ways I agree with you. For example, exploring the vast empty cold space of the universe (or Jupiter) doesn't appeal to me at all. I'm ready to bet our planet is already the most marvelous place in existence. Let's hope we don't destroy it too much.

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empiricus 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Ok, what would be a vision of humanity you would agree with?

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next_xibalba 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> can be experienced through other means.

So… how? DMT?

	▲	subscribed 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Not really. It's like suggestion that using AI to generate the video of the walk through the national park is equivalent to walking the park.

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moffkalast 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I think the popularity of that stance is growing by the year.